Page 79 of Fate

“So, Misty saw both of you that night. She made you dinner and met Kathleen for a drink. She drugged youboth.”

I shake my head. Could it be possible? I mean, sure, she was angry about me telling her she had to move and of course the issue last week at dinner. But drugging us? That’s extreme.

Chase grasps the phone again and starts squinting at the display and fiddling with it. After a few minutes of doing this, he sighs long andhard.

“I’m sorry, Carson. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt.” He’s frowning as he shows me the screen and a pic where he’s zoomed in. I can see my face is completely lax and I’m unconscious. Even in the picture of her holding my hand to her leg, I’m loose-fingered. My hands are not gripping her flesh the way someone would while deep in the throes of passion.

The bitch fucking set meup.

“It’s okay, Chase. I know what it looks like. I’d never hurt her. I need to see her. Talk toher.”

He nods. “Let me go first. Tell her what we’ve put together. She, uh…has some news to tell you anyway. When she’s ready.”

Fuckin’ hell. More shit being held back and another span of time where I can’t go to my woman.

“Fine. Just make it quick. I’m there in an hour. I don’t care if I have to check myself out against medical advice. I’m going to fix this. I need her, Chase. I’d be lost without Kathleen.”

Chase closes his eyes andnods.

“Then you understand. Make her see. Tell her I love her and I want to seeher.”

Chase wheelsme into Kathleen’s room. The room is dim. Only a single light in the corner is illuminating the twelve-by-twelve-foot space. The moment I lay eyes on her, tears hit. It’s only the third time I remember crying in my entire life. The first, when I told my mother goodbye as she died. The second, when I saw Kathleen in the hospital fighting for her life after the fire. Andnow.

I struggle to get out of the wheelchair and go to her bedside. “My God, Kathleen.” It’s three years ago, all over again. Her lying prone in a hospital bed. This time her face is messed up. She has monitors everywhere, two black eyes, a swollen nose, and a cut lip. She looks as though she’d been in a boxing match with Muhammad Ali andlost.

“Baby…” I whisper, and her swollen eyesopen.

Tears instantly fall down her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to think.” Her words crack, and I get into the bed withher.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to do that…” Chasesays.

“Oh, shut up,” Gillian says. “You did that to me the second I pushed out your twins, and you threatened to have the nurses fired if they crossed you. Leave them be. Are you going to be okay, Kat?”

She nods against my neck. “I amnow.”

“Come on, big guy. Let’s have another chat about boundaries and other people’s relationships,” I hear her say as she pulls my cousin out thedoor.

“I’m not sorry I overreacted. Kathleen was hurting…” is the last thing I hear him say as they walk out of the room and down thehall.

I look down at Kathleen. “I love you so goddamn much, and I’d never cheat on you. You own mysoul.”

More tears leak out of her eyes, and she holds me around the waist and sobs into my chest. “It was so real. And then I didn’t know where to go, what to do, and I was tired and groggy but still scared and devastated.”

With a careful hand, I run my fingers through her hair. “I’ve been told there’s only property damage from the accident. You were the only one who sustained any real injuries, and it’s pretty good that you hit those cars, because your car was headed toward the girder over the bay.” I swallow heavily and suck in a breath, smelling her hair, feeling her warm body alive and in myarms.

“I don’t remember anything after meeting up with Misty and her telling me you were fuckingher.”

“So, you did meet up with her. On Friday.” She confirms exactly what I’d already put together.

Kat nods against my chest as I tell my story. “I had dinner with her and then don’t remember anything afterward. Chase says, in the pictures, Cora’s sippy cup is on my nightstand. She put me in bed, stripped my clothes, and took those disgusting pictures. Then she must have met up with you and showed them to you. But I swear, nothing happened. Even the doc said I couldn’t have functioned properly.” I run my knuckles down her swollen cheek, needing to touch her, connect with her on this level. “Do you believe me?” I’m holding my breath.

“Yeah, I do. I’m so sorry I lost my mind. I should have looked closer. Once Chase forced me to look at the enlarged images, I could tell you weren’t even awake. You looked unconscious.”

I chuckle, bringing some light into the darkness. “Because I was unconscious. Shit, I don’t even know what to do now. This woman lives in my house. She’s the mother of my daughter. That’s fact. If she could do this to us, what could she do toCora?”

“But what do we really know about her?” Kat asks the million-dollar question.

“Not much. Honestly, she never talked about her upbringing. All she’s ever said is her parents are dead and she’s an only child. No family to speakof.”

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