“What time is it?”
“About eight.”
“PM?” I ask incredulously.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Lena pats a few of my curls down and strides inside the apartment.
“Your brother isn’t here,” I tell her.
“I came to see you, obviously.”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you?” She lightly grips my shoulder. “You’ve been through a traumatic experience.”
“My whole life has been traumatic, Lena,” I say dismissively.
“Except for meeting my brother, right? No trauma there.”
“Even my first meeting with Hunter was…eventful,” I recall that fateful night at Table 21. “I guess I attract drama.”
Lena’s kind eyes narrow. “What’s going on with you two, Megan?”
Her eyes avert from mine, a dead giveaway that she probably was sent here on a fact-finding mission.
“Did Hunter send you here to check on me, Lena?”
“I may have spoken to him earlier, but he didn’t send me here. Would it have been a problem if he had?”
“Nope, no problem.”
“I stopped by to give you a hug.” She reaches out to embrace me. “And to suggest that maybe you should go see your doctor and make sure things are okay with the baby. I could go with you.”
There’s a gentleness to Lena’s tone that suddenly makes my eyes water. I haven’t expressed much, if any, emotion about my abduction since Hunter found me. Not in the car. Not on the private plane he chartered to fly us out of Arizona. And not since I’ve been home.
I guess I’ve been numb.
“It’s okay to cry,” Lena assures me, rubbing my back as I openly sob in her arms. “You’re safe now.”
“I’m sorry. I think it’s the hormones.”
“Don’t apologize to me.” She pats my back. “It’s all right.”
Both of us turn our heads when we hear the tone of the keypad unlocking on the front door.
“What’s going on here?” Hunter asks, his eyes focused on the tears running down from my own.
“I’ll let you two talk,” Lena says in a hushed voice and I almost want to stop her because my chest feels tight, and heavier now that he’s in the room.
Hunter leans over, giving Lena a peck on the cheek. “I’ll call you later.”
“Sure.”
“You need anything?”
“No, I’m good. Just take care of our girl here.”