Page 112 of Two Chambered Heart

Corey couldn’t tell if this was just a symptom of her concussion. Had she actually died and woken up in some parallel universe? That didn’t seem likely, since Jason was still comatose in a hospital bed but… this was extreme. “You’re telling me you can read my mind?”

“Well, that’s the thing. Jason and Ican’tread your mind. You’re the first person we’ve ever encountered where we can’t. I was a worried Sophie’s gift wouldn’t work on you either, but luckily, it did. Though your injuries weren’t life-threatening like Jase’s, you would have needed to be hospitalized for weeks, and explaining the injuries would have been a nightmare.Not to mention, Kreig probably has hired men scouring the hospitals to find you.”

This was too much. Her head was starting to hurt. “Who’s Kreig?”

“He runs one of the black market manufacturing rings for the opium we import.” She cringed at the reminder of what the twins had their hands in.

“Is he… gifted?”

“No, nothing like that. He’s just a thug. Archie already has private teams taking out his entire organization.”

Corey felt shell-shocked. “Why can’t you read my mind?”

“I don’t know. You neutralize our abilities. Wherever you are, I can’t hear any thoughts around you. You’re like a shield. It’s not something I can control, or turn on and off. We’ve just always heard what everyone is thinking. With you, it’s radio silence and our gift becomes irrelevant. With you, we’re basically normal.”

“I need a coffee,” she groaned, flopping back down on the hospital bed and wincing.

Sophie scooted closer to her, and she felt her hand brush her forehead.

“Are you doing that on purpose?” she asked Sophie.

“Doing what?”

“That calming thing that’s happening.”

“Sort of. I can heal the body, sometimes the mind. It’s likely just residual effects of treating your brain injury, activating your parasympathetic nervous system. Like Jason and Kayden, I can’t control my gift. It’s touch-activated. It finds the issue and heals it. I did my medical training too, after we escaped, just to help me understand better what’s happening, but it doesn’t influence the effect.”

“Can I get out of this bed?”

“You’re one hundred percent healed, so you can really do whatever you want.”

“I like her,” Corey said to Kayden, pulling herself out of the hospital bed. Kayden wrapped an arm around her and drew her into his lap. He nuzzledhis face into her neck, and she melted against him. “I thought he was going to die. I thought maybe we both were.” The reality of their survival finally settled into her, and she choked back a new sob, clinging to Kayden and burying her face in the crook of his neck. He held her tight, letting her take comfort in his nearness.

It hit her then, the comment Jason had made so many weeks ago. “Wait, does this mean Belinda isactuallyinvisible?”

“Yup.”

“Oh my god!” She reared away from him, cheeks heating. “Are you kidding?”

“She only comes into the penthouse when we’re not here. Don’t worry, she didn’t see anything she wasn’t supposed to.”

“I was tanning naked for days!” She thought back to all the other things she’d been doing in this penthouse for the last few months and her cheeks got even hotter. The three of them were snickering at her.

Kayden stood up, Corey still koalaed around him. “Archie, can you make us both a coffee? I’m going to take her to get changed.”

She was never letting go of him again, she decided.

“Kayden said coconut lattes were your preference?”

Corey turned her back on the cityscape she’d been contemplating. “They weren’t before. But fancy men drink fancy drinks, so I kind of adjusted.”

“Nothing fazes you, does it?” There was a crinkle in the corner of Archer’s eyes as he held out the steaming mug to her, but the smile was unformed.

“That’s not true.” She took a sip of the latte, the frothed milk clinging to her upper lip.

Archie watched as her tongue darted out to lick it off. It wasn’t in the way she was used to being looked at by men, not hungry or wanting.

He was… assessing her? His dark eyes met hers under his glasses, and she lifted an eyebrow at him.

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