Page 26 of Blood in the Water
“It won’t be strong enough to hold you under. Just enough to ease you to sleep.”
I squeezed Cas’s hand. The idea of sleep was like a siren’s call, but I’d never forgive myself if something happened to him when I wasn’t paying attention. I had already been naive enough for way too long. My eyes had been opened, and I’d never be so trusting again.
“Seriously, Leona. If you don’t get sleep soon, youwillcollapse.” She poured me a paper cup of water from a water cooler in the corner of the room and handed it to me. “From what I hear, you’ve been awake for almost three days with only sporadic bits of rest in between. Your body is not made for that level of exhaustion, let alone the amount of trauma you’ve experienced. If you don’t care for yourself, your body will make you. When that happens, it’ll be you in the hospital bed next to him. Is that what you want?”
I gritted my teeth but downed the water.
IwantedMax dead. Iwantedmy father’s legacy restored under the Vero name. IwantedCas alive.
“Fine,” I finally said. I’d spent three days circling on plans for where to start, but my eyes were crossing, and I couldn’t keep a solid train of thought. I needed my brain if I was going to plan. When Cas woke up, I wanted to tell him how I would kill Max. And then I wanted to ask if he’d stay beside me. Yes, he was the closest friend I had left. But my father also employed him and paid him well. If I was just a job to him…
I prayed he would. He was all I had left.
Willow smiled, a soft and gentle thing. She rolled her stool to a cabinet against the wall and pulled out a bottle. “Alright. Would you like to lie down in one of the other rooms? Or in my bed? I’ll come wake you when he regains consciousness.”
“No, I’ll stay here.” I gripped Cas’s hand tighter and shifted closer to the bed. There was no way I was leaving. “Can I lay down with him?”
“If you can fit, that’ll be fine. He’s not in any immediate danger.” She handed me a small blue pill and another cup of water. “Take this. It’ll kick in within five to ten minutes and calm you down enough to sleep. You’ll need to eat something when you wake up, so don’t be mad if I try to force a sandwich down your throat.”
I nodded with a small smile before tossing back the drug.
“Thanks, Willow.”
“You’re welcome.” She stood and put her hands into the pockets of her white jacket. “You can relax, Leona. You’re safe here.”
Safe for now.
She quietly left the room, and the door clicked shut behind her.
“Cas,” I whispered, searching his face for any movement. Nothing. “Move over so I can fit.”
Obviously, he didn’t move, but it helped to pretend I could talk to him. I had talked to him as much as I could over the last three days, mainly to keep myself from going insane but also so he’d know I was still here. I’d never leave him.
As gently as possible, I climbed onto the hospital bed and squeezed beside his massive body. There was just enough room to lay on my side, facing him.
“Please wake up.” I gently moved some of his hair off his forehead. I’d spent three days memorizing every curve of his face, every line of his skin. I cupped his scruffy cheek and rubbed my thumb against the stubble. He usually kept his face clean-shaven. He had always been handsome, but the scruff made him look devastating. When he woke up, I’d convince him to keep it.
I don’t think I’d ever looked at him this closely in all our years together. How could I have spent so many years with him beside me, and yet I never even stopped totrulysee him?
“I want to make the bastard pay,” I whispered, “but I can’t do it alone.”
He didn’t stir. I rested my cheek against his shoulder and interlocked one of my hands with his.
“Cas, I know you can’t hear me, but I swear to you right here and now: I will kill him. I’ll make him suffer as we have suffered. I promise.” I placed my palm flat against his chest to feel the rise and fall of his breath. I couldn’t stop touching him. Every point of contact between us was a balm to my broken heart. “I hate that this happened to you. And I’m so sorry you were caught in the middle.”
I closed my eyes, and a little tear escaped to trail down my cheek.
“So wake up soon, okay? If I don’t tease you soon, I think I’m going to literally die.” I laughed quietly.
Exhaustion overtook my entire body, and every extremity was filled with lead. I took a deep breath, watching Cas like I’d done for the last three days. Within a few minutes, the pill did exactly what Willow said it would, and I passed out.
11
CASPIAN
Apuff of hot air on my cheek brought me out of my deepest sleep in months.
I blinked twice, three times, as an unfamiliar room started to come into view. A machine beeped right next to my head. A row of upper and lower cabinets covered the wall to my right, with a sink in the middle. A half-filled water cooler sat in the corner with a stack of paper cups. This looked like a doctor’s office. Where was I? What happened?
