Page 56 of Worth

I know I can’t hitthathard, but it must be hard enough because Zander grunts and then lets out a long groan as he limps further away from me to prevent future strikes. Claire laughs again, harder this time.

“Okay,” he wheezes. “I may have deserved that.”

“May have?” I snarl, standing up straight and willing the world to stop whirling around me so I can try to hit him again.

An arm slips under mine. “Come on, bumblebee,” Claire says, her voice warm and soothing. “Save your energy. You can try to beat him up later.”

“Promise?” I ask, andJesus. I really need some damn food.

“Promise,” she answers, leading me toward the kitchen.

I feel each step I take, like there’s lead weighing down my feet. We finally get to the kitchen and Claire sits me in one of the chairs at the counter. Grabbing the first aid kit from under the sink, we’re silent as she cleans up my arm, blood oozing down from where I tore out the IV catheter. When she’s finished, she puts everything away before digging into the fridge and pantry. In no time at all, more of the broth that Zander gave me, crackers, and a banana she’s sliced up into wheels sits in front of me.

“You’ll want to work up slowly to full meals,” she says as I grab a cracker, drown it in the broth and then pop it in my mouth. My eyes nearly roll into my head at the taste of the salty goodness. “You’ll upset your stomach if you eat too much too quickly.”

I hear what she says, but the burst of flavors on my tongue makes me cram more broth-soaked crackers into my mouth. I’m almost finished with all the food when my stomach twists uncomfortably. I still want to keep eating, but I heed Claire’s words, reluctantly setting the banana piece in my hand back down.

“Feeling a little better?” Claire asks, leaning against the counter opposite of where I’m sitting.

I nod. “A bit. Really tired now.”

“I’m sure,” she replies. “You wouldn’t have starved to death just yet, but the hypoglycemia alone is relatively traumatic when you don’t eat for prolonged periods of time. Especially when your body mass is below a healthy level.”

“I’d gained weight,” I murmur. “Over the last few weeks.”

Claire’s smile is warm. “Not quite enough. You’re quite boney still, bumblebee.”

I furrow my brow. “Why are you calling me that?”

Her tinkling laugh is soothing. “Because you look pretty and soft, but you’ve got some sting in you yet.”

My lips twitch with a smile. “Maybe that’s why—”

—Aiden calls me kitten, too.

That’s what I had been about to say, but Aiden’s name refuses to come out of my mouth. I feel the fury toward Zander and Aiden stir from its simmer again, agitating me, making my limbs twitch. Zander I canalmostunderstand him letting me go hungry on purpose. But Aiden? I can’t understand that at all.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Claire muses, watching me.

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to stop myself from losing my shit in front of her. “Nothing,” I mutter.

“Bull honkey.”

I glance up at her in surprise. “I—”

“You heard me. Quit your fibbing. These boys have got you worked up and angry, haven’t they?”

“They locked me in a room to punish me, and thenforgotabout me,” I answer coldly.

“They certainly did.” Claire moves around the counter, coming to stand closer to me. “They are two of the most pigheaded men I’ve ever met. For such smart boys, they can be dumber than a box of rocks and it gets them into trouble.”

A surprised laugh slips out of me. “Aiden, maybe. Zander? Zander is just cruel.”

A look passes over her face I can’t quite decipher, but there’s a tinge of sorrow in it. “Zander doesn’t know how to be pretty and soft. He’s all wasp.”

She’s faraway, trapped in some thought, so I clear my throat. “How do you know them?”

This time I get a full smile. “I helped them after they escaped their last owner, who just so happened to be my neighbor. Found the boys wandering around in half-charred clothes, took them in and cleaned them up. Helped them get on their feet. Wasn’t easy to straighten out Zander’s anger or Aiden’s impulses, but I found ways to do it. It was like dealing with two furious children sometimes.”

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