14. Margo
Chapter 14
Margo
I feel him before I see him.
This time, at least, I know it’s him. My neck prickles, and goosebumps race up the backs of my arms. I straighten with the pack of candy in my hand and turn to face him. The vending machine hums beside me.
He walks toward me with his hands in his pockets. His dark hair is brushed away from his face, and his light eyes are tracking my movement. I scan his body just as he does the same to me.
White shirt, black jeans, a black shell jacket.
His expression is serious. Befitting a hospital, I suppose. I shiver, suddenly wishing I was back in the waiting room. There are witnesses there, and…
He’s been weird.
I’ve been weird, too, I know. We’ve been under the same roof, and we only shared a bed the first night. Is there something wrong with me? I want him—just looking at him, right now, I want him. But I haven’t been able to act on it.
“You okay?” He stops in front of me, close enough to touch, but not. “You’re pale.”
“Robert is in surgery.”
His hand tightens on mine. “You’re running away.”
“Just mimicking you.” I glare at him and tug.
He releases me. “It’s because I don’t know how to help you.”
I blink.
“You’re hurting, for fuck’s sake, and I don’t know—” He turns away and runs his hand through his hair. “I’d like to think I know you. That you don’t want coddling. But if not that, what?”
I sigh. “A hug would be nice.”
He yanks me forward, into him, faster than I expect. He wraps his arms around me, bone-crushingly tight. I’m enveloped in his embrace, yes, but also his warmth and his spiced scent. I lean into him, knowing that no matter how hard I push, he’ll stay standing.
“Like this?” he whispers into my hair.
It’s tight enough to hold me together for a moment. Just like Riley’s hug, but this one…
I relax, and his hand cups the back of my head.
“Now, if only we could stay like this,” he teases.
I don’t say anything but slowly bring my arms up and circle his waist. My breath shudders out of me. Yes , I want to say. This could be a forever kind of thing .
“Do you remember what I said?”
I pull away just enough to meet his gaze. “You say a lot.”
His smile is faint. “I’m always going to find you, baby.”
“I believe it.” It scares me as much as it comforts me. “But what if you find me and we both …”
“Go dark?”
I nod. I can feel it crawling through me. It’s a slippery feeling, addictive. And the worst part? It pushes out all my other emotions. I know he feels it, too. The rare times his demons have come out full force.
He lifts one shoulder. His grip on me eases, allowing me to take a small step backward. “So what if we do?”
I contemplate that.
“Ah, Margo, are you—?” Lenora stops in the middle of the hallway. “Caleb, glad to see you could make it. The doctor is going to talk to us, honey.” She holds out her hand to me.
I release Caleb and go to her. She squeezes my fingers.
Nerves flutter through me, and I realize this is the moment. The one where we find out if Robert made it or not. If he’s alive or…
I take a deep breath. Breathing is important. How would it feel if one lung stopped working? If I started coughing blood?
I close my eyes for a heartbeat, and I replay blood spraying from Robert’s lips. The way he rubbed at his chest, like he couldn’t get enough air.
The car.
— What did you do? —
I don’t realize I’ve stopped moving until Caleb puts his hands on my shoulders, propelling me from behind.
“This is a fear we need to face,” he whispers in my ear. “But you’re not in this alone.”
I shake my head. “If he dies, I’ll never forgive myself.”
His lips touch the shell of my ear. “It isn’t you who holds the blame.”
No, he’s right.
It’s the freaking stalker.
The doctor is in the waiting room, Lenora already in front of her. I stand beside her, leaving Riley and Caleb behind. There’s another woman in the room, dressed in scrubs, who hangs back, too. I recognize her as Lenora’s doctor friend.
“He’s out of surgery,” the doctor says. “He’s in recovery right now, but we’re hopeful that everything looks good. He’s off the ventilator and should be waking up in a little while.”
“Can we see him?” Lenora asks.
“Yes. I’ll have a nurse come get you when he’s back in his room, although he’ll be quite groggy. We’re going to keep him here for observation for another few days.”
Lenora shakes her hand, and then the doctor leaves us.
I let out a long breath. “He’s going to be okay.”
“Sounds like it,” Lenora says. She smiles.
We’ve been full of hugs today. Hugs and sadness and panic and worry. Too much worry.
The exhaustion hits me like a ton of bricks to the face.
“Do you want to head home?” she whispers. “You’ve had a long day.”
“You’ve had a long week. I…” I can’t go without seeing him one more time. To confirm with my own eyes that he’s okay. “I’ll get a ride home with Caleb or Riley after we see him.”
She nods, stroking my hair. “You have an appointment to get these stitches removed soon.”
“Monday.” Thank goodness, because they’re driving me nuts. I try not to focus on it. On what it symbolizes.
How did I walk away with just a gash and some bumps and bruises, and Robert…
I cross the room and sit between Riley and Caleb. There are things I need to say to Riley… preferably without Caleb eavesdropping. So instead of speaking, I just let both of them take a hand, and I close my eyes.
“Wake up, baby.”
I groan. The first person I see is Riley. Her phone is in one hand, her lower lip sucked between her teeth. My hand is still caught in hers.
Caleb has my other one. But he also…
I grimace. “Why am I sitting on your lap?”
“Because you started snoring about two minutes after you closed your eyes.”
“I did not.”
“You did,” Riley confirms. “And you looked so uncomfortable, Caleb just had to fix it.”
“Ha, ha.” I slip free of their hands and put my palm on his shoulder. I stand, ignoring the creaking feeling in my bones. “Is it time?”
Lenora and her friend are near the door, talking in low voices, but Lenora glances up at the sound of my voice. “Yes, he’s back in his room.”
I smile, then frown. Fear lances through me. Oh God, what if he’s…
“Come now, honey,” she says. “The sooner you see him, the sooner you can get back to snoozing.”
“Very funny.”
She grins. “I thought so.”
We leave our friends behind and go down the hall, into Robert’s room. The television is on, muted. The lamp in the corner burns dimly, casting deep shadows around the room.
“There’s my girls,” Robert mumbles. His eyes are half closed, but his head lolls in our direction. He smiles. “What an adventure we’re on, huh, Lenny?”
“An adventure? You nearly gave me a heart attack.” She goes to his side, brushing back his hair and kissing his cheek. “How are you feeling?”
“Dandy, dandy.” He smiles. “Had a nice chat with Isabella.”
I freeze.
“Ah, there she is.” He looks right at me, and everything in me locks up.
Does he think you’re his dead daughter? No, no, no.
Can surgery cause amnesia?
Am I going to have to tell him that I’m not his daughter?
“Margo-girl, you had me worried,” he continues. “But you two stuck together, right?”
“We did.” Lenora straightens his blankets.
I venture closer. “I’m sorry for worrying you.”
He takes my hand once I’m close enough. “You’re okay?”
I’m really sick of crying. A lump forms in my throat at his blatant concern.
“You were just in surgery, and you’re worried about me?” I clutch at his hand with both of mine. “It’s…”
“My job as a dad,” he says. “Isabella would expect no less of me and neither should you.”
I glance to Lenora, but her gaze is fastened on him. Her hand covers her mouth.
“It’s late,” I say, pretending to check the clock on the wall. I already know that it’s well past nine. The surgery went on for a long time, and I don’t think I can take much more of this hospital. “I’ll come see you tomorrow.”
I lean down and wrap my arms around him, gingerly. He rubs my back, then I stand back up.
“I’ll walk you out,” Lenora says. We go to the doorway together. “You’ll be okay with the Blacks?”
“They’re very nice.” I shift. “Once Robert comes back, I get to…?”
“Yes,” she answers immediately. “You’ll come home, too. I’ll be relieved to have you both under the same roof, trust me.”
Caleb’s attention is on me—I can feel his stare from here. I hum my agreement about being under the same roof and give Lenora one last hug before I go.
I pause in front of Caleb. “Riley’s bringing me home. We have things to discuss.”
“Things,” he says. “Things you don’t want me to hear?”
“Yes.” I raise my eyebrows. “You don’t trust her?”
“I don’t trust anyone around you, baby. Not anymore.”
I trace my bracelet. “But you trust me?”
He puts his finger under my chin, lifting it. I meet his gaze and frown.
“I do trust you.”
My heart skips. “Oh.”
“You don’t sound happy about that.” He smirks, then leans down and steals a kiss from my lips. “Little wolf doesn’t know what to do with trust?”
“Not in the slightest.” I shake my head, backing away from him.
I’ve seen Caleb possessive. Angry. Hostile. Ruthless. But… trusting? Not since we were kids. Not since we were young and innocent.
Look how far we’ve come.
How far we’ve fallen.
Riley waits for me at the end of the hall. She passes me my jacket, and we quickly make our way to her car.
“I’ve been worried about you,” she says.
“Well, you might still be worried when I tell you…”
She starts the car and fiddles with the knobs. After a moment, heat pours out of the vents.
“Spill.”
I fill her in on Caleb and Eli’s plan to lure Unknown out. After the brief synopsis this morning, they didn’t bring it up again. I think they’re waiting for me to accept it. After all, they said I wouldn’t like it. And I don’t. It involves using me as bait.
I am not good bait.
Hell—the argument could be made that I already was bait, and they totally failed in uncovering their identity.
“You’re shitting me.” She gapes at me when I finally stop talking. “Are you going to do it?”
I smirk. “Well… yeah. But with a little twist.”