Lucy’s POV
Helpless. The only word that could encompass how I felt. I had come so close to losing Rosa again. The fact that that was how she would have just died, sent pangs of pain through my heart and soul, but I could never have envisioned that this would have happened to her because of me.
We had eaten together, but she had taken the part of the meal that was poisoned, which was why she was the one who had suffered its effects. It should have been me in the hospital bed, and not her. She didn’t deserve it. Not at all.
They had managed to stabilize her vitals and pump the poison out of her system, but it was still going to take a little while before she would come out of her unconsciousness.
I sat beside her bed in the hospital, thinking about how things had managed to go so wrong in just a short time.
I placed my head on my palms and sighed, wishing that I had been more perceptive. Now, it was obvious that someone was indeed after my life and wanted me dead desperately.
“Well get to the bottom of this, Rosa,” I promised her, taking one of her slightly cold hands and gently squeezing it. “I promise.”
I got up to my feet and left the room, filled with a new determination. Now that a battle line had been drawn, this whole thing simply meant that there was no longer time to keep pretending that we didn’t have a murderer still running around. Their henchman might have been no more, but there was still a need to track and find the person who had hired Nameless and given him all the orders he had been carrying out.
There was no time for us to let our guard down.
–
Days passed, and Rosa was back to health, but there was no way I was going to allow her to simply start working again without putting some precautions in place.
I was a danger, so the people around me had to be protected, so that they didn’t become targets because of me.
Thankfully, after the triplets moved in together in the other large room, it meant that there were at least three rooms left free to be used. I picked one of the three free rooms, and told Rosa to move in there. A little while later, I also helped Tessa move to the room as well. Of course, she didn’t want to go at first, but after I informed her that it was only for a short time, she understood and obeyed.
They were both going to be safer if they were away from me. I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself if any irreversible damage occurred to them. At least in such a room that was nearby but away from me at the same time, I could regularly check in, while keeping a little distance from them at the same time, at least, until the true mastermind was found.
That first night without Tessa was one that I had just wanted to get on with and put behind me as quickly as possible, so as I slid into bed and shut my eyes to force myself to sleep, I could have never imagined that someone would have knocked on my door.
Cautiously, I slid out of bed and moved to the door. “Who is it?” I asked, standing against the doorframe.
“It’s Shaun. Can I come in?” came the deep voice from the other side.
I looked to the window of my room again, watching the faint moonlight illuminate the dark outside. It was late out already, so what was he doing here in my room?
I unlatched the lock and opened the door, revealing Shaun in a dark tank top and cotton shorts. His muscled arms looked more powerful than steel rods, and his eyes glowed a little in the dark.
“Is there a problem?” I asked, having difficulty focusing on his face because of the surge of attraction pulling me to him. The Mate Bond only sought to rear its head when we were together like this, making it difficult for me to even completely just ignore him. Coupled with the fact that I was starting to notice my growing emotions towards him, I knew that I couldn’t keep lying to myself that I felt nothing for him.
“With what happened to your friend, we all think it’s safer if one of us stayed with you for now to ensure your safety. We don’t know when next our enemy is going to strike, so we have to be prepared.”
“You don’t have to inconvenience yourself,” I said, “I can watch myself.”
He sighed gently. “I know you can, but this is not about watching yourself. It’s about keeping you safe.”
I didn’t have the energy in me to argue any more, so I just stepped out of his way, giving him the liberty of stepping into my room. He hesitated, watching me with a serious look in his eyes.
“What?” I asked.
After a little while, he slightly shook his head. “No, nothing at all.” He stepped into my room, and I shut the door and locked it for added protection.
The only bed in the room was the large one I usually slept on, and there were no spares, which meant that he would either have to fold his long body on the couch in the room or sleep on the floor because if there was one thing I was certain about, it was that staying in the same bed with him wasn’t going to have been a good idea-for so many reasons.
“Where are you going to sleep?” I asked him innocently as I slipped back into the warm covers of my bed. I wiggled my toes, trying to fend off the cold biting at my heels. The sensation caused me to immediately chnage my mind about letting him sleep on the floor or couch.
He pointed to the couch, as expected, but obviously if he was going to be doing this every night, he couldn’t have been allowed to sleep on that place. I didn’t want to be the cause of anyone’s postural defects.
“No, come here,” I said, almost authoritatively, and pointed to my bed. “You’ll take one side, and I’ll take the other. Does that work?”
He looked from me to the bed, and something crossed his expression. I couldn’t tell if he wanted to agree or do otherwise.
“Wouldn’t that inconvenience you? It might get a little . . . difficult for both of us,” he said, letting the following silence give meaning to his words.
“Well, I can’t watch you strain your back for how long you plan on watching me.” I snuggled deeper underneath the warm covers. “So this is the best we can do.”
Shaun just watched me for a moment, even though it was dark, I could feel his eyes on me for a brief moment, before he eventually got into the bed as well, although he made it a point to stay as far as the bed could allow.
While I already faced him, he laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling and probably contemplating his entire life choices.
I didn’t fully understand his reasons for being in my room that night, but as more time passed there and then, I came to the understanding that I wanted him there with me.
And I wasn’t quite sure what to do or think about that.