He talked to me softly as he worked, about everything and nothing. The words themselves weren’t important, it was just the soothing sound of his voice that mattered, and he clearly knew that. At one point I think he told me about his economics exam that Cass had forced him to attend.
But that quiet chat stayed with me as I dozed and kept me free of the darkness lurking behind my eyelids. He’d grounded me and saved me from backsliding the moment I fell asleep.
The alluring scent of food was what woke me again, and I took a moment to wake up as the rumble of Cass's voice joined Lucas's.
"...she said he didn't do that," Lucas was saying, his tone determined and defensive. "I asked, and she said no."
Cass gave a humorless snort. "Gumdrop, you believed that? Chase psychotic-fuck Lockhart didn't abduct her and drug her mindless so they could play Monopoly and have pillow fights."
There was a pause while guilt and shame damn near choked me. "She told me he didn't," Lucas said again, quiet and firm. "Until she says otherwise, then that's the truth. Clear?" There was a thread of pure steel in his voice that would have filled me with pride under any other circumstance. Lucas was standing up to Cass, and Cass was actually listening.
"Sure," he grunted back. "Whatever you say, Gumdrop."
I thought maybe Cass would leave after that, but a moment later he gusted a sigh as it sounded a lot like he flopped down into the armchair beside the bed. Deciding it was time to quit eavesdropping, I yawned and let my lids open a crack.
Sure enough, Cass was right there beside the bed, his long legs kicked out and a weary look on his face. His eyes were soft as he gazed back at me, though.
"Angel," he rumbled. "You hungry?"
My stomach howled loudly, answering that question for me. Lucas moved into view, holding one of those little trays with legs.
"That smells so good," I murmured, wincing as I pushed myself to sit more upright. Both of them watched me like damn hawks as I huffed and shifted, but they let me work it out. When I was sitting, Lucas placed the tray on my lap, and I got a good look at the soup and freshly baked bread laid out for me.
My stomach rumbled again, and a wave of nausea made me sweat. But I knew it was hunger making me feel so sick. Hunger, drug withdrawal, exhaustion... Food would help.
I picked up the spoon, then paused before dipping it into the soup.
"Zed's still here," I said out loud. This food had his fingerprints all over it, and neither Lucas nor Cass could bake bread from scratch, as far as I was aware.
Cass dipped his head in confirmation. "He won't leave."
That didn't surprise me. Or it wouldn't have... before. But now? Why the fuck was he hanging around now? Was he just here to put me back into custody the second I had recovered?
Bitterness swirled through me, and my heart ached inside my chest. He'd fucking betrayed me.
"Eat the food," Cass rumbled. "I watched him make it. It's safe."
Lucas scoffed. "Watched? You ate about three bowls of soup and six slices of bread just to test it."
Cass gave an unapologetic shrug. "Dead-man De Rosa is a good cook."
I bit back all the poisonous, sour emotions welling up inside me and dipped my spoon into the soup. If Cass had already eaten it, there was no reason why I shouldn't. My body needed the nutrients, and Zed was a great cook.
That first taste almost made me forget how much I now hated my second-in-command. Almost. Wordlessly, I made my way through the bowl—as much of it as I could handle, anyway. Which wasn't much.
I stopped the second my stomach tightened, though. The last thing I wanted to do was vomit it all up again because I'd pushed too hard too fast.
"Do you want to go back to sleep?" Lucas asked as he took the tray away. "Or watch a movie or something? Or—"
"No," I cut him off a little too sharply. "No, sorry. I want you to get me up to speed on everything I missed. What happened after I was arrested?"
I shifted against my pillows, trying to get comfortable. My ribs hurt like a bitch now that the harder painkillers had all worn off.
"You're in pain," Cass announced, and I rolled my eyes.
"No shit, Captain Obvious."
Cass glowered and reached out for one of the pill bottles beside my bed.
"She won't take those," Lucas murmured, seeing which pills Cass had picked up. "I tried last night."
Cass arched a brow at me, and I just met his stare impassively. Lucas was right, though. Unless I was damn near dying, I wasn't putting any hard drugs back into my system. Not until I was sure I'd dried out fully from the shit Chase had shot me up with, and that could take weeks for all I knew.
"Fine," Cass growled, slamming the pill bottle back down and snatching a different one. He shook four pills out into his huge palm and held them out to me with a glass of water. "It's Tylenol, Red. You need something to take the edge off."
I sighed because he was right. Sulking a little, I took the pills and swallowed them down with a gulp of water.
"Where do you want to start?" Cass asked, sitting back in his chair and looking satisfied that I'd taken the medicine.
I drew a deep breath, looking over to Lucas. "Timber," I told him. "When Jeanette was stuffing me in her car, I saw..." A wave of disgust and stale fear rolled through me. Maybe I wasn't ready to unpack everything that’d happened. Not yet.
"Do you want to hear it from Zed?" Lucas offered carefully, his eyes locked on mine. "He's the best person to explain what happened there."
I shuddered. "No. Fuck no. I'd rather pull my fingernails out with pliers than hear any of Zed's fucking explanations right now."
Cass gave a smirk. "That's what I told him."
"Then why is he still here?" I snapped back. I was angry... but it wasn't entirely at Zed. I was angry at me for trusting him so completely and for falling so hard in love with him that even now part of me hoped he could explain it all away.
I didn't want to give him that opportunity. Nothing he could say would redeem this level of betrayal. Colluding with Chase... after everything we'd been through. After everything Zed knew Chase had done to me. No. He was dead to me.
Neither Cass nor Lucas answered my question. They just exchanged a long look, and Lucas raked his hand through his hair as he perched on the end of the bed.
"Where are we?" I asked instead, sensing they were both at a loss for what to tell me.
Cass leaned forward, bracing his forearms on his knees. "We're in the last place on earth Chase Lockhart would ever think to look for us." His eyes twinkled with evil mischief. "We're at Foxglove Manor."
I jerked in shock, then winced as my shoulder throbbed and my ribs screamed. "Saint, I swear I just heard you wrong. Did you say we're at Foxglove?"
His smirk spread wider. "What better place to hide out?"
A small laugh bubbled out of me. "I have no words. You bought it?"
He gave a shrug. "After you wiped out the entire Lockhart bloodline, all of their properties went up for auction due to the sole beneficiary being too unwell to maintain them. I bought up as many as I could, hoping to find a safe or lockbox or something."