The nurse had taken off her clothes, washed her down then dressed her in a cotton gown she’d had in her backpack. It had pictures of pigs all over it.
Caleb placed a hand over her head. “She’s still hot. Maybe we should let her have them off for a bit.”
Aleki nodded and drew down the covers. She sighed in satisfaction.
Caleb looked from Aleki to Wolfe. “The idea of her hurt or afraid or in need makes me feel ill. I’m sorry that you guys don’t think I should care about her. But I can’t just stop.”
Aleki got it. He wished he didn’t. But he did. All these years and he hadn’t been able to forget her.
Seemed Caleb was in the same boat.
Vivi thrashed back and forth, mumbling to herself. Damn it. What was going on? She had a badly twisted ankle. Was obviously underweight. The wound on her arm was infected, which explained her temperature. But it didn’t explain how she’d gotten it.
The doctor wouldn’t tell them anything more until she woke up.
Her legs kicked back and forth, as though she was fighting off some demon before she relaxed back on the bed.
Who was she scared of?
“Should we call her father?” Wolfe asked. “Haven’t we done our part? We found her. We got her medical help. I’m sure he’s worried about her.”
Caleb shook his head. “We can’t contact anyone. Not until we know what’s going on. She’s scared of someone.”
“And you think that person is her father? The Governor of California?” Wolfe asked skeptically.
Aleki studied her. What the fuck was going on?
Caleb ran his hand over his face. “Aleki? What do you think?”
“I don’t want to contact anyone until we talk to her. Something has gone really wrong and we need to figure out what that is.”
Wolfe sighed and straightened. “Fine. But don’t forget that we actually have a job to get back to.”
“We’re owed time off,” Caleb countered.
“Time off? You call this a holiday?” Wolfe waved a hand around the room.
“You hate holidays,” Aleki countered. “You don’t understand the point of them.”
“Waste of time. Still, the two of you seem to enjoy them. Wouldn’t you rather be sipping some disgusting cocktails and being hit on by scantily-clad women than taking care of someone who betrayed us?”
“Jesus, Wolfe. She didn’t betray us,” Caleb said with exasperation.
“She left us. If you’re not with us, then you’re against us.”
Aleki got why Wolfe thought like that. Even if it was flawed. She wasn’t against them. She’d just gone off to live her life. Without him. Them.
And somehow ended up like this.
He hadn’t realized how much his brothers had needed her. Wolfe had shut down and he hadn’t really opened up again. While Caleb had become more of a workaholic. And he hadn’t been in a relationship since.
Neither have you.
He’d barely looked at another woman. Never told anyone he loved them. Had the occasional quick, one-night stand that had made him feel ill afterward.
Like he was betraying her.
“We don’t drink cocktails,” Caleb muttered.
“And those women come on to us, not the other way around,” Aleki added.
Women didn’t come on to Wolfe. They steered clear of him. Wolfe stepped forward and pulled the blanket up to her waist then turned towards the door.
“Where are you going?” Caleb asked.
“Out,” Wolfe replied.
“Out where?”
Aleki had to hide a grin at the note of frustration in Caleb’s voice.
“To get raspberry jello, of course. Can’t have her thinking I stole it.” Wolfe reached the door. “Also, keep the blanket over her. She’s not wearing any underwear.”
Christ.
5
Vivi opened her eyes.
She felt so hot and weak. Her blurry gaze hit on a figure sitting in a chair beside her. Maybe she should be alarmed. There was someone in her room. A stranger.
The scent of bergamot and mint hit her. No. Not a stranger.
It was Wolfe.
Ahh. A dream, then.
He looked the same as he always did. Serious. With his black-rimmed glasses, lean build, and messy, blue-black hair, people might underestimate him.
They shouldn’t.
“It’s not that bad, you know,” he said as he spooned something into his mouth.
“What isn’t?” she croaked.
“Lime jello.”
“Urgh, yuck. Lime jello is the worst. I only like raspberry.”
He leaned in. “I’ll let you have some.”
“What?”
“Raspberry jello. Went out and bought you a case of the stuff.”
She frowned. “Raspberry jello comes in cases?”
He shrugged. “Bought you a lot anyway.”
“Why?” Why would he buy her raspberry jello? Even if it wasn’t a really weird thing to buy someone, Wolfe hated her. “Why would you be nice to me?”
“I’m not.”
“You bought me raspberry jello,” she pointed out. That seemed a nice thing to do.
“Hmm. I bought lime jello too. Maybe I’m just taunting you with raspberry but I’m going to leave you with the lime.”
“You’re punishing me with lime jello?”
“Now, why would I need to punish you?” he asked.
She sighed, talking to Wolfe could be exhausting sometimes. “For leaving.” Her eyes started to grow tired. “I left. And you can’t forgive that.”
“Can’t I?”
“You never forgive anything. You made it very clear that I was never to contact you or Caleb or Aleki. That you never wanted to see me again.”
“And yet, little girl, here I am. At your bedside. Watching you tear up my brothers again.”
“You’re here for them,” she said.
“Yes. I am. Never forget that.”
She wouldn’t. She knew that he’d never come for her.
“What’s going on, Vivi? How did you end up in that alleyway? Who are you scared of?”
She closed her eyes. She couldn’t tell him. Then he’d be in danger too. And she couldn’t stand that, no matter how much he hated her.
Vivi felt like she’d been run over by a truck. Then a train. Then another truck.
In other words, she felt like total and utter crap. Her mouth was dry. Her head was throbbing. So was her arm. They could at least synchronize their throbbing. But, oh no, one went. Then the other.
“Seriously, Wolfe, how much jello did you eat?” Caleb asked.
“It was good. At least for a start. But by my eighth or ninth I started to regret it.”
“The jello was supposed to be for Vivi,” Aleki told him. “Not you.”
“Well, it’s not as though she’s up to eating it right now. She’s asleep.”
“Not anymore,” she groaned.
“Open your eyes, jelly bean,” Caleb coaxed. He was always the one she could talk to. He never judged.
“I don’t wanna.”
Wolfe sighed. “Always so stubborn.”