Pulling myself into a seated position, I turned to face him. “Look, I know we have things to discuss. I also need someone to fill in the blanks for me—how I ended up in hospital, and…” My voice trailed off at the sound of pounding footsteps, and suddenly the door was thrown open and Weston was barrelling towards me, pulling me up and off the bed and into his arms.
“Winter,” he ground out thickly, holding me so tightly I was in danger of asphyxiation. He rained kisses down on my head, and I smiled against his chest even as I struggled to get air into my lungs.
“West,” I mumbled, tapping on his back, and he drew back from me, his teal-blue eyes full of emotion, meeting mine. “Thanks. I couldn’t breathe.” I smiled to let him know I was joking, and he returned my smile.
“Are you okay? How’s your head? Your bruise looks loads better today.”
Better? How bad did it look before? “I’m fine,” I reassured him. “Nothing that a couple of painkillers won’t sort out.”
“Good.” Giving me a final squeeze, he released me, and Caiden stood, sliding his arm around my waist.
“You wanna talk to everyone at the same time so we only have to go through this once?”
I nodded. “Sounds good to me. I’m dying for a shower first, though. My hair is gross.”
“We’ll wait here, in case you need anything. Keep the door unlocked,” Caiden told me, walking me over to the bathroom door as if I couldn’t walk there myself. “Or I can come in and help?”
I laughed. “I’m fine. I’ll be quick.”
Feeling much fresher after my shower, my hair finally clean again, I rejoined Caiden and Weston in the bedroom, and together, the three of us made our way downstairs into the kitchen, where Kinslee, Zayde, and Cassius waited.
Weston crossed to the table, and Caiden sauntered over to the fridge, pulling out a can of Coke. He turned to me, raising a questioning brow, and I nodded, and he reached in to grab another can for me.
Kinslee flashed me a quick smile from her seat at the table, and Cassius moved from where he leaned against the large black marble island, to draw me into a hug. “Good to see you up and about.”
“Thanks. For the lift from the hospital, too.”
“That’s what friends are for, babe.” He kissed the top of my head, then let me go, crossing over to the kitchen table, where he sank into a chair next to Weston.
Zayde remained where he was, next to the island, his sharp gaze assessing me. I bit my lip, uncomfortable with his stare, but forced myself to hold his gaze. After the longest thirty seconds of my life, our silent stare-off ended as I blinked, and a smirk played across his full lips. “Good to see you in one piece.” He stepped towards me and leaned down to kiss my non-bruised cheek, his stubble grazing my skin.
I gaped at him, and then my attention was diverted by a glint of silver. “You got another piercing?” I was positive I hadn’t seen the small stud in the… “What’s that bit of your ear called?”
“Helix.” He stared at me for a moment, then leaned closer, his voice low, the words sounding like they’d been dragged out of him. “I had to do something.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, mystified, but he’d already drawn away, striding quickly around the table as if he had to put as much distance between us as possible. Shaking my head, I chalked it up to another one of the many things I didn’t understand about him and made my way to join the others. I sank down into a chair next to Caiden, and he handed me my can of Coke. Opening it, I took a large swig, savouring the cool, sweet fizz as it slid down my throat, then placing the can back on the table, I looked around at the Four and Kinslee.
I needed to know what had happened to me. The last thing I remembered before waking up in hospital was being pulled back as I tried to escape. I chewed my lip, my heart racing as everything came flooding back to me once more—the darkness, the fear, and the sudden rush of pain before I became completely numb.
Gripping the sides of my chair, the smooth, solid wood under my fingers bringing me back to the present, I slowed my breathing, doing my trick of counting to ten silently. Once I’d gathered myself and was sure my voice would remain steady, I spoke. “Who wants to be the first to fill me in?”
Kinslee took a deep breath. “I guess I’ll start, since I got to you first. Not that I know much”—she glared at Caiden before returning her gaze to mine—“since no one would tell me anything. I had a phone call telling me that you’d had an accident, and to come straight to the hospital. I panicked—you’d told me you were going to see the Four, and I thought…” Her voice trailed off as she swallowed hard, visibly trying to compose herself.
“Hey, it’s okay.” I reached out and grabbed her hand. “Who called you?”
“The hospital.”
“So, how did I get there?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. All the hospital would tell me was that you’d been ‘dropped off’—they didn’t know who had brought you there.”
I stared at her, my brow furrowed. “How come they called you, anyway?”
“Your student ID card. I guess they got hold of the university, and I’m listed as your emergency contact.” Leaning closer to me, she lowered her voice a little. “You scared me, with the way you looked. I didn’t know what to do, so I phoned Weston. Then the next thing I know, three of them are at the hospital with me, taking over. They wouldn’t leave you, especially with no one knowing what had happened, if there was still a threat. We couldn’t risk your safety. I stayed with you, too, as much as I could.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, squeezing her hand. Why hadn’t I confided in her sooner? “I owe you an explanation, and maybe I’d better do it before the boys give me their part of the story.” I glanced over at Caiden, and he nodded, once.
“Okay. Well, it all started with my dad…”
I told her the entire story, holding nothing back—why I’d come to Alstone, the reason the Four had been so hostile to me to begin with, and our suspicions about my mother. Throughout it all, Kinslee sat, a stunned expression on her face, her eyes filling with tears as I spoke about my dad, widening as I recounted meeting Petr, and then narrowing in anger as I got to the final part, where I’d stupidly decided to go to the docks alone.
“If you weren’t so bruised still, I’d throttle you for being so careless with your own safety. Seriously, Winter. You’re lucky that nothing worse happened to you.”
“Kins. Not now.” Cass frowned at her, and she sat back in her seat with a huff.
The Four took it in turns to recount their side of the events, glossing over the details of their evening at Alstone Members Club, and concentrating on how they’d received my message when they’d left, and come to find me straight away. I added how I’d driven to the docks and seen the boat and the three figures, and someone had hit me over the head.
When I recounted my time in the basement room, and my experience with my captor, the atmosphere in the room grew strained, to put it mildly. Caiden pulled me onto him and banded his arms around my waist, tension rolling off him in waves. Zayde flicked his knife open and closed, over and over, his jaw clenched, and Weston stood, pacing up and down, his eyes darkening. His expressive face showed everything he was feeling—fury, worry, helplessness—they were all there.