Page 48 of Midnight Salvation

“Duly noted.” I could almost hear his grin down the phone. “Personally, if I gave a fuck I might have bothered to be there when it was selected. If I remember correctly, I helped pick the stones in another set.”

A faint smile appeared on my lips. “I wish this was all over.”

“It will be soon and then we can take a vacation to a certain beach house.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “Just remember, I’m always there with you.”

“Love you,” I whispered.

“Me too.”

I hung up and stared at my phone, my vision fading in and out of focus. I blamed it on the suppressed tears, but a fear was starting to gnaw deep inside me about my injury. The burning pain had been getting steadily worse all day and I felt hot and shaky. All I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and sleep. Another wave of nausea swept over me and terror threatened to paralyse me. Only sick people had to stay in the hospital and I had never been ill in my life apart from the occasional cold.

My greatest fear was that someone I loved would go into hospital and never return. What if it was me who was the person who died?

***

Chapter Fifteen

Ash

I hated family gatherings. The fact that Dad had thrown together this impromptu dinner and invited Mum, Aaron, and Oliver to meet Nicole and her family was slowly grating on my last fragile nerve.

Right now I should be with Lucrezia at the hospital. The doctor had been concerned the last time I spoke to him. She wasn’t responding to any of the medication he started and was slowly deteriorating.

“Ash!” My head snapped up at the sound of Dad’s voice. “I spoke to you twice and you didn’t answer.”

“Was it important?” I asked, pretending to squint slightly. “I have a migraine starting.”

Mum immediately went into her mothering role. “I think you left some of your medication here.”

I rarely had them anymore, but when they struck they were pretty grim. They gave me an excuse not to have to interact with the people at the table. I followed Mum into the kitchen.

“They can be a sign of stress,” she lectured. “You don’t have to marry anyone that you don’t want to.”

“I know, Mum,” I replied, kissing her forehead.

Lucas was insisting that Catarina wasn’t staying at the hospital. Sofia had been targeted, then Lucrezia, so he wasn’t taking any chances with his last daughter.

“Can I ask a favour, Mum?” I asked.

She put two tablets into my hand. “Absolutely.”

“I can’t discuss it here, but let’s leave together tonight, and I’ll explain what I need.”

Her brow furrowed as she handed me a glass of water. There were very few people I trusted in this world, but Mum had never let me down.

Nicole still pushed her food around her plate. I’d caught her security guard watching her earlier when he thought no one was looking. It seemed that both of us in this fake relationship had other people we cared about. Four people would definitely make our marriage bed crowded, unless we wanted it to turn into an orgy.

“I thought Oliver was engaged,” Dylan said, spearing a green bean with his fork.

“I am,” my brother replied. “She’s busy tonight and we weren’t given much notice.”

“Which month are you planning your wedding for?” Nicole asked. “Just in case I pick a date that clashes.”

“June,” Oliver replied. “Cynthia wants to get married on her birthday. She says it will be one less date that I need to remember.”

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