Page 26 of Degradation
‘She doesn’t like it when she’s treated like she’s stupid, Shade. Jesus, dude, you had us believing she was a few crayons short of a box. Me and Mav thought she was dumb as a rock before she started working in the lab with us. What else isn’t true? Why was she in that place, huh, that spa medical center for rich people? What did she do ten years ago?’
Shade looks away. ‘Don’t play dumb. You already know. I’ll bet you did your digging the first day she was here.’
I shrug. ‘Yeah, I did. And I’ve heard some rumors, seen some old newspaper articles, too. But you Novelles did a great job of hiding it. Maybe I want the full story. Maybe I want you to tell me.’
‘Maybe you should askher, since you guys are so damn close,’ Shade snorts, stepping back.
I chuckle. ‘Keep the green-eyed monster at bay, would you?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about!’ he spits back.
I laugh darkly as I hear the shower stop and Shade goes into his room, leaving the door open so that he can watch me take Daisy back to her room.
I roll my eyes. There’s something up with him, and it’s not just about the semi-secret feelings he’s harboring for Daisy. He was trying to find Sark at the party last night. Maybe he’s getting pressured because the pills aren’t ready yet. I grit my teeth. This was only meant to be a side project. I take my phone out to message Mav quickly. Maybe his brother, Dom, will tell us if Shade is keeping something back.
I see I have a message from Jolie, and I delete it absently without even reading it as I knock and open the door to the now steamy bathroom.
‘Are you done?’ I ask Daisy.
I look straight at her, eyes roaming her body. I know it’s not the right time. I know I shouldn’t watch her, but I can’t help myself. Whatever was stopping me before is gone after my little chat with Shade just now.
But what I see has me clenching my hands and wanting to bury my fist in a wall. I keep my anger in check, not wanting to scare her again, but she’s covered in scrapes and bruises. Jesus, that girl went to Hell and back last night.
‘How many times did you trip out there?’ I blurt before I consider my words.
She looks over her shoulder at me and shrugs, but as she turns around and I help her out of the tub, I see even more that couldn’t be from just falling over.
I put a towel around her and pick her up gently, carrying her to my room and ignoring her protests. It’s not because I know it’ll piss Shade off.
Okay, it’s a little bit because I know it’ll piss Shade off, but mostly I want her where I know she’s safe, and I have some work to do.
I sit her down on my bed and grab the bandage from her room.
‘How are you feeling?’
‘A little better, I think,’ she says with a yawn.
‘Are you hungry yet?’
She shakes her head, and I rewrap her ankle, wincing a little when I hear her pained gasp.
‘Sorry,’ I mutter. ‘Do you want me to grab you some clothes?’
She glances up at me. ‘Can I just have the robe back?’
I’m rising to go get it from where I hung it in the bathroom when Shade saunters in. He’s carrying it.
‘Here,’ he says.
She stands up carefully, her bad foot only just resting on the floor to give her balance. She loses the towel, and I see Shade’s jaw tighten.
‘What else happened to you last night?’ he asks, holding the robe out of reach as he looks at the black and blue canvas of her body.
‘Give me the robe and I’ll tell you.’
Shade raises a brow and steps close, putting it around her shoulders and tying it together.
‘Go on.’
