“Thanks.”
“I’m not doing this for you, cookie,” she replied. “I’m in this all for Devi. She’s a good girl.”
I took the underlining threat in stride. “All the same.” Handing the phone back to Devi, I let her say her goodbyes.
Once they were off the phone, Devi handed me back my phone, and asked, “What now?”
“Do you really want to know?”
And because the woman was nothing if not honest, she said, “I’m not sure.”
I took her face in my hands and kissed her forehead before telling her, “I will always do my best to keep you separate from what you need to be separated from, Devi. I promise.”
“Bu then…that doesn’t give me all of you, does it?” she said, surprising me. “If you do that, then all I get are the safe pieces of you.”
She was right. “So, what do you want me to do, Devi? Tell me, and I’ll do it.”
Devi took a deep, steady breath. “What happens next?”
And so, I told her.
Chapter 18
Devi~
After Cassius had told me the plan, he’d had Keith drive me home, ordering him to stay with me until he showed up, and I was okay with that. I think we both were. Keith’s guilt had him readily agreeing, and I think it was my brother’s way of trying to prove my safety was important, contrary to the situation he had put us in.
So, while Keith had driven me home, Xavier had taken care of the farmhouse, Atticus had gone to the hospital to sit with Kim and get a feel from the doctors and cops, and Cassius had gone looking for Baker, the guy who had knocked Kim out.
I, in turn, had taken a hot bath, eaten a late dinner with my brother, and had passed out. I’d been positive that I wouldn’t be able to sleep until Cassius came back, but adrenaline crashes were no joke. Bathed, fed, and tired as hell, I had fallen asleep the second I had gotten comfortable on the couch.
And now, I felt a warm hand rubbing up and down my arm. “Baby?”
My eyes fluttering open, it took a second, but Cassius’ face finally came into focus. “Cassius?”
He gave me a tender smile. “It’s me, baby.”
I jackknifed into a sitting position, almost smashing his face with my skull. “Oh, God…what…are you okay?”
He was crouched down in front of the couch. “I’m good.”
More alert, I looked around. “Where’s my brother?”
“When I got here, I told him he could head out.”
“Kim?”
“She’s home,” he said. “Atticus took her home a couple of hours ago.”
I ran my hands down my face. “Jesus,” I mumbled. “What time is it?”
“It’s late. I was just waking you up because you asked me to, or else I would have just carried you to bed.”
My eyes filling with worry, I asked, “Is…is everything…take…taken care of?”
“You don’t need the details, but, yes, Devi, everything is taken care of,” he promised. “I still need to have a talk with your brother, but everything is okay.”
“And Kim is going to be fine?”
