Emmett purses his lips. “Well, I don’t think I could set you loose on the locals. I’ll get some more blankets.”
I blink as they nod at each other, forming some sort of silent agreement,, before Emmett ducks out and Jess turns back to me. She swallows as she steps back, taking me in in my dirty dress. “Oh, Si.”
My lip wobbles. “Jess.”
She points her finger. “You’ve got thirty minutes before you can fall apart on me. Is there a shower in this place?”
She wrinkles her nose when I nod. “Good. You’re going to have a long soak in the shower, and then we can talk.”
Bending down, Jess grabs a large backpack from the floor and starts unzipping it, digging around until she produces a bottle of shampoo. “Go on. I’ve got spare clothes in here you can put on. Turn around and I’ll do your dress.”
My shoulders shake as she gently undoes the buttons lining the back of my dress, before she nudges me forward. “Shower. I’ll see if the new member of our trio has any coffee downstairs.”
Holding up my dress and clutching the shampoo, I head obediently towards the door before I turn around.
“Jess?”
She turns, pushing her hair back. “Yeah?”
I manage a wobbly smile. “I wish you hadn’t come, but I’m really glad you’re here.”
Jess sniffs, but I catch the gleam in her eyes. “Like fuck was I letting them send you over the wall on your own. Good job Monty taught me how to use a gun.”
I choke. Monty, Jess’s butler, must be close to a hundred. “He did?”
“Yep. I knew it’d come in handy one day.” She points, giving me a stern look. “Shower. Clean. Then crying.”
Nodding, I take her at her word, spending a good twenty minutes washing all of the forest filth, the sweat from my fever off my skin. The bruising on my arm is still a garish green, and I turn away from it. I try not to notice the bones poking out, the protruding feel of my ribs beneath my fingers as I wash.
God, it feels good to be clean. As I climb out, Jess sticks her head around the door and tosses me some clothes. “Coffee’s on, bitch. Time for tears and retribution.”
I snort out a laugh as I pull on the pajamas. They’re ridiculously loose on me, and I catch Jess’s look of concern when I look up from pulling the drawstring as tight as they’ll go.
Another mattress has been dragged into the bedroom when I enter, a neat pile of blankets and a pillow at one end. Jess is stripping the bed briskly, swapping out the dirty sheets for fresh white ones. Emmett stands in the middle of the room, wild-eyed with a tray of coffee in his hands.
“I’m sorry we’re invading your space,” I say awkwardly. He shrugs, the tips of his ears tinging pink. “It’s pretty boring up here. Nice to have some company for a change.”
I don’t miss the way his eyes follow Jess, but he glances away when she springs upright, puffing hair away from her face. “Done.”
Emmett puts the tray down on the table, grabbing the empty jug. “I’ll leave you two to it. Help yourself to anything you need from the kitchen, but just watch out for anyone hanging around.”
“Thanks,” Jess says begrudgingly. “Sorry for threatening to shoot you.”
He gives her a cool look. “Threaten all you want. You wouldn’t have gotten very far if you’d tried.”
She huffs, her cheeks darkening again as she looks away. “Guess we’ll never know.”
“Nope.” Emmett pops the ‘p’ as he passes me, giving me a smile. “You need anything, Sienna? More painkillers?”
Jess’s shoulders tense, but I wave him off. “You made sure I was pretty well stocked. Thanks, Emmett.”
After he leaves, Jess collapses down on her mattress. I perch on the bed.
“I can’t believe you came after me,” I say softly. “Jess.”
“Like I said, I wasn’t going to leave you on your own.” Her eyes slide away. “Your parents… they weren’t doing so well. I left them a note with Monty.”
“How’d he take it?” Monty is very protective of Jess. All her staff are.
