Luckily for me, the doctor takes that moment to arrive, offering me some respite from their teasing.
“Ms Frazer, how are you feeling today?”
“Like I’m being picked on,” I say.
The doctor chuckles.
“In terms of your pain levels?”
My siblings take that moment to stand, each kissing my cheek before moving to the door.
“See you later,” they all say in unison.
I look at Jax, who hasn’t moved. I smile, and he smiles back, my stomach fluttering as my pulse picks up. But gone is the tension, the stress from before.
It’s then I realise with Jax I feel safe, whole, for what feels like the first time in forever.
CHAPTER 55
JAX
“Go and stay with Jax. Get away, finish recuperating in peace. The world is not going to end if you leave Elijah and Caleb in charge.”
Kat opens her mouth, scowling at her friend.
“I promise to keep an eye on them,” Pen says.
Kat closes her mouth, her eyes moving to me. I know she feels we’ve ganged up on her, but she still has a long way to go before she’s fighting fit. Her body has taken quite a battering, and despite being at her mum’s, she’s not switched off.
The infection has finally gone, but she still has to heal, both physically and mentally, from the trauma.
“Fine, but I’m holding you responsible if either of them messes up,” she says, staring her friend down.
Pen salutes her with a grin.
The woman in charge visited Kat at Pen’s request. She promised that nothing is going to happen without her prior knowledge. Her specialist team is still working through the files we uncovered, tying them together with the information they found in Sir Leonard’s hidden office and building their case. Over the weeks, they’ve removed the files, bit by bit, to another location. The hotel is now back to being government-free.
I’m not sure Kat trusts her, but thankfully, she still trusts Pen.
But Francesca is concerned that Kat is not switching off. She caught her on the telephone to Michael, despite Elijah being there.
When the family first met to discuss where Kat would recuperate, Francesca wanted Kat with her. No one vetoed this, as Francesca needed her daughter as much as she needed her mother. Although Caleb and Gabriel were sceptical, as it would give Kat too much access to work, and given the ongoing investigation, they may need to question Francesca further about her role in hiding evidence.
The aim has been to allow Kat to recover without any stress, after two weeks in hospital recovering and four weeks at home, her brothers have realised that’s an impossibility with her staying at Frazer Manor.
“I don’t want to go and recuperate in another hotel,” Kat huffs. “No offence,” she says, looking at me.
“Maybe we don’t have to stay in a hotel,” I say.
Her gaze meets mine. “What do you mean?”
“I have a cabin. It’s in Yorkshire. I built it a couple of years ago.”
“You have a cabin in the UK?”
“You sound surprised?”
“I suppose I am. I always assumed you’d settle down in the US. It has, after all, been your home for the past sixteen years.”
