I could have been mistaken, but something of the look from those photographs momentarily touched his eyes. Then he turned and went back to his office. I sighed and Hudson pulled me into him. Forwhatever reason, he knew not to speak or maul me like he had done most nights.
We got into bed together, after he’d set the envelope with the photograph of my parents on the bedside table. He pulled me into him, so my head rested on his chest, right over my name. His fingers softly stroked my hair, every now and then brushing against the tattoo behind my ear. I couldn’t explain how I felt even if I tried but being here with him made everything easier.
Something was niggling at me, a sense of foreboding that something bad was going to happen. It took me a long time to fall asleep, well after Hudson’s breathing had evened out, his body occasionally twitching in his sleep.
I stared through the window at the inky dark sky for a long time, the noise from the clubhouse, both inside and out keeping me on the cusp of sleep and wakefulness. I heard footsteps and a door open and close nearby.
It would be Warren, going into his own room. For a second I thought about going to check on him, but I left it. Warren would come to me when he was ready and only then would I show him that photograph. The sky was beginning to lighten when I finally drifted off.
In the morning, we went downstairs together, I was a little blurry eyed. But when Hudson told me what had been planned for me, I woke right up.
“Are you trying to get rid of me?”
“No. You think I want you away from me right now?”
“I think my dad would like me as far away from this plan of his and packing me up to stay with Connor is the perfect excuse.”
Hudson stared at me from across the table. We were sat in the clubhouse kitchen, just the two of us, eating the breakfast he’d made after hurrying me to shower and dress and head downstairs.
I’d stopped being the cook and cleaner for the clubhouse, more like I’d just refused to pick it back up once I got back and no one questioned me about it. Besides, Hudson made better eggs and bacon than me. He was feeding me now, supplying me with copious amounts of coffee, just the way I liked it. He thought I couldn’t see through him, but he was wrong.
I’d overheard a few things and seen how the mood changed in the clubhouse. Whatever plan they had devised to lure Nytro out, they were about to put it in motion. And no one wanted me around for it. The only consolation was they weren’t locking me up but sending me to be with Connor.
He'd been on my mind constantly. I knew his fever broke but he was on stronger antibiotics, which couldn’t be great for him. If I was there, I’d be able to spend more time speaking to the doctor and nurses caring for him, find out what kind of thing we should expect for when he comes home. Plus, I could talk to him about Warren. Someone needed to do it.
This was the perfect plan to keep me away and I knew it had to have come from Hudson.
“We need to get something straight here,” I set my cutlery down and leaned forward in my chair. Hudson, the infuriating bastard just remained where he was, one hand around his coffee mug, staring at me nonchalantly.
“Okay,” he took a sip of coffee.
“No lies, no secrets. If we can’t be open and honest with each other, this isn’t going to work. I’m not some weak-willed little bitch you can pat on the head and send away whenever anything scary happens.”
“No one haseversaid that about you,” he pointed out.
“I may not need to know the finer details, or be a part of the plan,” I went on as if he hadn’t spoken. “But I don’t want to be lied to, or appeased. I may not like what you’re doing but I can’t spend my time losing my mind worrying something is going to happen to you, or Warren. I need to know what the possibilities are and not be blindsided, by anything. I hated it when we were kids and you three would disappear with no explanation. I’m not that kid anymore and neither are you. If this is going to work,” I indicated between the two of us. “It has to be based on trust.”
“Are you done?”
“I could go on for another half hour at least,” I scowled at him.
“No need,” he leaned forward and set his mug down. “War and I talked earlier and we are going to keep you up to date, but like you said, no involvement, no details, if we can’t tell you, we won’t, but we’ll never leave you uncertain about where we are.”
Well. Okay than. That was easy. Too easy.
“Jesus, we can’t win with you. I see you thinking there is some ulterior motive even now,” he smirked. “If you only believe one thing, believe that this,” he pointed between us, the same way I had earlier. “Is real and trust is a two-way thing. We made a lot of mistakes before, we didn’t communicate, and we messed up,” he scowled thinking about how things were way more messed up on his side, blaming himself when he shouldn’t be. “I agree completely, which is why I was going to tell you that we have a plan in place to entrap Nytro tonight.”
I was itching to ask about it, he could see it written all over my face. They’d took some photographs of me tied up the other day, Hudson was apologetic about it, but they were using it to lure the Kingsmen out. It wasn’t like I would be in any danger. It was part of the reason they wanted me away from Sussex.
I couldn’t stop myself from asking. “Are you going to ensure Mace gets through it alive?”
His eyes narrowed but if there was something he wanted to say about that, he reined himself in. “Before you freak out, it benefits the Devil’s to keep him alive,” he added begrudgingly. “Have a little faith in us.”
I scrunched up my lips, pressing them tightly together and Hudson laughed.
“You are so desperate to ask what the plan is right now.”
“Shut up.”
