They left the room, followed after a pause by a silent Steven who didn’t look at us. For an instant, I felt sorry for him, facing an unknown future that sounded decidedly unpleasant. And then I remembered Nate collapsed unmoving on the floor, and my pity fled.
NATE
Once we were alone, Alex turned to me. “D’you need to sit down?”
The only thing I needed was Alex, in my arms and safe. He was already plastered against my side, a reassuring warmth, holding me steady, and I pulled him all the way into me, pressing my face against his neck and breathing in his scent. I’d been so scared for him that I’d been preternaturally calm about my likely fate.
“You’re safe,” I said nonsensically, and his arms tightened around me, his hand combing through my hair in a way that was so comforting, I wanted to stay here forever.
A while later, he drew back to look at me. “I want to get you out of this house while your grandfather’s still here.”
I was gladsomeone’sbrain was working. He frowned, suddenly. “Should you go to hospital? I’m not taking that bastard’s word for it that the drug was harmless.”
“Ifeelokay,” I said cautiously, because I did. Just a little odd, as if I were a couple of feet taller than usual and my head was full of clouds.
He let go of me to hunt around the room, then lay on his front and wriggled under a chair. As I was beginning to question if thedrugs were making a hallucinogenic comeback in my system, he emerged, clutching his phone.
“Right, let’s have a look. Oh, thank God,” he said in a running commentary. “Now that you’re awake, you’re out of danger and won’t need any medical attention.” Then his fingers clenched around his screen. “He could havekilledyou,” he gritted out, and when he looked at me, there was a martial spark in his gaze. “I’m going to fucking kill him.”
“Alex,” I said, not even knowing why. Because I could. Because he was here, and he was Alex, and I loved him.
“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s get out of here before we do anything else. Can you make it to your room so I can pack for you? I don’t want to leave you down here on your own, not with that bastard still around.”
I wanted to protest, to tell him I wasn’t helpless. I didn’t because it wasn’t true. He hovered beside me as I climbed the stairs, and then I sat on my bed and told him where everything was.
He was swift and efficient in gathering my things together, until he found my sleep pants with cartoon dragons. “What the—?” His eyes brimmed with laughter. “I thought you were a responsible adult.”
“What on earth gave you that idea?” I asked him.
He crossed the room to give me a quick kiss. “We should get you cleaned up before we go anywhere. You look like you belong in a horror movie.”
I did? Oh, yes, there’d been some blood, hadn’t there? “Still can’t believe he headbutted me,” I muttered.
“Maybe we should tell Bim to addthatto the account. I don’t know what that means, but it didn’t sound good. Why d’you think James wanted to see him privately?”
“James will be expressing remorse and suggesting ways to make amends.” My brain still felt soggy, but this was so familiar to me, it was deeply embedded. “Bim, with apparent reluctance, will row back to what was his default position all along. They’ll both come away thinking they’ve achieved the best outcome possible.”
“It sounds like how Margaret operates,” he said. “What was that your grandfather said? Draco something?”
“Latin for being banned from dragon society, more or less,” I told him.
“Can’t see why anyone would want to spend time with Fortescue arseholes anyway.”
Alex had always had a way of cutting straight to the point.
ALEX
We took Nate’s cases down to the hall. Or rather, I did. He said he was okay, but I wasn’t going to let him carry anything while he was so pale.
“You should eat something,” I realised.
The smile he gave me was one of such affection that my breath caught in my throat. “Could it be that Alex Teague is hungry again? Surely not.”
“I’m a growing boy,” I informed him.
Before he could enquire as to which part of me was currently growing, his grandfather descended the stairs.
“I would offer you a lift back to town, but I have the impression you have unfinished business here,” Bim said to Nate. “Come and see me on your return. We have a settlement to discuss.”
