“Go. Go,” he insisted, his gaze softening as he looked me over. “We know how to contact you if we need you. Some of us are down at the moment, but Beau and Chance are vigilant, and that’s no small thing.”
“How areyoufeeling?” I asked, my hand on the doorknob. When I’d seen him sitting up in bed, I’d somehow forgotten that he’d been injured almost as bad as my mother.
“I’ve a strong constitution,” he replied gruffly, his old accent barely noticeable in the words. “Go now. Back to your mate,Arne.”
I nodded. “Love you.”
“Love you too.”
“You’ll let her know I stopped in?” I nodded to my mother.
“Of course.”
I didn’t bother checking in on anyone else before heading to my room. Beau and Reese were fine—probably in bed, which was where they were half the time—and Ambrose had his hands full dealing with Lucy.
I was startled by Charles sitting halfway up the stairs to my room.
“I thought I heard your voice,” he said, shooting me a lopsided grin. He looked beyond me. “She’s not here?”
“No.” My brother’s mate looked like he hadn’t slept. His normally tidy hair was sticking out at all angles, and his face looked like shit after the beating he’d received the night before.
“Oh,” he said softly. “Well, I just wanted to come say hi.”
“It’s good to see you,” I replied gently. Charles always looked like a stiff breeze could knock him over, but after the last twenty-four hours, he appeared even more fragile. “Lucy’s going to be fine, right?”
“Yeah, she is,” he said, rising to his feet. “Ambrose told me to be patient, but—” He shrugged. “Not my strong suit. I’m going crazy waiting around.”
“Chance is downstairs cleaning up. I’m sure he could use the help,” I offered. I could hear him cursing a mop bucket in the living room. “Keep you busy, at least.”
“Good idea.” He smiled and started down the stairs.
“Hey, Charlie?”
He turned to look at me and lifted his eyebrows in question.
“You did good last night.”
Charles scoffed. “It’s pretty easy to get kidnapped.”
“It isn’t easy to put yourself in danger. Don’t sell yourself short. You came through when we needed you.”
He shrugged.
“If you hadn’t done what you did, I wouldn’t have found her,” I reminded him quietly.
His lips pulled up in a small smile. “Tell Rosemary I said hello.”
I jerked in surprise. “You know her name?”
He frowned. “She introduced herself last night.”
Shit.
“Keep it to yourself, all right?” I asked, trying to keep my voice level.
“Okay,” he replied, the word drawn out.
“The less people know about her, the safer she is.”
