‘I get it,’ I say. ‘I think I felt the same when Mom…’
He pulls me closer to him and wraps an arm around my shoulder with a nod.
Mav, sitting on the other side of the aisle, reaches over and takes my other hand. When the plane dips and the ache in my ears intensifies, the pain must show on my face because he produces some black and white striped mints that I remember Douglas always used to have on him at The Heath.
‘Thanks,’ I say, and pop one into my mouth, sucking intently and trying to ease the pressure.
He does the same though Shade and Blake don’t seemto be suffering at all. Luckily, the descent doesn't take that much longer, and before I know it, the wheels are thudding onto the runway, the brakes screaming.
Within ten minutes, we’re in a black town car and speeding toward Richmond.
It's dark and I’m not sure of the time, but it must be around two or three am.
'What happens when we get back?' I ask.
Shade pulls me close in the car. 'I don't know.’
I snuggle against him. ‘Have you heard any more information about…what happened to your dad?'
He shakes his head. 'No, but I’ll need to go and see the detective in the morning. I’ve already had a couple of missed calls from her.'
‘The same one who took over from Black?’ I ask.
‘Yeah. Detective Anders.’
'What time is it now?' I ask, yawning.
Even with the nap on the flight, I still feel pretty exhausted, probably because I haven’t been sleeping well for two weeks.
He checks his watch. ‘About two.'
‘Have you heard anything from Sauvage?' Mav asks.
'Nothing specific, but he says he's awake, and as soon as we get to the hotel, we should find him in his office.'
'Goodie,' Mav mutters, leaning back and closing his eyes.
I sit between him and Shade. Each of them has a hand on my thigh, and when I straighten my legs out, my foot grazes Blake's leg so I can touch all three of them.
He smiles at me and traps my foot between his ankles, opening his laptop and starting to do his thing, whatever that is.
I lean my head back and close my eyes contentedly. Thenext thing I know, we’re in the underground parking lot beneath the hotel, and the car eases to a halt beside the elevator that leads to the penthouse. We get out and go to the elevator. Blake produces a black card which unlocks it and the doors slide open.
He looks over at us with his fingers hovering over the buttons. ‘Sauvage first?’
‘Daisy, you should go and sleep,’ Shade says.
But I shake my head. ‘No, I want to come with you. No secrets.’
Blake snorts at me and I look down at my feet, my cheeks heating.
‘I mean, I know I keep saying that,’ I glance up at them, ‘but for real this time. I don’t have any more skeletons in my closet. Promise.’
I find myself in Mav’s arms, and I let out a relieved sigh, glad they don’t seem pissed at me for not telling them every sordid detail about The Heath before. Although, I think I might also be a tiny bit disappointed that there won’t be a punishment from Shade for keeping things from them again.
I shiver a little at the thought as Mav presses the button to the right floor. I keep my hand touching him when he pulls back and gives me a smile.
I don’t want to be out of their sights even for a moment right now. Logically, I know it’s silly. I’m safe here, but the thought of being alone with my thoughts after the past few days is a hard no.
