Dad is dead.
He’s dead, and I don’t feel anything.
Maybe it’s the painkillers that Royal picked up from the pharmacy.
Maybe it’s . . . relief.
“We can call Berto if you want. I know your phone is probably toast. I’ll have a new one ready for you tomorrow. But we can use mine to call him.” Royal is so quick to try to make it better. “We can call your mom too. I still have your phone cloned.”
I shake my head and lean against him. “No, that’s okay.”
“Antonella?” Royal offers, and it’s the sweetest thing.
“I’m okay.” I reassure him. “My dad is dead, but I don’t feel anything about it. Relief, maybe.”
“I’m trying to put myself in your shoes, and it’s easier to see why you’d feel relieved the deeper I look.”
Royal draws slow breaths, and I mimic them. My eyelids are getting heavier by the second.
“Come on.” Royal shuffles, carefully supporting me while alsohelping me move to lie down. “Let’s get you all snug as a bug while I pack. You can rest up before dinner.”
“I should go help your mom.” I yawn and try to push up.
“She’s got it just fine. She wants you to rest.” Royal tucks a blanket up over the top of me.
I can hardly fight sleep as the feeling of being the safest I’ve ever been settles over my body.
54
ROYAL
GO AND HURRY BACK
I’m desperately tryingto make myself go. But I’ve run through my ‘one more thing’ checklist with Leticia almost twice now.
Leticia cocks a brow, showing she’s frustrated with me double-triple-checking that she knows how to navigate the computers we’ve worked on all week together.
“Royal, I promise. I know how to do the things and get in touch with you. Valor also knows how to do all these things and can help me if I get stuck.” She waves her phone. “I’m also quite competent at using this to call Valor and Antonella.”
But... no objection comes. I nod and give her another kiss. “Alright, be safe. Don’t overdo it. I know you’ve never broken a bone before, but it’s a lot of healing. You should sleep a lot and get rest. Mom can handle cooking, and we have people who do the cleaning.”
If we stayed, we’d make sure she wasn’t doing unnecessary things with the injury.My wolf points out, but I shove him away, trying to concentrate and make sure Leticia promises to behave.
“I know. I’ll be bored. It’ll be fine.” Leticia pushes my suitcase with her leg, and it rolls toward me without any effort. “Go so you can hurry up and come back.”
I want to argue with her that the contract is for two weeks, so it doesn’t matter how fast I get there. I’ll be back at the same time. But I don’t.
Begrudgingly, I take the suitcase up the stairs, Leticia’s little footsteps following me. I roll it across the floor and wave to Mom, who is reading a cookbook at the kitchen counter.
“Fly safe,” she murmurs, then leans toward the cookbook as if a closer proximity will make it make more sense to her, or maybe she needs reading glasses.
I want to ask, but a little tug comes to the back of my shirt.
I turn around, and Leticia looks up at me with her big, beautiful blue eyes. “Ask me again?”
My heart flutters a beat, and from the corner of my eye, I catch Mom giving up discretion and turning to shamelessly watch us.
She wants us!My wolf doesn’t seem surprised, more so excited by the question.
