I strip out of my clothes and slide into bed. I hold Ella to me, just like last night, and breathe her in. After a moment, I’m finally able to calm down. Because everything is always better when it’s just Ella and me, and she’s in my arms. Exactly where she’s supposed to be.
I just wish her safety wasn’t on the line to be there.
32
ELLA
“It’s nice to see your eyes open, Ms. Hale,” Asher says, brushing my hair back from my forehead.
I blink and stretch, trying to put my thoughts in order. My brain is mush. Asher is shirtless and in bed with me, but it’s light in the room. Definitely too light to be morning.
“What time is it?” I croak.
“Five-thirty. You’ve been sleeping for almost forty-eight hours.”
“What? Why?”
“Do you remember what happened in the security room at work?”
I think back. It takes a minute, but memories click into place. “Emily fainted. And then maybe I fainted too? I’m not sure.”
“You did. The stalker letter you received had been tampered with,” he says, and quiet anger bleeds through his tone. “It was laced with poison.”
It takes a minute to understand his words. Then they hit me. “Laced with poison? Is Emily okay?” She held onto the letter much longer than I did.
“You were both rushed to the hospital, and I made sure you both had the best care available. Her case was more severe than yours, but she has fully recovered as well.”
“Thank god,” I say through a sigh.
“How is your head? I’m supposed to ask about your pain per Alec’s orders. You hit your head pretty hard when you fainted.”
“I don’t feel anything.” But as I notice the IV in my hand, I realize I’m probably on some heavy pain meds. No wonder I’ve been sleeping constantly. “Wait, Alec? Like, Zahra’s Alec?”
“He’s your resident doctor.”
“Oh god. I wasn’t stripped down or anything, was I?”
Asher chuckles. “Yes, you were, to get you in a hospital gown. But Alec is a professional.”
I groan. “And my old roommate.”
“Who knows if he was even there when you were stripped down. Doctors are usually the last people in the room.”
“That’s true. Let’s hope so.”
“Let’s focus on what matters: you.”
“Me.”
“You gave me quite the scare, Ms. Hale.”
“How did this all happen? I can’t believe the stalker letter was laced with poison. That sounds like a bad movie. And how did it get through the vetting process?”
Asher’s jaw ticks and his eyes flash with anger. “The letter came from the stalker, but the poison didn’t. It was tampered with after it arrived in the mail.”
“I don’t understand.” My mind is still slushy. “If the letter was tampered with after it arrived at Langford Holdings, does that mean someone inside the company did this?”
“Very good, Ms. Hale. Your mind is not as slurry as your words.”
