I nod. “We got lucky. Very fucking lucky.”
“And Elodie did this?” He half-heartedly gestures to Caden’s stomach.
“Yes. I couldn’t – you know.”
“No.” Alfie holds a hand up to silence me. “I know. It’s all good, bro.”
My brain can’t even fathom the prospect of what could have happened if Elodie wasn’t here tonight. If I’d brought Caden back to an empty house.
A sickness rises in my chest that I swallow down, dismiss it entirely.
Higgins insists on checking me over, although I have no injuries. I feel a bit bashed up, but no skin’s broken, no bones fractured. I’m fine. And Higgins concurs once he’s checked me out.
Before he leaves, he tells us to let Caden rest, that ideally, he should be on bed rest for several days, but he knows Caden won’t listen to those instructions. So, he tells us to keep an eye on him, try to convince him to take it easy, and he’ll come back and check on him. Once the bag’s empty, we can discard it, and he should be fine.
I walk him to the door and whistle for the dogs to come back inside.
Once he’s driven away and the dogs are back inside, hovering around the dining table with Caden unconscious on top, I fall back into one of the chairs.
Alfie’s still staring at his cousin with a blank expression, making me itch to know what he’s thinking. Does he blame me, does he know it’s my fault?
“I tried my best,” I mumble.
“I know you did,” Alfie says, finally dragging his eyes away to look at me. “Don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault. There wasn’t supposed to be that many guys there.”
“But there was, and I made us go in.”
“Because this shit doesn’t usually happen.” He flourishes a hand over Caden’s body. “You’ve been in worse situations than this, and Caden’s usually on point. He’s never been caught out this bad before.”
I chew on my thumbnail. Bob comes over to me and nuzzles my leg. I reach down and stroke him. “So, what are you saying?”
Alfie looks at his cousin. “I’m saying Caden’s not all there right now, and it could cost him his life if he doesn’t sort it out.”
I gulp down, looking back at Cade. “You think it’s Elodie.”
He nods. “I think it’s Elodie because the same thing’s happening to me. She’s got in my head. I feel like I’m losing the plot. I just want us all to get along. If we did, I don’t think Caden would be so distracted.”
I bite so hard on my thumb it pinches. I drop my hand into my lap. “Once The Hunt’s over, she’ll comply. She has to.”
Alfie sighs. “She won’t.”
“Then I’ll make her,” I say, voice hardening. I like this girl a lot, she’s probably been scrambling my own brain recently as well, but if she’s the reason Caden’s not on top form, if she’s the reason he’s so distracted, we need to fix this. By any means necessary.
CHAPTER 31
ELODIE
I’m getting ready for bed when Caden’s bedroom door swings open. I step out of the bathroom in one of Caden’s long T-shirts that falls almost to my knees, seeing Alfie and Fiz carry a sleeping Caden to his bed, an IV dragging along with them.
My heart drops.
“He’s sleeping in his own bed tonight,” Alfie says, coming over to me while Fiz arranges Caden’s body under the duvet. “The guy’s sacrificed this room for you but I think he deserves some comfort.”
“No, of course,” I say, “I can sleep some-”
“I need you to stay here with him, El,” Alf says, looking down at me. “This is your room too. Fiz is too knackered, he needs to sleep too. And I have to head back out tonight. I need you to do this for me, El.”
The annoying thing is I would do anything this man asks of me when he speaks in that gentle tone. No matter what our dynamic currently is, I’d still do anything. The thought is too overwhelming to dissect right now.
