TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 128

One hundred and twenty eight

Evangeline POV

Cameron slept in the chair beside my bed. His head rested against the high back with his neck bent at an angle that would ache later. One arm hung over the side and his fingers brushed the floor. I watched him with a smile. My lips curved up on their own while I studied the slow rise and fall of his chest under the thin hospital blanket I had draped across him earlier.

I asked him to stay, and he did. No argument, no resistance. He chose to be here even if his head wasn’t. I didn’t need him awake to feel it. Even like this, there was distance. His body stayed in the chair but the rest of him had already drifted somewhere else. Still I had him with me, and that was enough for now. I reached out and traced one finger along the edge of his sleeve. The fabric felt warm from his skin.

His phone buzzed on the table within reach. The vibration rattled against the plastic tray. I brushed my fingers against his hand, light enough not to wake him. His skin stayed still under mine. He didn’t move. Even that used to be enough to pull him back to me. Now I had to hold on tighter just to feel anything from him. I let my hand rest there a moment longer, then pulled it back and folded it in my lap.

He woke up minutes later. His eyes opened and he blinked at the ceiling before he sat up straight. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and stood.

“I’ll go pick up your mom and Kade,” he said. His voice came out rough from sleep. He stepped out to freshen up first. The door clicked shut behind him and the room felt larger without him in it.

Mom walked in a short time later with Kade right behind her. She carried a small paper bag from the cafeteria and set it on the table. Her coat still had the faint smell of the car ride on it. 1

“How are you feeling?” she asked. She pulled the chair closer to the bed and sat down.

My response was a shrug. I lifted one shoulder and let it drop while I kept my face even.

Her eyes stayed on me. She leaned forward with her hands clasped between her knees. “You don’t look fine.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” I kept my tone light and glanced toward the window so she would not study my face too long. Keeps her calm. Keeps her from digging. If she starts asking real questions, she won’t stop.

Kade’s gaze moved between us. He stood near the foot of the bed with his arms crossed over his chest. I turned to him. “You heard what happened to your lover?”

“How bad is it?” He uncrossed his arms and rested one hand on the rail at the end of the bed.

“She’s in the hospital. They’re still running tests.”

“That serious?” Kade asked. His eyes stayed on me without blinking. “You don’t sound surprised.”

“Should I be?” Immet his stare and held it until he looked away first.

He was watching too closely. Not just listening. Watching. That meant he was already thinking something was off. I could see the questions forming behind his eyes.

“I’ll be back,” he said. He turned and stepped out into the hallway. His footsteps faded down the corridor.

I watched the empty doorway for a second, then turned back to my mother. She sat with her shoulders hunched forward and her fingers twisting the strap of her purse.

“This doesn’t feel right,” she said quietly. Her voice stayed just above a whisper.

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“What doesn’t?”

“Everything. You. This situation. I don’t like it. And I don’t want to be part of anything that—”

“I won’t stop now,” I cut in. I sat up straighter against the pillows and gripped the edge of the blanket with both hands. “No one can stop me.”

She was already pulling away. I could hear it in the way her words trailed off and in the small shake of her head. I couldn’t afford her stepping back now. Not when everything sat so close to falling into place.

She went quiet. The monitor beside the bed beeped once and then settled back into its steady rhythm.

“It’s already done. You said you didn’t want blood on your hands. Then don’t touch anything.”

She needed to understand that hesitation wouldn’t save her. It would only make things worse. I kept my voice level and watched her face until she looked down at her lap.

Outside the door, something shifted. The handle turned and Kade stepped back in. He closed the door behind him with a soft push and stood there with his back to it.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

I lifted my head from the pillow. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t do that,” he said. He took two steps closer to the bed. “Don’t pretend you don’t understand. I heard you.”

“Heard what?”

“Enough. Enough to know something is wrong.”

I watched him, then looked away toward the IV line taped to the back of my hand. The clear tube ran up to the bag hanging on the pole. “You’re imagining things.”

“Are you even sick?”

That almost made me smile. The corners of my mouth twitched before I pressed my lips together. So he had been thinking it. He just needed something to confirm it for himself.

“I’m protecting what’s mine,” I said. I kept my hands still on the blanket and met his eyes again.

“You’re crazy.”

I met his eyes. “And what are you going to do about it? And don’t you dare overstep.”

His eyes narrowed. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Is that a threat?”

“It’s a reality,” I said. “You push this, you don’t just expose me. You drag this family into it. Nothing stays clean.”

He wanted something clear to hold onto. A mistake. A confession. I wasn’t going to give him either. I kept my breathing steady and my face blank while he searched my expression.

He held my gaze, searching for something to hold onto. His jaw moved once but no words came out.

He wouldn’t find it.

“Cameron deserves to know the truth,” he said.

I looked at him. “Then go tell him. Go ahead. Say it. Watch what happens after. You won’t, because you already see how far this spreads.”

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unds and twenty eight

He turned and left without another word. The door closed behind him with a quiet latch.

The phone on the table buzzed. I reached for it and checked the screen.

A message from Dr. Beauty.

I opened it.

They’re monitoring her medication more closely. Possible testing. Be careful.

Shit

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