Chương 5
Victoria gave him a flat look.
“You mean with your assault or mine?”
He accepted the word without flinching.
“Both.”
Rosa looked between them.
“That would be smart.”
Victoria shot her a look.
Rosa shrugged again.
Marcus rubbed his jaw.
“I’m calling Dr. Patel to come here.”
Elena frowned.
“No.”
“You need to be examined.”
“I can go later.”
“No.”
“Mr. Vale.”
“Elena.”
His tone was not angry, but it carried the old authority of someone accustomed to getting agreement after sounding reasonable.
Elena had obeyed that tone for years.
This time she did not.
“I said no.”
Marcus paused.
Rosa stood.
“Good.”
Marcus looked at her.
Rosa raised both hands.
“She said no.”
He exhaled through his nose.
“All right.”
Victoria watched him back down.
Something flickered across her face.
Maybe surprise.
Maybe envy.
Elena looked down at Leo.
His breathing had evened out.
One fist rested beneath his chin.
She could feel the tiny damp patch where his tears had soaked through her collar.
“Can someone bring ice?” Elena asked.
She started toward the stairs.
“Rosa.”
Victoria’s voice stopped her.
Rosa turned.
Victoria looked almost embarrassed.
“For her hip.”
Rosa studied her for a moment.
“Yes.”
She walked away.
Marcus waited until she disappeared around the corner.
“Did you come home because of the camera?”
Victoria’s face tightened.
“No.”
“Then why were you upstairs?”
“I live here.”
“You know what I mean.”
Victoria looked toward Elena.
Elena shifted.
“I can leave the room.”
“No,” Marcus said.
Victoria laughed quietly.
“Of course not.”
Marcus looked at her.
“If we’re talking about something that concerns Elena, she stays.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“Then we move somewhere else.”
Victoria glanced at the carrier.
“Everything concerns Elena now.”
Elena almost objected.
She was too tired.
Marcus folded his arms.
“What happened before she came into the nursery?”
Victoria stood.
“I don’t want to do this in front of her.”
“That’s fair.”
The answer surprised Elena.
Marcus gestured toward the sitting room.
“We can talk in there.”
Victoria did not move.
Marcus waited.
After a moment, she said, “I had a call.”
“With who?”
“That’s none of Elena’s business.”
“You’re right.”
Marcus turned to Elena.
“We’ll be right there.”
Elena stared at him.
He seemed to hear the implication.
“I mean nearby.”
“I know what you meant.”
Marcus nodded once.
Victoria walked toward the sitting room.
Marcus followed.
At the doorway, Victoria looked back.
Her gaze went first to Elena, then to Leo.
She hesitated.
“Is he asleep?”
“Yes.”
“Completely?”
“Almost.”
Victoria nodded.
Then she disappeared into the room.
Marcus remained in the doorway another second.
“Elena.”
“Yes?”
“If she comes near you again before we sort this out, you call me.”
Elena met his eyes.
“What if you’re the one I need to call someone about?”
He went still.
She had not planned to say it.
The sentence simply arrived.
Marcus looked down at the floor.
“That’s fair too.”
He went inside.
The door stayed open.
Elena could hear voices but not words.
She leaned her head against the wall.
Her entire body had begun to ache now that the danger had passed.
Adrenaline was cruel that way.
It lent you money and came back quickly for repayment.
Leo shifted.
Elena slipped one finger between the carrier and his cheek to make sure the fabric was not pressing against his mouth.
He sighed.
For the first time since Victoria kicked her, Elena felt something close to tears.
She blinked them away.
She did not want to cry in the hallway.
She especially did not want to cry where a hidden camera might exist.
The thought made her look up.
There were no obvious cameras in the corridor.
That meant nothing now.
Rosa returned carrying a dish towel wrapped around a bag of frozen peas.
Elena stared at it.
“You couldn’t find an ice pack?”
“I found three.”
“And?”
“They were warm.”
Elena blinked.
“Warm?”
“Ask the people who buy six refrigerators and put the medical things in the broken one.”
A laugh escaped Elena before she could stop it.
It hurt her side.
She winced.
Rosa handed her the peas.
“Laugh quieter.”
“That was your fault.”
“Everything is my fault in this house.”
Elena pressed the cold bag against her hip.
The relief was immediate and painful.
Rosa sat beside her.
For several seconds neither woman spoke.
Then Rosa said, “You should leave.”
Elena looked at her.
“Today?”
“I mean the job.”
Elena stared at the floor.
The hallway lights reflected in the dark wood in long pale stripes.
“I need the job.”
“You need bones that work too.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
Elena adjusted the peas.
“My mother’s rent went up.”
Rosa’s face softened.
“I know.”
“My brother still isn’t working full-time.”
“I know that too.”
“And I have health insurance here.”
“Bad health insurance.”
“It’s still insurance.”
Rosa sighed.
“You always do this.”
“Do what?”
“Make the bad thing sound necessary.”
Elena looked at her.
“What would you like me to do?”
“I would like you to have a rich aunt.”
“That would help.”
“In Miami.”
“Why Miami?”
“No reason.”
Elena smiled despite herself.
The voices from the sitting room rose.
Marcus said something sharply.
Victoria answered louder.
Rosa glanced toward the open door.
“There goes the calm discussion.”
Elena’s smile disappeared.
A second later Victoria stepped into the hallway.
Her face was wet.
She wiped it angrily with both hands.
Marcus appeared behind her.
“Victoria.”
“Don’t.”
“Please.”
“No.”
She walked toward the bench.
Elena tensed automatically.
Victoria saw it.
She stopped several feet away.
The recoil on her face was instant.
“You think I’m going to kick you again.”
Elena did not answer.
Victoria looked at her hands.
“I’m not.”
Marcus stayed near the doorway.
Victoria turned toward him.
“Tell her.”
Marcus shook his head.
“I can’t tell her what you’re going to do.”
Victoria’s mouth twisted.
“You’ve really decided to become noble in the last ten minutes.”
“No.”
May you like
He looked exhausted.
“I’ve decided not to pretend I know more than I do.”
