Thicker Than Blood (Thicker Than Blood #1)(8)
A messy shock of dirty-blond hair came into view first that I instantly recognized as belonging to Jami, another Fredericksville guard and Evelyn’s latest distraction from her husband. Following behind him, her face stained with tears, her strawberry-blonde curls unusually messy and her hands wringing together, was Evelyn.
My shocked gaze slid to Alex, who gave me a small, sad grimace in return. He was helping me? Yet again?
I jumped off my stool, entirely forgetting that my ankles were cuffed, and ended up falling forward. I twisted my body just in time so as not to land flat on my face, allowing my right arm to bear the brunt of the impact. Sharp pain radiated up the limb, exploding in my neck, causing me to inadvertently cry out.
While I lay there, breathing heavily, tears stinging my eyes, I could hear the jingling of keys, the sound of muffled cursing, and then she was there, kneeling on the floor beside me, her hands gentle as she turned my body.
“Oh God,” Evelyn whimpered as she looked me over, her eyes widening at the sight of me. I couldn’t imagine what I must have looked like; I hadn’t looked in a mirror since the incident. But I knew from Alex’s initial expression, and now Evelyn’s, that I was a sight to behold.
“Eve,” I said as I sobbed softly. “I’m so sorry. I’m so very sorry.” Not for killing Lawrence but for leaving her here alone, because that was what she would be after I was gone—alone.
“Shh.” She shushed me, smoothing her hand across my cheek and brushing errant strands of hair from my eyes.
“No,” I whispered frantically, wishing I could hug her. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking, and I—”
“Lei,” she interrupted, softly yet firmly. “You have nothing to be sorry for. He got what was coming to him! He got—”
“Eve!” The agitated mutter belonged to Alex. “Keep your voice down!”
“You can’t be here,” I said, grabbing her wrist. Using her arm, I pulled myself upright to a sitting position.
Evelyn wrapped both her arms around me, then bowed her head, pressing our foreheads together. As she held me, I let out a shuddering sigh of relief. I inhaled slowly, smelling the sweat on her skin, the faint smell of liquor and…Jami.
I looked up, over Evelyn’s head at the guard she’d entered with. She wasn’t alone here. She had Jami, and if he had been willing to risk bringing Evelyn into the station just to visit me, his feelings must run deeper for her than he’d ever let on.
“You need to leave,” I said, pulling away from her as I forced back more tears that threatened. “You can’t be seen here supporting me, not after what I did. They’ll kill you for that, Eve.”
“I’m going to talk to Mason,” she said, refusing to let me go, squeezing me tighter. “There has to be something he can do, someone he can talk to.”
“Don’t get yourself in trouble for me!” I blurted out. Pushing away from her again, I attempted to scoot myself backward, a hard feat when handcuffed. “Why are you being so reckless?”
Realizing what I’d said, using the same words her late husband had always lovingly teased her with, guilt instantly flooded me.
Evelyn went still, her eyes filling with unshed tears. “You sound like Shawn,” she said quietly. A long, pregnant pause followed. “And you know what I always said to him.”
I nodded, feeling awful for her. “You always said, ‘That’s why you love me.’”
Evelyn gave me a sad smile. “And that’s why you love me too, Lei.”
My chest aching, I lowered my eyes. How I longed for our lives before the infection. For our silly, simple, and small lives in our quiet town where Evelyn had once been Miss Popularity and a doting housewife, and I had been the quiet and reserved preschool teacher. She had always been the complementary sun to my moon. I missed it all—our husbands, our weekly barbeques, our plans to vacation in Europe someday, our jokes about growing old together.
“I want to be with Thomas,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I’m not strong like you are.”
Evelyn threw her hands up in the air, her expression twisted with both hurt and exasperation. “Why are you so willing to leave, Lei?” she demanded. “To leave me! That isn’t what Thomas would have wanted for you, to just give up!”
“He wouldn’t have wanted any of this!” I shot back. “And he’s dead, Evelyn, he doesn’t want anything anymore!”
In a singular lithe movement, Evelyn jumped to her feet. Her hands planted on her hips, she glared down at me.
“I won’t let you die, Lei.” Her tone was forceful and stubborn, and so very Evelyn. “I won’t let you die.”
Then she turned on her boot heel, arms wrapped around her middle, and stormed out of my cell. Jami shot me a sympathetic look before quickly following her out.
When they were gone, Alex strode slowly into my cell. Bending at his knees, he offered me a hand. For a moment I simply stared up at him, taking in his features for what seemed like the first time, noting his closely shorn black hair and equally dark eyes. He looked tired yet alert, clean yet scruffy with several days’ growth covering his jaw.
It was one of those moments where you realized that, although you’d lived side by side with someone, you’d never truly noticed him before. How odd to have known someone for so long only to realize you didn’t know him at all, not even a little. I continued studying him, feeling as if I were missing something, wondering at all his recent kindnesses, when he’d never before seemed anything other than indifferent.