Fifty Shades Freed (Christian & Ana)(229)

Taylor, too! But I don't dwell on that as my chicken soup distracts me. It smells delicious, and steam curls invitingly from its surface. I take a taste and it's everything it promised to be.

"Good?" Christian asks, perching on the bed again.

I nod enthusiastically and don't stop. My hunger is primal. I pause only to wipe my mouth with the linen napkin.

"Tell me what happened—after you realized what was going on."

Christian runs his hand through his hair and shakes his head. "Oh, Ana, it's good to see you eat."

"I'm hungry. Tell me."

He frowns. "Well, after the bank called and I thought my world had completely fallen apart—" He can't hide the pain in his voice.

I stop eating . Oh shit.

"Don't stop eating, or I'll stop talking," he whispers, his tone adamant as he glares at me. I continue with my soup. Okay, okay . . . Damn, it tastes good.

Christian's gaze softens and after a beat, he resumes.

"Anyway, shortly after you and I had finished our conversation, Taylor informed me that Hyde had been granted bail. How, I don't know, I thought we'd managed to thwart any attempts at bail. But that gave me a moment to think about what you'd said . . . and I knew something was seriously wrong."

"It was never about the money," I snap suddenly, an unexpected surge of anger flaring in my belly. My voice rises. "How could you even think that? It's never been about your f*cking money!" My head starts to pound and I wince. Christian gapes at me for a split second, surprised by my vehemence. He narrows his eyes.

"Mind your language," he growls. "Calm down and eat."I glare mutinously at him.

"Ana," he warns.

"That hurt me more than anything, Christian," I whisper. "Almost as much as you seeing that woman."

He inhales sharply as if I've slapped him and all of a sudden, he looks exhausted. Closing his eyes briefly, he shakes his head, resigned.

"I know." He sighs. "And I'm sorry. More than you know." His eyes are luminous with contrition. "Please, eat. While your soup is still hot." His voice is soft and compelling, and I do as he asks. He breathes a sigh of relief.

"Go on," I whisper, between bites of the illicit fresh white bread roll.

"We didn't know Mia was missing. I thought maybe he was blackmailing you or something. I called you back, but you didn't answer." He scowls. "I left you a message then called Sawyer. Taylor started tracking your cell. I knew you were at the bank, so we headed straight there."

"I don't know how Sawyer found me. Was he tracking my cell, too?"

"The Saab is fitted with a tracking device. All our cars are. By the time we got near the bank, you were already on the move, and we followed. Why are you smiling?"

"On some level I knew you'd be stalking me."

"And that is amusing because?" he asks.

"Jack had instructed me to get rid of my cell. So I borrowed Whelan's cell, and that's the one I threw away. I put mine into one of the duffle bags so you could track your money."

Christian sighs. "Our money, Ana," he says quietly. "Eat."

I wipe my soup bowl with the last of my bread and pop it into my mouth. For the first time in a long while, I feel replete in spite of our conversation.

"Finished."

"Good girl."

There's a knock on the door and Nurse Nora enters once more, carrying a small paper cup. Christian clears away my plate, and starts putting all the items back into the box.