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“You’re in Theo’s room.”
She struggles to get up, panic in her eyes. “I’m sorry!” she cries out. I gently push her back down, smoothing circles over her arm with my thumb.
“Shh, you’re fine. You got sick. Theo wanted you in here so we could keep an eye on you. You’re not in trouble. Not anymore. Just rest, okay?”
Eva’s eyes are wide and glassy, but eventually, she nods, seeming to understand, and lies back down.
Once the fever finally breaks around three in the morning the next day, I feel exhaustion creep over me. I need a shower. I had hastily changed out of my wet clothes after bringing Eva back home yesterday, but I hadn’t taken a second to look after myself.
After a quick shower, I head down and grab a bite to eat from the kitchen and then head back upstairs, bringing some more water for Evangeline.
She’s awake when I enter, looking less glassy-eyed this time.
“Hi,” I say as I hand her the large cup of ice water. “Here.”
“Have I been asleep long?” she asks, forgoing her usual questions.
“A while,” I respond, sitting down in the chair next to the bed. “But you needed rest.”
“Why are you taking care of me?” she asks, smoothing a hand over the comforter.
“Because… you need looking after,” I tell her, unable to voice the real reasons. “You can’t work for like, ten days, according to the doctor, so someone has to look out for you. And we can’t afford to spare any of the household staff.”
She looks down at the white blanket on her, cheeks pink. “Oh,” she says softly.
I mentally berate myself for being so harsh. “That and you… you scared me when I saw you like that, passed out on the forest floor.”
My face heats up as her eyes turn upward, facing mine. “It did?”
“Yeah. You may not remember it, but you looked like hell. I know that we haven’t always been very nice to you, but I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that. It made me realize that you were upset enough to put yourself in danger to get away from us. Kinda sucks knowing that someone hates you that much.”
Evangeline looks surprised by my apology. She opens her mouth, but I push my finger against her lips, silencing her. “Get some more rest,” I tell her. “You need it. The doctor gave you some antibiotics that are…” I stop, unsure whether I should reveal that I know about her pregnancy. “That are like, supposed to help you.”
“Thanks,” Eva says, mouth moving against my finger. Her lips are so soft. How have I not noticed that before now?
I pull my hand away quickly and drop it in my lap. “Drink some water and rest. Someone will bring you some tea and a little bit to eat in the morning.”
Eva nods, eyes drooping from exhaustion. I watch her fall asleep again and breathe a sigh of relief. I don’t want to bring up the whole baby thing before she’s ready.
The next few days, Eva starts to regain some strength, and she gets more color in her cheeks and puts on a little healthy weight while she recuperates.
As promised, I continue to take care of her and wait on her hand and foot. “You rang, doll?” I ask, bringing her a tray of soup like a fancy waiter and presenting it to her.
She giggles, and I place the tray in front of her. “I can’t believe I’m getting five-star service around here,” she says.
“You deserve it,” I tell her. “You are the patient, after all.”
“I still don’t get why you feel like you need to be the one to take care of me,” Evangeline says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she picks up her spoon to eat some soup.
“It’s because the Everharts were raised as gentlemen,” I tell her, sitting down in the chair I’ve been occupying. “Well, we were raised to be ruthless and take what we wanted,” I amend myself. “But in a gentlemanly sort of way.”
“I know what it is you guys do,” she admits. “I overhear you on the phone with people all the time.”
“So you know we were raised to be criminal overlords, then?” I ask. She nods. “Yeah, our father, Marcus Everhart, was the head of the Callahan Mob Family. He wanted us to be just like him. And we were, even after the DeLucci family, our rivals, attacked the manor, started a fire, and killed him.”
Eva gasps, stopping her spoon halfway to her mouth. “Is that what happened to him?”
“Yep. They showed up one day, asking for a meeting. When Dad refused, they started throwing firebombs into the manor and gunned down my father in his own study. That’s why part of the manor is closed off.”
