Page 67 of Consume Me

“You do?”

“We saw him.” He hesitated, and I could see he was holding something back.

Was he trying to save the bad news until later? I already knew almost everything I needed to know. That David was a traitor. That Norris had shot him. The only mystery was how I was going to tell Edward what had happened.

I didn’t know how I was going to break my best friend’s heart.

“Norris shot him. He’s dead,” I said in a soft voice, needing him to know that I understood the weight of what happened. “He was helping them—whoever they were. They planned to take the baby.”

“We don’t need to talk about this now,” Alexander stopped me. “You shouldn’t have to relive it.”

I understood. Part of me wanted to take him up on the offer, but deep down I knew I couldn’t escape this.

“Clara,” he continued, “there’s something you need to know.” Alexander’s jaw tightened as though he wanted to hold back the words. “David was alive when I found him.”

“Was?” I repeated the most significant word in that sentence. David was alive? He’d lived? I didn’t know how to feel about that.

“Was,” Alexander said again. “He’s not anymore.”

I stared at my husband, trying to process what he was saying. William shifted on my chest, turning his face with sudden, undeniable interest. I repositioned him while the weight of Alexander’s confession snack through me like lead.

“I didn’t think.” Alexander’s voice trembled as he spoke. This wasn’t the first man he’d killed. He’d been to war. But this was different, and we both knew it. “I didn’t even think. When I realized what he did…I shot him.”

And somewhere through the grief and fear and love and anger swimming inside me, I knew exactly how I felt about what he’d done. “Good.”

Chapter 26

ALEXANDER

I blinked, momentarily stunned by Clara’s reaction. I’d never seen such bald hatred on her face, but before I could ask for more details—even though I’d promised I wouldn’t—the door to her room opened.

Dr. Thompson entered, followed by a man I didn’t recognise. Both of them were studying me. I knew Dr. Thompson had gotten the wrong impression during labor. It seemed I was going to have to prove to them that my wife had no reason to fear me. That was easier said than done.

“Dr. Gilroy is here,” Thompson announced, “and he’d like to take a look at the baby.”

Clara released him to the doctor’s care reluctantly, her eyes darting between the baby and the man. I didn’t know how to allay her fears. The truth was that I had been caught off guard. That mistake had nearly cost us everything. I was the reason she was scared now. How could I ever convince her that I would never allow that to happen again?

“Stay with him,” Clara urged me, her exhaustion beginning to show.

“Actually, I’d like to speak with your husband.” Dr. Thompson didn’t care that I was king—that much was obvious. She had a bone to pick with me.

“I’ll get Belle,” I promised her.

Belle hurried in from the hall as soon as I asked for her. None of my team had strayed farther than the corridor. We must have made the hospital nervous. Most of us look like we’d just walked out of a war zone. Then there was the hovering. The tension outside the delivery room was palpable. No wonder the doctor was on edge.

“She wants someone to stay with the baby,” I explained to Belle under my breath, so curious ears didn’t overhear. “She’s scared someone will take him, but I need to speak with Dr. Thompson.”

Belle swallowed hard, digesting this news. I didn’t know how much Smith had managed to relay to her about today’s events, but there was a lot the rest of my team didn’t know. Now wasn’t the time to fill them in.

“Edward’s on his way,” Belle told me as we headed back inside. “He can’t reach David.”

Guilt pressed against my chest. I knew what she didn’t—what my brother didn’t. There would be no reaching David again. Clara might have absolved me for my part in his death, but I had not.

I had no idea if my brother ever would.

I gave her a terse nod, hoping she wouldn’t bring it up again—not in front of Clara.

Belle beamed at her best friend and darted over to where the surgeon was examining the baby on a nearby cart. I had to hand it to her. She knew things had gone terribly wrong, but she was putting on the best show of any of us.