Allegiance(69)

“No,” Caden interrupted. “I’ll do it.”

Sofie opened her mouth to object, but Caden brushed it off. “It’s okay. I’m okay. I’ll take all the time with Evangeline that I can get.” He turned me down the hall with one hand wrapped protectively around my shoulder, the other holding my hand. We walked to the main bathroom in silence—the one where Ivan had stitched me up last time. The little medical case still sat on the counter.

“I should just move in here …” I said as Caden flicked on the light switch.

I gasped. The left side of my jaw was a sickly purplish-red and twice the normal size, outsized only by my lip, which was blackish-purple and easily three times bigger than usual. Dried blood had caked around the corner of my mouth, down to my jawline. Even with all the vampire bites and gashes on my hands and arms, this was by far the worst-looking injury I had acquired to date.

Lifting me under the arms like I weighed no more than a large piece of cotton, Caden gently positioned me onto the counter beside the sink. I trembled under his touch.

“So you decided to risk a war in the streets so you could go Christmas shopping?” He popped open the case and pulled out some antiseptic, cotton balls, and salt.

“When you say it like that, it sounds pretty lame,” I looked down at my feet, feeling the burn in my cheeks. “I just needed to get away for a while. Things have been hard lately.” And they were about to get a whole lot harder with this new Bishop issue …

Caden lined the items beside me on the counter. Reaching up, he gently gripped the coat zipper under my chin and unzipped me. His hands slid inside my jacket to my shoulders and pushed off the coat, sending fire to the butterflies already fluttering around in my stomach.

“What’d you get me?” he teased.

I grinned broadly but then winced. “Who says I got you anything?” I wondered if that expensive watch in my inner pocket survived the whole ordeal unscathed.

Caden chuckled as he saturated a cotton ball with antiseptic. He gently dabbed at my cheek and my lip. I winced from the sting and he stopped. “It’s okay, keep going,” I whispered. I watched him silently, gritting my teeth against the bite, distracting myself by visually tracing the lines of his beautiful face. His expression, suddenly more somber, his voice dropping an octave or two.

“I guess Amelie got something for Julian?” There was that tinge of bitterness again.

“Yeah. Does it bother you?”

He shook his head. “Does it bother you?”

“No.” Yes, but not for the reason you think, Caden.

He moistened another cotton pad and began smoothing it over my jawline, down along my throat. It didn’t hurt so much here. It was soothing. “They did a great job on your face,” he muttered.

“I’m collecting scars.”

That earned a small snort, followed by a shake of disapproval. “There,” he whispered, looking down into my eyes and I remembered then, again, how I could lose myself in them. Filling a cup with cold water from the tap and sprinkling some salt into it, he handed it to me. “Rinse.” After I did so, he leaned in and planted the lightest kiss on the unmangled side of my face.

I groaned. “What are we going to do about Bishop?”

His lips curved into a sad smile as his hands dropped to my thighs. “Nothing. Play along.”

Play along? “I can’t!”

“You have to,” Caden urged. “Remember how I had to do the same with Rachel to keep you safe?”

I groaned again, more loudly. Those were the longest days of my life, watching Rachel molest him like a cougar in heat. Before I knew how he felt, I was purely jealous. After … I wanted to rake her eyeballs out. “But it’s not the same! This is Bishop! He’s my friend!”

“Yes,” Caden’s hands lifted to my shoulder, leveling me with a lecturing look. “Your friend who you don’t want to be imprisoned—your friend who you don’t want suffering in silent agony.”

“But …” My rebuttal died on my lips. I had already lost the argument. Caden was right. Still … “Doesn’t it bother you?” I whimpered.

Caden shut his eyes. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, his nostrils flaring slightly. “You have no idea … I wanted to put my fist through a wall earlier, when he was kissing you. But then I have to remind myself that this guy is not just any guy. He’s Bishop and this is only temporary. Besides, it’s way better than knowing you and Julian …” His voice drifted, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

I dropped my gaze, another guilty dagger in my heart over my deception. We sat in silence for a moment. “What if I can’t do it?” I asked softly. “What if I accidently mention Fi … her? What if—”