Too bad the sniffy-good wasn’t doing a damn thing for her mood.
As she stared out the tinted window, the descent down the snowy mountain to the rural road at its base seemed to go in slow motion—although maybe that was because the sound track to the trip, which should have been Vivaldi or Mozart if you went by the ethos of car commercials, was the toxic tennis match of that happy little chat with Wrath.
Shit. Her hellren had always been autocratic—and again, that had nothing to do with his station in life: Screw the crown; it was his personality. And over the last couple of years, she’d watched him throw that attitude around in countless situations, whether it was with the Brothers, the glymera, the staff—hell, the TV remote. But with her, he’d always been … well, not subservient. Never that. She’d always had the sense, though, that he deferred to her. Whatever she wanted, when she wanted it—and God save the fool who got in his way.
So yes, she’d assumed the kid thing would be the same—that he’d cave, given how important having a baby was to her.
Instead? Total opposite—
A soft touch on her elbow reminded her of two things: One, she was not alone in the sedan’s vast backseat. And two, she wasn’t the only person who had problems.
“Sorry,” she said as she dropped hands she wasn’t aware of having brought up to her face. “I’m being rude, aren’t I?”
Are you okay? John signed in the dim interior.
“Oh, yeah, absolutely.” She patted his heavy shoulder, knowing this whole thing with the seizures had to be weighing on him: the trip into town, the MRI, the results that were going to follow. “More important, how are you?”
I guess Doc Jane made it to the medical center okay.
“Yup.” Beth had to shake her head, her gratitude to Jane and her human partner, Manny Manello, choking her up. “Those two are amazing. Human health care is expensive and tough to navigate. How the two of them pulled this off, I have no idea.”
Personally, I think it’s a waste of time. He turned his head away. I mean, come on. I’ve had the episodes for how long? Nothing’s ever come of them.
“It’s safer to get everything checked out.”
John’s phone went off with a bing! and he tilted the screen so he could see it. It’s Xhex.
“So she made it there okay, too?”
Yeah. He exhaled in a hard rush. This whole being-driven-in thing is ridiculous. I could make the trip in a heartbeat.
“Yeah, but if you’re just a regular human, you’d come by car. Easier to keep the lie up, you know.”
Even better, we could have scrapped this bullshit. He laughed a little. I’ll tell you, I’m sorry for whoever meets Xhex at the door. She was prepared to do a sweep of the entire hospital complex—and when she’s like that? You don’t want to tell her no.
The respect shining in his eyes was a stinger. Considering the way Wrath had acted.
“Xhex is one lucky female,” Beth said roughly.
It’s the other way around. Trust me—why are you looking like that?
“Like what?”
He seemed to flush. As if you’re going to cry.
She batted away the concern. “Allergies. I always get watery eyes this time of year. Maybe I’ll pick up some Claritin while we’re out tonight.”
In December? Really?
As she became the one who was looking away, Fritz picked up speed along the rural straightaway. Slowed down coming into a curve. Reaccelerated when they were out the other side. The Mercedes handled everything with total ease, the ultra-padded seat absorbing the shifts of her body, a gentle warmth being pumped onto her feet.
They should have put the tagline “Ambien Edition” on the car.
Although again, any rock-a-bye-Benz-y effect was wasted on her.
She had a feeling there was going to be no sleep at all until she and Wrath worked things out—or …
Another tap on her arm. You know, you can talk to me about anything.
Beth swept her hair back … only to pull it forward over her shoulders again. Where the hell to go with that. There were so many choices—but John had enough on his plate already.
Beth. Seriously.
“How about we get through this with you and—”
It’ll give me something else to think about, and I could use that right now. When she didn’t respond, he signed, Come on, please. I’m worried about you.
“You are a total love, you know that?”
And you’re not talking, are you.
She stayed quiet for a while. Up ahead, a sign for the Northway appeared, the “I-87” glowing in the headlights. If they got on and kept going, instead of taking the first of the downtown Caldwell exits, they could be in Manhattan in about an hour. Farther south than that would put them into Pennsylvania and then down to Maryland and …