Vulture (a Stepbrother Romance) -(9)

But the woman I saw before me, shrunken and wrecked, paled in comparison to the confident girl I’d met a few years ago when our parents had married in their golden years. I almost didn’t recognise her.

A strong feeling of dread gripped me as I held her in my arms. She shook like a leaf, and all I wanted to do was to make it stop. This couldn’t all be due to the sudden death of her husband. Or maybe it was. I had no comparison to draw from, no emotional investments made or lost. I rubbed her arms; through her cardigan I felt her pliable flesh give way to my touch. So different to the stick figure I’d had my hands on earlier.

“He had his faults, I suppose,” she considered, replying to my earlier outburst. I regretted saying the words, I should’ve held them back, been more sympathetic, but in my world if you didn’t say what you meant right away it was considered pandering.

“Ignore me, I had a shitty night.” I was grateful, though, that this little emergency had gotten me out of another boring award’s ceremony. Another mandatory circle-jerk for the board of directors.

Sara’s eyes flickered to the left, reminding me that Sadie, my personal assistant and secretary, was standing off to the side.

“Two seconds, I’ll be right back and I’ll get you home, OK?”

She nodded and flung her arms around her curvy torso as soon as I stepped away.

“Anything I can do?” Sadie asked, her voice hushed so as not to let Sara overhear.

“No, I think I can take it from here. I’ll probably need you to make some arrangements in the morning for Sara, though. We’ll take the car now. Will you be all right to take a cab back?”

“Yeah, of course. Oh, before I go. That thing from earlier—I presume you want it thoroughly handled? The usual pump-and-dump?”

I almost laughed at her crudeness but choked it back at the last moment—not the right place or time. But comments like that were the very reason we got on so well; Sadie was practically a carbon copy of me. The female version, in stilettos.

“You know me all too well,” I said with a wink. “I don’t want to see her in the hotel again. Get rid.”

Sadie sighed. “Fine, I’ll make sure she’s let go in the morning.”

“You’re a star.”

“Don’t I know it.” She shook her head and arched an eyebrow at me. “But one day, Harvey, your actions are gonna turn round and bite you in the ass!”

I chuckled, doing my best to contain my amusement, and Sadie took her leave.

Turning my attention back onto Sara, I reached for her hand and noticed the angry gash across the full width of her palm.

“What happened?” I questioned as I studied the deep wound. How come no one had noticed it before now? My blood boiled. For fuck’s sake, she was in a bloody hospital!

“It’s nothing. Just an accident.”

“Sara, it needs a stitch or two. Why hasn’t anyone seen to it?”

“I—”

“Never mind. Come with me.” I took her wrist and began to walk. I tightened my grip and pretended not to notice the tugging.

“Where are we going?” she asked. “Don’t we need to let someone know where I’m going? Make arrangements?”

“No. We need to get you fixed up first. This way.” I marched through the place until I saw the first able looking body I could find. “Hey! Yes you! Call yourself a hospital?”









“Better?”

Sara nodded, a weak smile edging upon her lips. “Yeah, much.”

“OK, now we can go. I’m going to take you home. Put some decent food in you, and you’re getting some sleep,” I told her, not giving her much choice in the matter. “Tomorrow we can worry about everything else.”

“Really, I’ll be fine. You don’t have to.” She paused as if there was more she wanted to say, but then her head turned and she looked away.

“Sara?” I frowned. At first I thought she was crying, the shock finally wearing off, giving her the release she perhaps needed, but I studied the part of her face I could see, her cheek; it was a little pale with delicate sprinkle of freckles yet bone dry. Her eyes had been puffy when I’d first saw her, but as the evening drew on, sitting with her, not letting her out of my sight, I thought it strange she hadn’t broken down. She was stronger than I’d originally given her credit for.

Her hands came up to her arms and her teeth began chattering loudly. I took a step closer.

“No, don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t hug me.” Her eyes were sad but defiant. I shrugged off the puzzlement and slipped out of my thick, warm jacket instead.