Page 84 of Wicked Truths
“Why are you here?” I ask, pulling the blanket higher.
I’m fighting the pain but fear of who he is has taken some of that away.
He leans back in the chair beside my bed. “Milly called Poppy and asked her to visit while she ran an errand. She didn’t want you waking up alone.”
“Poppy?” The name floats in my mind, as I try to connect the name to a face or a memory.
“Your best friend.” His voice softens when he says it.
“Best friend,” I repeat. “Where is she?”
“She has a dance class, so I told Milly I’d sit with you if she picks Poppy up after the class.”
I try to process this information, fitting pieces together like a puzzle with half the parts missing.
“So, you’re my friend’s father? That’s how I know you?”
Something flickers across his face. He looks at me strangely, like he’s carrying a secret he desperately wants to share but can’t bring himself to say the words.
I lift my hands and try to cover my face, suddenly realizing why he is staring at me.
“Don’t hide from me.” He takes my hands and holds them in his. As I glance from his warm hold to his face, something I can’t grasp slips between us.
I swallow.
“You don’t have to be scared of me,” he says. His voice almost sounds like he is begging me to believe him.
I laugh, but it comes out brittle. “I’m scared of everyone right now.”
My fingers twist in his hands. Everyone who walks through that door could be the person who tried to kill me. Even him. Especially him, with his careful words and watchful eyes.
“You have every right to be scared, but I promise I’m going to help you,” Caleb says. “Someone tried to kill you, Bunny. That’s not something anyone handles easily.”
Bunny!
Piccola!
But there. He said it. Admitted that someone is out to get me.
I look up at him, studying his face. The concern in his eyes seems genuine, but there’s something else there too. I’ll keep that to myself for now.
“Bunny? Is that what you’ve always called me?”
He smiles. He’s really handsome for an older guy, and when he smiles it lights up his face. “For a while now.”
“Why?” It slips out before I can stop it. I swallow.
He blows out a deep breath as he stares at the ceiling. “If Dom knows I’m here he’ll probably kill me.”
I laugh. “No, he’s a nice man.”
This time Caleb chuckles. “Is he?”
“I think so.”
I hope so.
I study Caleb’s face, searching for something that might trigger a memory. His silver-gray eyes hold mine with such force that my stomach flutters in an unexpected way. But also like it must have done before.
