Page 42 of Enter if you Dare: Part One

Cipher comes in, holding a fresh washcloth. “Why are you out of bed?”

I huff and storm over to the makeshift bed he has set up in the main room, so I can watch him work, because I have been bored out of my brain. Cipher comes to sit beside me and places the washcloth on my forehead.

“Better?” he asks.

“A little, though I think there’d be a bigger improvement if something cold was on my face.”

“I read that fevers respond better to gradual temperature regulation.”

I chuckle. “Did you also read that patients are supposed to be allowed to do literally anything for themselves, or was that chapter optional?”

“Valli, your bitch is showing,” Noa calls out, and I laugh. “I can always get Cave here to give you a sponge bath again.”

“Don’t you dare!” I warn him.

That was a mortifying experience. Cave lugged in a bucket and cloths, then started cleaning me yesterday morning. I had not showered since the day before because everything hurt.

“I will do it, I swear on my life.”

I laugh, which turns into a cough, which has Cipher hovering with a glass of water. With no more energy to fight them anymore, when they are only trying to help, I decide to give in. “I’m just used to being the one who does this for myself,” I tell them once the coughing settles. “Not the other way around.”

“Well, get used to it. At the very least, you’re our friend now,” Cipher says.

Noa huffs. “I think we are a little more than friends.”

“Thank you, it means a lot,” I say as I close my eyes and let the cool cloth do its job.

My phone buzzes on the crate beside the bed, and I am slow to reach for it. Cipher gets there first, glancing at the screen before handing it to me.

“Rowan,” he says, and I answer, because if I don’t, he will spam me and then Leni. It’s why he knows I will always answer her calls.

“What?” I snap.

“Valli, thank god.” Rowan’s voice sounds panicked. “Where are you? I went by the house, and the door was busted in.”

“I’m fine and safe.”

“Safe where?” he asks. It feels like something’s up; he never gives a shit if I’m safe.

“Steedy’s guys are coming for me, so I ran. I’m with people who actually care about me,” I tell him.

At my response, Rowan changes his tune and starts shouting, as if this is my fault.

Noa quickly appears at my side and takes the phone from my hand. “Rowan, hi. We’ve not met, but I already know a lot about you. And unfortunately, it’s not that good.”

There is a pause where Rowan must be saying something, and Noa’s mouth curls into a grimace.

“No, you listen. Your sister is sick and exhausted. She is here with us because we are the type of men who deal with problems, not palm them off on women. Valli didn’t ask for your shit, none of it, yet she keeps bailing you out. This is not you calling to make sure she is okay—you’re scared and want someone else to take the fall.”

Another pause, and Noa’s jaw tightens.

“I don’t fucking care what Steedy wants from you. What I want is for you to fix this—hand yourself in for all I care. Right now, you have a pissed-off scarecrow who has your sister’s back, and he will stop at nothing to ensure she’s safe. I promise you, Steedy will be the least of your problems if anything happens to her. You are a pathetic excuse for a brother, let alone a man. Fuck, I have known Valli for a few weeks and I care more about her safety than you do.”

He hangs up before Rowan can respond and tosses the phone gently onto the foot of the bed.

“Sorry,” he says, glancing up at me. “I know that was not my place, but I couldn’t listen to him guilt you like that.”

“Don’t apologize. Nobody has ever stood up for me like that before.”