“Thank you, Doctor.”
When he left, the four of them headed up to the second floor. She considered once again telling Eli he could go home, but she already knew he’d refuse. Her father clearly didn’t want him there, but Aunt Bitti interceded.
“Safara, your grandfather will likely sleep the rest of the day and into the night. There’s no need for all of us to be here, and you’ve already had a long day. After you get a chance to see for yourself that Halder is all right, you should go home and get some rest. I’ll stay with your father.”
Bitti was right. It had been a long day. Every bone in her body ached. “All right, if you’re sure.”
The nurses pointed them down the hall to where they were just wheeling her grandfather into his room. The four of them waited outside until they got Halder settled in and the nurse took his vitals. When she was done, she said, “You can come in, but keep it to two at a time for now.”
Her father motioned for Safara to go first so she could leave. “I’ll text you later to let you know how he’s doing.”
Eli followed her into the room, a silent presence standing behind her. Her grandfather looked so small lying there in that bed. His injuries had stripped him of all his usual vitality. She stared at his too-still figure with tears streaming down her face.
When she swiped at her cheeks, Eli muttered a soft curse and pulled her into his arms. She slowly relaxed into his embrace and soaked in his calm strength. “Gods above, we almost lost him today.”
“But you didn’t.” Eli’s voice was a soft rumble against her cheek. “And don’t forget the doctor said he should be fine.”
“I know, but if you hadn’t been there...”
He crooked a finger and used it to lift her gaze up to meet his. “But I was. Now, let’s let your father and aunt come in and take over. The two of us will grab dinner somewhere, and then you can go home and crash for the night.”
It was so tempting to spend more time with this man even if each minute they were together made it that much harder to protect her secrets.
“Come on, Safara, don’t make me eat alone. I’ll even let you pick the restaurant.”
Okay, that made her laugh. “Well, unless you want to drive an hour to another town, you have the choice of eating at the diner or, let’s see, the diner.”
She expected him to be disappointed, but instead he looked thrilled with their only option. “Do you think there will still be pie this late in the day?”
Feeling better than she had in hours, she said, “There’s only one way to find out. I need to talk privately with my father for a minute. It shouldn’t take long, and then I’ll be ready to go.”
He gave her a long look as if he knew full well he would be the topic of conversation. His disappointment that she still didn’t trust him showed in in the angry set of his jaw. “Fine, I’ll wait down the hall by the elevator.”
She wondered if she was making a mistake in shutting him out. Her heart said she was. At the same time, her head argued her people had closed ranks against outsiders for a reason. Before she could declare either side of the debate a clear winner, her father walked into the room.
“Care to tell me what’s going on between the two of you? Because I’m telling you right now, I’ve done some checking on him, and things aren’t adding up right.”
When she didn’t say anything, he went on talking. “He was telling the truth about Martin’s grandson being involved in a military helicopter crash a few weeks ago. I find it odd that both the grandson and this guy have the same first name. One allegedly dies in the crash at roughly the same time the other one appears up here living in Martin’s cabin.”
Did they really have to do this now? Evidently so, judging by the stubborn look on her father’s face. “Just what are you saying, Dad?”
He ran his fingers through his salt-and-pepper hair in frustration and let out a weary sigh. “Hell, I don’t know. I just want you to be careful until we know more about him. That man’s got secrets of his own. Maybe they’re no danger to us, but we don’t know that.”
She wanted to deny the truth of what he was saying, but she also knew there was more to Eli Jervain than the man was willing to share. Not for the first time, she recalled the image of him charging to her rescue as if he’d been born to carry that sword in his hand. Everything about him fit the description of the Paladins, the sworn enemies of the Kalith people. Could he be working undercover on their behalf to infiltrate her people?
Rather than say anything about what she was thinking, she changed the subject and summarized Will’s discussion with her and Eli. “Will is meeting Eli on the mountain tomorrow to look around. I doubt they’ll find anything useful, but you never know. Regardless, we have to go after Tiel, and soon.”
Her father accepted the change in subjects. “We do, but not yet. We’ll let the sheriff’s department do their thing, and then we’ll start the hunt. Now get out of here and get some rest. We’ll regroup in the morning and go from there.”
She still wasn’t happy with him, but she gave her dad a quick hug and did the same with her aunt out in the hall. “Call me if you need me for anything.”
Bitti made shooing motions. “You’ve done enough. Go be with your young man and forget about all of this for a little while.”
Safara glanced past her aunt toward the man standing down at the far end of the hall. Eli was leaning against the wall near the elevator looking as if he would wait for her all night if that’s what it took. “He’s not my young man. He’s a... a friend.”
That assessment felt like a lie even to her. Aunt Bitti clearly felt the same way because of the way she laughed. “Honey, I might not be as young as I used to be, but I can remember when a man looked at me with that particular kind of hunger in his eyes. You might be only friends for now, but I’m thinking he might be wanting a lot more than that.”
“The more time I spend with him makes it more likely he’ll find out about us, about our world. I can’t hide what I am forever. What if it’s too much for him?”
