“But they’re going to ask questions anyway when they realize she’s missing. Does Angel know what you did with his mother?” It occurred to me that I didn’t have the actual details of what they’d done, but I didn’t need them. Bea made her mistakes, but she deserved the respect of a burial and for those who loved her to say a proper goodbye.

“He would have done the same.”

“You mean, toss his mother’s body to keep anyone from pointing fingers at him when his dirt blows from under the rug?”

“Bea knew the stakes.”

“Did she?” I was willing to bet my life that Bea had no idea who Art would become when she fell in love with him.

Neither of them answered as the elevator finished its ascent. The metal doors soundlessly slid open, revealing the brightly lit floor and the hospital staff moving around each other in practiced chaos.

“Come on,” Lucas muttered. His hand dropped to the small of my back to steer me down the hall past nurses and doctors and concerned family members of other patients. We stopped in front of two double doors at the end of the hall. The nurse at the small nurses’ nation casually glanced our way before pressing a button I couldn’t see. A soft buzz sounded, and then Z quickly grabbed one of the large gray doors and pulled it open.

“Go on.” Lucas pushed me forward gently.

“Aren’t you guys coming with me?”

“He’s still in critical condition, so only two visitors are allowed in at a time.”

I glanced past the door down the short hall. There was another nurses’ station to my right and rooms that lined the far wall.

“It’s okay,” Z implored. “Doctor says he hasn’t been awake since we brought him in.”

“But if he is awake,” Lucas added, “I’m sure he’ll want to talk.” His voice held a weird note, and I could swear something peeked from behind the veil in his silver gaze. Just as quickly as it happened, however, his signature indifference returned making me wonder if I had imagined it.

“Okay,” I agreed reluctantly. I had a feeling I never had a choice. The nurse was now watching us with interest, so I slowly walked through the door Z still held open.

“His room is the third on the left,” Z called. I looked back in time to see him let go of the door. They both continued to watch me, Z with sympathy and Lucas with curiosity, until the door clicked shut.

I took a deep breath and returned the nurses’ smiles as I passed. My skin grew colder with each step. The air smelled like death. I made the mistake of looking in the first room I passed. Inside, I glimpsed a man with a hospital tube protruding from his throat, and a frail woman bent over his bedside. Her lips moved rapidly, but no sound came. I glanced away and quickened my pace.

I reached the third door just as a young nurse, not much older than me, emerged. “Oh, hi,” she greeted kindly. “Are you here to see Mr. Knight?”

“Um…yes.” Her perfect smile made me fidget. I bet she’d never stabbed a man she once believed she could love. “Um…is he awake?”

“He was moments ago, but we keep him heavily medicated. I’ve just finished giving him a sponge bath.” Was it incredibly unfair and immature for me to feel jealousy at her touching him in such an intimate way? It was her job. Point understood. But Angel was a man who could make women’s hearts and other parts flutter even when he was weak.

“I guess I’ll be quick then.” I’d take any excuse not to stick around.

Still blocking the door, her eyes dropped to Caylen. “Oh, my goodness. Is this your brother?”

“He’s my son,” I said on a curt note.

Her happy mask fell for a moment as she sputtered her apology. “I’m sorry to assume. You’re just so young,” she quickly explained. She didn’t say anything I haven’t heard many times already. At the grocery store, in the doctor’s office, on the street… it was always the same thing.

I was too young to be a mom.

What a shame to grow up so young.

It’s not too late.

Is the father around?

Your mother and father must have been heartbroken.

“I’m not that young,” I flatly stated. My driver’s license may have said I was only nineteen, but my soul had already lived a thousand lifetimes.

I pushed forward, not giving her any choice but to move out of the way. The moment I was alone, I set Caylen on his feet. He didn’t seem to mind at all when he immediately tottered over to Angel’s hospital bed. The bed was too high for him to climb, so I picked him up and set him on the bed by Angel’s side.

Stepping back, I watched as he stared at Angel. He seemed uncertain, and a moment later, he reached out. “Anggg,” he called as his tiny fist pulled at the sheet. When Angel didn’t stir, Caylen tugged again. “Anggg.”