Ellis

 

I fumble as I type another text to Camilla. We’ve been communicating back and forth since we arrived at the hospital hours ago.

One of my arms is in a sling, and I’m about to remove the damn thing and launch it across my room in the ER, along with my cell phone. Autocorrect is royally pissing me off.

She replies to let me know she and Liam are on their way to my room. I carefully lay my head back against the pillow. God, what if he’d been hurt or killed? All because of my fucking stairs–my wealth–my pretentious life.

And what the hell is going on between her and Christopher? I’m not surprised he hasn’t shown his face. He’s probably worried he’ll end up in the ER next.

Camilla’s head pokes inside before she steps in the room. Liam’s latched on to her like a monkey, and she’s holding his legs snug around her waist.

As she comes closer, I see that he’s asleep. Once she spots the knot on my forehead, she frowns and gently touches the skin next to it.

“I’d lean over to kiss you if it wouldn’t wake him.”

“You’re fine. Sit. We have things to talk about. Are they sure there’s nothing more serious wrong with him?”

“Yes, they’re sure. Did you not read the fifty texts I responded to with that same answer?”

“Do you not see how I still have one good hand?”

She gives me a wary smile. “He was examined thoroughly. He has a goose egg on the side of his head, along with a nasty bruise on his arm, but they don’t believe he has a concussion. I’m supposed to keep a close eye on him tonight, just in case, but it could’ve been so much worse.

“As soon as he got a sucker and some cartoon bandages for his boo-boos, he was back to his old self. You saved him.”

“No, my fucking stairs almost killed him.”

She shakes her head. “No. He’s my responsibility. I should’ve insisted on doing something about the stairs.”

“The both of you are my responsibility, and you did tell me how you felt about the stairs when you moved in.”

“Look, I could easily say this is my fault for leaving him alone or for yelling at him. He’s had no trouble taking the stairs with us, so he probably fell from turning to see me. It was an accident.”

“Where the hell was Emma?”

“She went home sick. I put Liam down for a nap, and I thought he was sleeping when I went to the bathroom. I guess he was looking for me.” Sighing, she runs her fingers through his hair.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “I’ll find a gate wide enough to go in front of the staircase, or I’ll have one custom-made if necessary.”

She giggles. “That’s going to have to be a mighty wide gate.

“Fine. We’ll move into a smaller house, or I’ll add on to the ground level.”

“Stop, Ellis. Liam’s OK. How are you feeling?”

“Eight stitches to the back of my head, bruises and this damn sprained arm. I’m pissed. I know how to fall from my martial arts training. I don’t know what happened.”

“Your focus was on protecting Liam. The way you held onto him …” Her head shakes like she’s trying to shake away the image of us tumbling down the stairs. “You were determined to save him, not thinking about yourself at all.”

She tears up. “Anyway, thank you.” Looking down at Liam, she continues to glide her fingers through his hair. “Um, Christopher and Irene left.

“I told them to go home, and Fletcher’s in the waiting room. He said he wasn’t leaving without us, so as soon as you’re discharged, he’ll drive us home.”

“Speaking of Christopher… Why the fuck did he touch you and call you Cammy? Any other time I would’ve laid him out cold.”

Leaning her head back against the wall, she struggles to look at me.

“This is the thing I needed to discuss with you last night. I swear I was going to tell you.”

My hand fists. “Tell me what?”

“I knew him before I moved in with you.”

“He told me he’d never met you before. So, did you meet him while you were dating Tony?”

“No. He lied to me, too.”

“I don’t understand.” I bring my hand up. “Wait. First tell me there’s nothing going on between the two of you.”

“No, there’s not, and I’m hurt you’d suggest it, especially after the time we’ve spent together.”

I purse my lips. “Just explain, Camilla.”

“After you told Christopher that you were moving me in, he was forced to confess to me a secret he’d been keeping. Tony had him befriend me while I was pregnant with Liam. Your brother knew all along that he had a son.

“Once I found out I was pregnant, I left Octavia and went to work at a restaurant where I waited tables. I didn’t return to Octavia until Liam was six months old.

“Anyway, Christopher started coming into the restaurant almost daily, and we became friends. I was clueless that he had another motive.

“He claims Tony wanted nothing to do with Liam and was worried I’d come after his money. So, he paid Chris to keep an eye on me and find out what my intentions were.

“Once Christopher told him I wasn’t a threat, he could’ve disappeared, but he said he had already developed romantic feelings for me. We grew closer, but I’ve never thought of him as more than a friend.”

“You lied to me.”

“No, I withheld the truth, and you should understand why. I was terrified over having to move in with you, and I had a child to protect.

“Chris and I agreed to keep it a secret so that I would have a friend in the house. At the time, I felt I needed someone, Ellis. Someone who would look out for Liam and me. Surely, you can get that. I didn’t know you then.”

“But you still should’ve told me before today.”

“I know. I’ve wanted to, but things went from bad between us to all at once good, and I didn’t want to screw it up.” She exhales a long breath. “I swear I was going to tell you last night.”

“Where the hell do we go from here? He’s fucking fired for sure.”

“Please, don’t fire him. I agree it has to happen at some point, but first you need his help in finding out who poisoned Tony. Your brother confided in him, so Christopher may have known who Tony’s enemies were.

“Besides, I need to put distance between him and Liam gradually. Liam’s fond of Christopher, and he’ll wonder why he vanished from his life.”

I huff, wishing there was something I could punch.

“Why didn’t you tell me Tony knew about Liam?” I ask.

“I was afraid if I told you, you would fire Christopher and still make me move in, or you’d be furious over the whole thing and take Liam from me.”

As he rests against her in the chair, I feel like shit for threatening to separate them. Now that I’ve witnessed their bond, I know the pain it would’ve caused them, and I hate myself for instilling that fear in her.

“Christopher’s in love with you. How am I supposed to accept him being in the house every day?”

“You do it by trusting me. I don’t like him, and that’s not going to change no matter what he says or does. I promise.”