Chapter 30 He Is Back
Elodie's POV
Walking out of the mall, the cold wind hit me and I realized Graham was gripping my wrist incredibly hard.
"Stay away from people like that from now on," she said in a low voice. "All slicked up and pretty - clearly no good."
"Graham, he helped me before. You're overreacting."
"Overreacting?" Graham stopped and turned to look at me, her wrinkled eyes full of gravity. "Miss Elodie, you have no idea what kind of situation the boss is facing right now. Chicago is someone else's territory. Anyone who approaches us could be an enemy. You trust people too easily."
I had no way to argue with her words.
She was right - in Nelson's world, there were invisible dangers everywhere.
My behavior just now might have really been too reckless.
I fell silent, but still felt bad about York.
While Graham was hailing a cab on the street, I pulled out my phone and quickly sent York a message: [Sorry, Graham is a bit on edge. We were rude today.]
He replied almost instantly: [No worries, it's good for the old lady to be cautious. Stay safe.]
Looking at his reply, the guilt in my heart eased a little.
Getting in the car, I put away my phone without letting Graham see.
Back at the hotel, the moment Graham closed the door, that tense scrutiny enveloped me again.
"That man called York," she got straight to the point, "how did you meet him?"
"He helped me once in New York." I put the shopping bags on the table. The cramping in my lower abdomen was getting clearer, leaving me in no mood to deal with her interrogation.
"How did he help? Where did you meet? What did he say to you?" Graham fired off questions one after another, giving me no chance to breathe.
Her questions left me frustrated and annoyed. I couldn't help but push back, "Graham, aren't you overthinking this? He just happens to be in Chicago too. We just said hello."
"Miss Elodie," Graham's expression was more serious than ever. She walked up to me and said word by word, "In the boss's world, there's no such thing as 'just happens.' Every seemingly chance encounter could hide a deadly scheme behind it. I'm going to have someone look into him."
Looking at her as if facing a major threat, I felt both absurd and powerless.
I admitted she had a point, but I really didn't want to treat everyone who showed me kindness as an enemy.
The cramping in my lower abdomen suddenly intensified. I groaned in pain, cold sweat instantly breaking out on my forehead.
I couldn't be bothered to argue with her anymore. I grabbed the painkillers from the shopping bag, swallowed them with warm water, then went straight to my room and threw myself onto the soft bed.
The medicine hadn't kicked in yet, and waves of pain felt like they were tearing my body apart.
I tossed and turned in bed, my consciousness gradually blurring in the pain, finally falling into a deep sleep.
I don't know how long passed, but I seemed to fall into a warm dream.
That tormenting pain seemed to be soothed by a warm, large hand. That hand, slightly calloused, was making circles on my lower abdomen through the thin blanket, neither too light nor too heavy.
A familiar, crisp scent surrounded me, making my tense nerves unconsciously relax.
"Feeling better?" a low, husky voice sounded by my ear.
I struggled to lift my eyelids, and in my blurry vision appeared a face I'd been longing for day and night.
Nelson was sitting by my bed. The dim bedside lamp cast deep shadows on his sharp profile, and those blue eyes were looking at me intently, filled with undisguised concern.
I must be dreaming.
Because I missed him so much, even my dreams felt this real.
I reached out to touch his face, and my fingertips actually felt warm skin.
Not a dream.
My whole body stiffened, and sleepiness vanished instantly. "You... how are you here?"
His hand on my lower abdomen paused, but didn't loosen its pressure. He just glanced at me lightly, "If I didn't come, did you want to die alone in a Chicago hotel?"
His words were as cutting as always, but the care in his eyes couldn't lie.
Before I could process this huge surprise, a large head poked through the doorway.
Rod was grinning, looking like he wanted praise. "Miss Elodie, aren't I amazing! As soon as I got the signal that the boss turned on his phone, I immediately found him!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Nelson grabbed a pillow from beside the bed without looking back and threw it accurately at him. "Get out."
He said coldly, then stood up, his tall figure blocking between Rod and me, his blue eyes full of warning. "I'll say it one more time - stay away from her."
Rod stumbled from being hit and touched his nose pitifully, but didn't dare disobey at all, immediately scurrying away.
The room was quiet again, just the two of us.
I looked at him, with a thousand words in my heart, but in the end just pulled out those photos from under the pillow and held them in front of him.
Nelson looked down at them, his expression instantly turning cold.
"Just because of these things, you ran to Chicago alone?" His voice was heavy, impossible to read.
My nose tingled and my eyes instantly reddened.
I sniffled, forcing back the tears, and looked at him stubbornly. "Vivian answered your phone."
He seemed stunned for a moment, then understood something, his brows furrowing tightly. "I was never with her."
"Then what about these photos?" I held up the "evidence" in my hand, my voice carrying a grievance I hadn't even noticed myself.
Nelson finally reached out, but not for the photos - instead, he pulled me, blanket and all, into his arms. He still carried the cold from outside, but his embrace was solid and warm.
"I swear, these are all fake." His low voice sounded above my head. "Elodie, I don't have such bad taste as you think."
He gently patted my back, like soothing a frightened kitten. "I've already sent people to investigate Vivian. Someone's helping her from behind, trying to drive a wedge between us. I'll handle this."
He paused, dropping a very light kiss by my ear. "These next few days, I'll stay with you the whole time. Not going anywhere."
All the grievance, anxiety, and fear in my heart vanished with those words.
I nodded hard, burying my face in his chest, greedily absorbing his reassuring scent.
The next day, my body had mostly recovered. Just thinking about how Nelson said he'd stay with me made my heart feel like it was filled with honey.
"Can we go out for a walk?" I tugged at his sleeve, looking at him with expectant eyes. "I've been in Chicago all this time and haven't gone out yet."
Nelson looked at my bright eyes, the corner of his mouth lifting in a very faint arc. He was about to nod when an untimely voice rang out.
"No." Graham walked out of the kitchen with breakfast in hand. "The boss's location has been compromised. It's too dangerous out there right now. You're not going anywhere."