Page 70 of Any Kind of Life
Juliet’s brows rose. “Really? What?”
“I don’t know exactly. But they had search and rescue along with every other service. Someone has probably gone into the dock, and they haven’t surfaced.” Paige sighed. “I hope whoever it is will be okay. That’s no way to go.”
“I’ve never understood how people ‘fall’ into the dock. It’s fenced off with metal chains. Unless you’re on the wrong side of that fence, I fail to see how it’s possible.”
Paige nodded. Juliet was right about that. It wasn’t possible to just slip and fall in. “I know. Let’s just hope if someone did go in, they can be rescued and seek the help they need.”
Juliet sipped her orange juice and returned to her lunch. “That would be the perfect outcome. It rarely happens that way, unfortunately.”
Wow. This conversation had turned morbid pretty quickly. “Anyway, enough of speculating. We don’t know what’s happened down there. How are you feeling?”
“Better than this morning. My pain is much more manageable.”
Paige perched herself on the edge of Juliet’s bed. It had been hard seeing her looking so drained and sore this morning when she’d arrived. “Good. I’m glad you’re feeling better. The only way is up, babe.”
“I wish I could be at home with you. I don’t see the point in lying in this bed when I could be lying in my own. Which, by the way, is much more comfortable.”
Paige hadn’t imagined Juliet to be the complaining type when it came to hospitals, but here they were. “You’ll be allowed home when they say you can. Until then, you have to do as you’re told. There is no way you’re doing anything to delay your recovery because you couldn’t be arsed lying in this bed.” Paige winked as she stood up and moved towards the window. “Do you think they’re hiding her somewhere?”
Juliet snorted. “Probably.”
“I fucking hate her. And I feel so stupid for befriending her. She deceived us all.”
“People like Cara usually do. They’re good at living a lie. It’s how she managed to be employed by us for so long.”
Paige turned and faced Juliet. “Did you ever have any suspicions about her? About what she was going to do? Because I sure as shit never did.”
“No. Nothing.”
“Does that mean we’re stupid or just too trusting?” Paige couldn’t get her head around the fact that Cara had managed to worm her way into their lives with such ease. “I mean, I know she was a dick when she first joined the bar, but then she was really sweet. Fucking hell, she even covered our shifts so we could have the night off.”
Juliet reached out a hand and pulled Paige back down to the bed. “And that is precisely why she did that. So we wouldn’t have any clue about what she planned to do. Neither of us are to blame, Paige. Even Henry didn’t get any sort of bad vibe from her.”
Paige stroked her thumb across Juliet’s knuckles. “Do you think we should arrange to stay elsewhere when you’re discharged? If she’s still out there?”
“That’s something to consider.” Juliet nodded as she rested her head back on the mass of pillows behind her. “Henry can sort out somewhere for us if we decide that’s the right thing to do.”
“I don’t know what the right thing to do is. Other than punch Cara’s lights out, I don’t know what the hell we should do. I just know I need to keep you safe.”
“I’ll be okay. I dropped my guard, and that won’t happen again. I’ve learnt my lesson.”
Paige’s brows drew together. “I wouldn’t say there was any lesson to learn. She’s just a mad bitch who thinks she’s some sort of gangster.”
“Perhaps, but she almost did what she set out to do.” Juliet turned her head to Paige and smiled. “Rumour has it that I’m only alive because you saved my life.”
Paige had got lucky by getting there when she did. That’s all. “I just did what they told me to do on the call. Poor Henry had to see me in my bra. He’s probably traumatised for life.”
Juliet belly laughed at that, but then she groaned as she held her side. “Fuck. That hurt.”
“Oh, shit. I’m sorry.” Paige climbed onto the bed and lay beside Juliet. One arse cheek hung off the edge of the bed, but she didn’t care. “Come here. You should rest now that you’ve had lunch.”
“All I’m doing is resting. I’ll have bedsores soon if I don’t get out of here.”
Paige lowered her head to Juliet’s shoulder and sighed. “Everything will be okay soon, babe. I promise you.”
Juliet pressed a kiss to the top of Paige’s head. “I know. And that’s because I have you by my side.” She covered Paige with some of the sheet tangled on the bed and turned her body as best as she could. “I’ll nap if you promise to stay here with me.”
“Always, babe. I’m not going anywhere.”