The Last Time I Cried Your Name novel Chapter 194

Petty glanced over her shoulder, just a reflex, but all she saw were strangers shuffling out of the elevator along with her. Harris was right behind her, keeping an arm slightly out, blocking other people from brushing too close. The elevator doors behind them slid shut, the sliver of space between them disappearing in a second.

“Are you okay?” Harris asked, noticing how distracted she was, looking around instead of watching her step. He hovered closer, like he might catch her if she stumbled.

Petty shook her head, forcing herself to look forward. Maybe she was just being jumpy.

Yesterday at lunch, she’d heard Malcom cough for the first time. In her mind, the sound should have been different—a kind of silent, strangled thing, maybe, since Malcom never spoke. But his cough was no different from anyone else’s. Oddly, she could tell just from that cough that his voice, if he ever used it, would be deep and probably very attractive.

Maybe... a bit like Franco’s.

Just now, she could have sworn she’d heard Malcom coughing again.

People from the elevator scattered, splitting off to go their separate ways. A stranger walked past Petty, coughed a couple of times, then started chatting with someone else.

Not Malcom after all.

She felt a little silly. Of course it wasn’t him. If Malcom had really been here, he wouldn’t have ignored her. He never did.

Back inside the closed elevator, Franco’s fist covered his mouth as he coughed. His eyes turned even colder than usual, his face unreadable in the dim reflection on the steel walls. None of the floor lights on the control panel were lit.

He stared down, pressed the button to open the doors again. They slid apart with a soft hush.

He stayed where he was, eyes fixed through the opening, watching Petty walk away beside Harris and Aaron. His gaze was sharp, almost icy.

Just then, his phone buzzed in his pocket.

He pulled it out. A WeChat message had come in.

Petty: Malcom, where are you?

He stared at the screen for a second, then typed back: Home.

Petty: Is your cold any better?

Malcom: Yeah.

Right when she finally started to calm down, the nanny poked her head in. “Laura, Nash is here.”

Nash rushed in, looking both angry and panicked. He’d heard she tried to hurt herself again last night and had come as fast as he could. Seeing her propped in the hospital bed, pale and fragile, made him furious. “Seriously, Laura, what were you thinking?”

“Nash, why are you here?” Laura managed a tired smile, reaching for him.

Her nightgown was thin, just barely covering her wrists. As she held out her hand, the sleeve slipped up. The pale skin of her wrist was almost translucent, a deep red ruby bracelet glinting against it.

The rubies almost glowed, standing out bold against how white she looked.

Nash’s eyes narrowed, but Laura didn’t notice. She squeezed his hand. “Is the final list out for Everell’s foreign bureau?”

Nash sat on the edge of her bed, studying her. Of course, the first thing out of her mouth was that list.

She really couldn’t wait for Petty to leave Cabinda, could she?