Keziah was up and about by six in the morning. Mikal had texted her that he was already out of the house and waiting for her where they planned, so she needed to leave quickly. Her sisters, who watched her from the balcony, although she had told them to get back to sleep, muttered between themselves.

"I have to go now." She hollered when she finished with her bag.

"Are you sure we shouldn't go with you?" Kingsleigh asked.

"It's not been long since the robbery."

"I'd be fine. I am not going alone. I need you guys to trust me on this. Okay? I'll call to keep you informed so you know I am alive."

"I think since it has to do with dad, one of us should..."

"You both need to handle things here. I'll be gone for two days, and you also need to keep me posted on the business. Don't worry. I'll be safe."

She left the house and started down the path off the road. Mikal parked his car close to the trees. She could see his elbow sticking out as he rested his hand on the window sill. She got close and rapped on the door, jumping in panic when he jerked his head away from the headrest.

"Ops. Sorry."

He sneezed into the crook of his arm and sniffed before looking at her. He looked awful. Well, not awful, but bad for his standards. His skin was pale, and the dark circles under his eyes spoke volumes. Even the way he looked at her was unfocused and slow. The fire she always saw in his movements was missing.

"You are sick."

"And you must be Sherlock."

She rolled her eyes and plastered her palm on his feverish forehead. He eyed her hand, then moved his head away.

"I am driving."

"Excuse me?"

"I am not being driven anywhere by a petri dish. Let me drive, please."

He chortled. "Get in. It's a simple cold. I promise you'll be safe."

"If it's a simple cold, then you should also be resting. Don't argue, please. I am standing in full view of any passerby. Which is something we are both trying to avoid. Think of it as me looking out for the both of us."

He eyes her wearily, but after another sneeze and a cough, he relented and opened the door.

"Fine." He said, exasperated.

She bit her lip to keep from offering to help him around the car. He moved slowly, almost like he was in pain. If she had known earlier, she would have cancelled the trip.

"Maybe we should go another day." She tried to suggest when they were both seated in the car.

"The next few weeks are hectic for me. I chose the best time I had. I'll be fine. Drive."

He dragged his seatbelt across his chest, and she did the same. While she threw her bag to the back, he connected and pushed "start" on the monitor, and the GPS came alive.

"I hope you brought your pills with you."

"Yeah. I'll be fine."

Those words proved false after hours of driving. Even though she tried to keep him engaged with light-hearted conversation and mild flirting, nothing he wasn't used to, Mikal only got worse. He said he was freezing, so she turned the heater on and threw her jacket over his. Then he got hot and she reversed the process. By one, he was in and out of consciousness, barely able to stop his teeth from chattering.

Keziah feared everything. What if it wasn't a simple cold. It could be his appendix. She had read somewhere that if the organ was inflamed, it could spell disaster. Although she didn't want to worry him, she suggested they stop in the town to get him checked by a doctor, but he declined. He swore he had already been to one, and she only needed to keep driving.

They had made it into town by four, but Mikal had hit rock bottom. His responses to her questions were grunts and moans. She found a decent motel to lodge in for the rest of the day. There was no way they'd be able to see Kadeem with Mikal as he was. The receptionist helped her get Mikal to their room and on a bed.

"Thank you." She breathlessly shook his hand.

"Anything you need?"

"Is there a way to have a doctor come over to check him?"

"Yes. Our small-town doctor is always available for these sorts of things if you are comfortable."

"Of course, yes."

Before she left, she asked for help finding some food and was lucky to secure an order for two bowls of chicken soup. Once they were alone, she tugged off his shoes and began peeling off his jacket. All she got from him were grunts and moans—more or less what he had been offering as conversation for the past two hours.

"Okay, big guy. Help me here."

Keziah pulled his up, and he crashed hard against her, sending her bending backwards, and he groaned loudly.

"Sorry. Sorry." She consoled, softly patting his back.

She huffed, trying to centre herself, pushing wisps of hair away from her eyes. She tugged his sleeved shirt off and then grabbed the ends of his t-shirt to pull it over his head. She rested one hand on his bare back and pulled the shirt off with the other. Once it was off, Keziah cradled his head and, with more care, laid him back on the mattress.

"I am sorry, " he whispered. His voice was so faint that she almost didn't catch the words.

"About?"

"I was supposed to be," He coughed and groaned. She immediately reached for the jar by their bed. "I was supposed to be better by now."

"Don't worry about this. Come on, drink."

He drank, and she let him lie back down. She wasn't experienced in taking care of someone who wasn't family. Especially Mikal, of all people, but she couldn't leave him to burn out. She grabbed some towels and began wiping him down before resting another folded towel on his forehead.

The town doctor stopped by and after a thorough check-up, confirmed that it was most likely a fever from a cold. And after her barrage of urgent questions, he assured Keziah that appendicitis was out of the question. So, Keziah kept watch over him and killed the time by reading one of the books she found in his bag. She doubted he would mind her borrowing it.

"Where am I?"

She jumped, her teeth flashing in a smile as she scrambled to his bed and looked down at him. Her hair fell over her face, but she didn't care. It was the first coherent thing he had said in hours. She chuckled and pressed the back of her hand to his neck.

"Hello, you. How are you feeling?"

"Keziah?"

"Yes." His temperature was still high, but not as before. That had to be a good thing.

"What are you doing?"

She grinned. "Taking care of you. What else?"

He groaned and flinched, closing his eyes briefly and looking away from her with frustration.

"Why do you have to be so beautiful."

She must have misheard.

"Excuse me?"

"Your skin is disgusting!"

She bristled.

"Am I beautiful or disgusting, you fever-brained..."

"It's like porcelain chocolate. So smooth and silky. It hurts to look at you sometimes."

Her face heated. If she could turn red, she would have resembled a tomato.

"Ah." She chuckled nervously, placing a fresh towel on his head. "You meant disgusting as a compliment as well."

"Are you my nurse?"

"For today. Hopefully, you'll get your senses back by morning."

"You'd make a terrible nurse, Keziah Pope."

He still knew who he was talking to. At least there was that.

"Don't think any of your patients would want to get better." He winked, and she rolled her eyes.

Her cheeks hurt from smiling. The man was probably delirious. She was willing to bet he wouldn't remember anything he said to her when he came back to his senses, but she stored them in her memory with a grin. She patted his cheek softly and encouraged him to try and get some rest. If he was in decent health tomorrow, they would finish what they came to do so he could go home and rest properly.

It had crossed her mind to go without him. He couldn't do anything to stop her. And she was sure a quick search through his bag would produce the address he kept from her. But she didn't dare look. Despite her desire to keep him as far from any useful information she could find, it was beyond her to break their deal when he was too weak—and deluded—to put up a fight.

"Don't leave." He croaked when she began to stand.

His warm hands clasped hers, and his thumb stroked her palm.

"Not leaving. But I am burnt out and want to get some rest. I am right beside you. Alright? Rest."

He nodded drowsily, and she pulled her fingers free from his grasp. She rested his hand on his stomach and tiptoed to her bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light.

Mikal woke up with a jerk. His body felt like he had been run over by a truck. He reached up to the wetness of his head and pulled off the towel, eyeing it suspiciously. He craned his neck to take in the wooden ceiling above him, his hands feeling the material of the sheets around his hips.

Keziah.

He sat up and immediately spotted her sprawled on another bed in the room. She had changed out of her clothes into shorts and a flattering camisole. Her legs were tangled with the sheets, and she hugged her pillow to her chest. Mikal looked away to take in the room, trying to remember the last thing that happened before he woke up. Still, he could only remember Keziah asking to drive.

How long was he out?

His body finally reminded him why he had woken up. His bladder was full. Painstakingly, he moved the sheets off his legs and quietly climbed down from the creaking bed. But Keziah was up before he could take a step. She untangled her legs drowsily and padded, barefoot, to his side. Her hand pressed flat on his stomach and back.

"Go back to bed."

He wanted to question why she was even sharing the room with him, but with how she had jumped by his standing from the bed, he knew the answer.

"I need to..."

"No. No." She slipped her hands around his back and tried to push. He stumbled back but planted his feet before she could move him anymore.

"Don't be stubborn. You need to rest."

"Keziah, I want to use the bathroom."

Her sleepy eyes lifted to search his face, and she scrubbed her eyes as if seeing him for the first time.

"You are awake."

He nodded, raising his brows. "Obviously."

She lifted two fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

He touched each finger with his own. "Two."

"You really are awake!"

"Don't mind me. I thought you were sleepwalking again. You've woken up five times already, walking around looking for..."

"Looking for?"

"Different things. It was kind of funny."

"Bathroom." He repeated, and her hands fell away, her fingers dragging down his skin before her hand slapped against her thigh.

"It's through there."

When he returned to the room, he found her slumped against the headboard, but she was on her feet the second he crossed to the bed. He felt bad for keeping her awake. She looked exhausted. When she reached for the jar by the bedside table, he tried to stop her, but he was still strained.

"You don't have to."

"It's fine." She handed him the glass, and he thanked her. "I had a doctor come over. I needed to show him the drugs you were on. Sorry, I went through your bag to find them."

"It's alright. I told you it was a cold."

She rubbed her thighs and shrugged. "I had to make sure. I was worried about how quickly you went under. One second, it was a cough. The next, you could barely string together sentences."

"I am sorry. You shouldn't have to deal with that. I thought I wouldn't be too bad."

"Of course you did."

"I threw a wrench in our plans, didn't I?"

"It's not your fault." She rested her hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry about it. It's almost morning, and you still need to gather strength."

"Yeah."

She rested her other hand on his shoulder to support him. She must have gotten comfortable caring for him or was too exhausted to notice how much she touched him. Her hand moved over his forehead and felt around his neck. She rested her hand on his arm when she talked. She towered over him to help with his pillow, and he could smell the soap on her skin. Despite being tired, she was still gorgeous.

"I am alright." He smiled. "You don't need to fuss."

"Yes, sir." She still pulled the sheets to his waist before turning the lights out.

His eyes followed the moonlight as it glittered against her skin, kissing up her legs and back before her body slipped underneath the sheets. He was still feverish, he excused. Before his body pulled him into sleep, he smiled at the thought that she had waited on him. No matter what he thought of her vengeance and hunger to bring down the families she was against, Keziah's heart never seemed to stop shining through.

Despite her bitterness, Keziah was too good-natured.

And it was drowning him.