Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 73716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“Brenda Shaw…”
Before I could even finish, curses started to explode out of the men’s mouths.
I backed up, surprised at the vehemence, and stared in wide-eyed surprise.
“Should’ve known that bitch had something to do with this,” Finley snapped. “Reed is going to flip after that shit last week. I knew this was going to happen!”
I’d met Reed very briefly when he came by Tobias’ house the day we’d arrived back from our cruise—finding Tobias’ house full of people. He’d briefly said hi, introduced himself, and then had left within minutes after making sure that Tobias was okay.
“What happened, darlin’?” Dante asked. “Start from the very beginning.”
Dante looked a lot like Tobias, and it was hurting my heart to look at him, so I returned my eyes to the badge, and then explained every single thing that had happened from the moment I strapped on my CIVILIAN Kevlar vest, to the second where Tobias had been rushed to surgery.
“I’ve been calling back regularly,” Tally supplied. “The last time I called was about a minute before y’all showed up,” she said, sounding sympathetic. “I’ll continue to call, but the last time they said he was still in surgery and there was still no word.”
I brought the shield up to my chest, and held it there while I said a small prayer.
“Has anyone looked at you, darlin’?”
That was Finley.
I looked at him like he was crazy.
“No, why?”
He snorted. “You have blood all over your face.”
Oh, yeah.
I remembered that.
“I told them I wouldn’t be seen until I knew Tobias was okay,” I said. “When they tried to force me, I refused services by them.”
“And how will you getting an infection, because you’ve got a large gaping wound on your head, make this any better?” Dante snapped.
I looked at him, but I didn’t have an answer.
“Nurse, take her back and get someone to look at her head.”
Tally jumped up, eager to do what he asked.
Not because she wanted to obey Dante, but because she was clearly upset that I wasn’t getting looked at.
“That okay, Audrey?”
I shrugged.
I guessed that it was okay, but at this point, I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about doing much of anything.
“You can do whatever you want to do, but I need to be close by in case Tobias needs me.”
“It’ll be okay, Audrey.”
I turned to find the rest of the Dixie Wardens at my back, and suddenly, I sagged.
“Okay.”
The knowledge that they were all here, and that they would tell me if they heard even the most inconsequential bit of news, was enough to allow me to give myself over to Tally’s care.
“Sean?” Tally called. “Do you think you could help me?”
Sean walked over without another word, helping me up onto the gurney that I wasn’t even aware that I’d been close to.
I was in the middle of the ER, with men all over the place, watching me get looked at, and I’d never felt so alone.
But I would deal, because that was what Tobias would want me to do.
He’d want me to deal.
For him.
For him, I’d do anything.
Chapter 21
When you make sure you’re on the same page with someone, also make sure you are in the same book, and all parties know how to read.
-Words of wisdom
Tobias
I woke up with the worst case of cottonmouth I’d ever experienced, and immediately reached to the side of the bed for my glass of water that normally resided there.
Only, the thing that I felt when I reached wasn’t a table, but a pole of some sort.
I cracked open an eye, and immediately groaned when the sun nearly blinded me.
“Fuck,” I cried out, now using my hand as a shield for the sun that was now blinding me.
That’s about the time that I realized that the thing pointed at my face wasn’t the sun at all, but a flashlight.
“Reed, you asshole. Get off of me.”
Reed and I used to share a room, and he was the type of jerk off who would fuck with me, even fifteen years later.
“Why is it always me that he blames?” Came Reed’s voice.
Only it sounded like he was across the room, not anywhere near me.
I cracked my eye open again and was relieved to see that there was no light shining in my eyes anymore.
Who I did see standing there, however, was Audrey. She had a small smile on her face, and she was leaning over me as she looked at me with so much concern that it was hard to take in.
“Sorry,” she said. “I wanted to make sure your pupils were reacting. You’ve been asleep for a long time.”
I had?
“What’s wrong with your face?”
Her face slipped into a frown.
“That’s not very nice,” she snarled.
I grabbed her hand before she could get much more than a step away from the bed I was lying in, and pulled her toward me.