by J. N. Baker
“My name is Dr. Hayes. Are you feeling any pain or dizziness?” he asked, pulling out his glasses and setting them on the bridge of his nose before scanning through my chart. “You might experience some grogginess from the medication we gave you. But, overall, you’re quite fortunate. Last night we weren’t sure if you’d wake up at all.”
“What happened? Where’s the man I was with? And why the hell am I cuffed to the bed?”
“It’s for your safety,” the good doctor replied without missing a beat. He placed my chart on the counter and released a weighted breath, rolling over a leather stool to sit at my bedside. “You were in a very bad accident during the earthquake, Miss Marks. Do you remember? As for your friend, I’m afraid he didn’t make it through surgery. I am truly sorry for your loss.”
Oh, he was good. I almost believed him.
“Have to say that often?”
“It’s part of the job,” he said, his voice going cold.
Dr. Hayes rose from the stool and reclaimed my chart, flipping absently through its pages. “Anyway, you should count yourself lucky. It’s nothing short of a miracle that you survived such a crash without any injuries. Very lucky indeed,” he added, furrowing his brow. “We’ll need to keep you overnight for observation.”
“I thought I was already here overnight,” I countered.
The corner of his mouth twitched. “Well,” he mumbled, “we need to observe you now that you’re awake. We have to make sure there was no brain damage or concussion acquired during the accident. Something like that, if left untreated, could be fatal, Miss Marks. I’m sorry, my hands are tied by protocol. I’m sure you understand.” The old man flashed an uneasy smile.
It didn’t matter what he said or did, there was no way in hell they’d be able to contain me. I’d like to have seen them try. I’d already spotted at least ten items in the room that would serve as excellent weapons. It was amazing what you could do with dirty needles and tongue depressors.
“I apologize for the inconvenience,” he continued. “I’ll do everything I can to make this as quick and painless as possible.” Interesting choice of words. With that, Dr. Hayes was gone.
Before I had a chance to process the situation, a petite nurse with kind eyes popped her head into the room. She flashed me a warm smile. “Miss Marks? You have a visitor.” She glanced over her shoulder, scanning the hallway before turning back to me, lowering her voice a decibel. “Dr. Hayes said no visitors, but now that you’re awake, I don’t see what it would hurt. I’ll send him in.”
“A visitor?” I asked the empty hospital room.
“She’s in here, sir.”
A man stood in the doorway, ice-blue eyes glued to my face. He was tall, around six foot three, with a toned body and sun-kissed skin. His jawline was flawless, strong and well shaven. He wore a white T-shirt, wet from the rain. It clung to his body as if he wore nothing at all.
Messy brown locks covered his forehead and ears, drops of rain still dripping from the tips. My mouth watered as I feasted upon him, taking in as much as I possibly could before coming back down to Earth. I was sure I was breaking at least a few rules in The Boundaries of Friendship handbook, but I didn’t give a damn.
Josh rushed across the room and knelt beside the hospital bed. He cupped my face in his hands, his eyes searching mine as gentle thumbs stroked my bloodied skin. Instinctively, I leaned into his touch, savoring the familiar sensation.
And, all at once, it was like I was human again—a normal girl with normal problems. No end of the world, no blood-stained hands, no army of vampires hell-bent on taking my head. It was just Josh and me and a simpler time when my biggest worries in life were an abusive family and deciding if going on a date with my best friend was a good idea or not.
“Are you trying to give me a damn heart attack?” Josh snapped, though his voice was filled with warmth. “They wouldn’t let me come in until you woke up, if you woke up. No one is telling me anything, just that you were involved in some sort of wreck. What the hell is going on, Zoe? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine, Josh,” I tried to assure him. Maybe if I said it enough, I’d start to believe it myself.
“You’re not fine,” he practically shouted. “Look at you, you’re covered in blood.”
Heat rose in my neck as his eyes raked over my body. I sunk farther into the hospital bed, suddenly grateful for oversized hospital gowns and blood-splattered skin to hide my markings.
“It’s dried blood,” I corrected, as if that should make a difference.
Josh gave me a look and I cringed. It was the same look he’d given me six years ago. I hated that damn look. It was like I was ripping his heart out all over again.
“Why do I get the feeling you’re hiding something from me?”
Because I am, I wanted to say.
“How did you even find me here?” I asked instead.
Josh retrieved Dr. Hayes’s stool and rolled it over to the bed, sitting beside me. His hand covered mine. “When I got to your apartment and you weren’t there, I tried calling you. But you didn’t answer. I kept calling until some woman answered your phone—a nurse. She told me you’d been in an accident and were at the hospital.”
He sighed, running his free hand over his face. It was coming. I could see the words forming on the tip of his tongue. “Zo, how did you know? You knew something bad was going to happen—you knew about the earthquake, didn’t you? How the hell did you know?”
“So, it’s already happened,” I said, relieved to see he’d made it out when he did.
“Yeah,” Josh started, “the earthquake you guys felt here was just the shockwave from the quake down in southern California. That is, what used to be southern California. If you hadn’t called me when you did…” His voice cracked.
I shuddered at the thought of what would have happened if I hadn’t called him—if I hadn’t gone behind William’s back and disobeyed a direct order. I could have lost Josh forever. But I did, and Josh was still alive because of it. How many more would have been alive if I’d acted further? William told me the future couldn’t be changed, only prepared for. I didn’t stop the earthquake, but hadn’t I changed the future by saving Josh from it?
Josh squeezed my hand, pulling me from my dark thoughts. “Zoe, how did you know?”
My eyes fell away from his as I retracted my hand. “Josh, I can’t…”
He pressed his lips together, struggling to control himself, his fingers clenching and unclenching in his lap. “Yes, you can.” He stood from the stool and sat on the bed beside me, forcing me to look at him. “When we were growing up, you could tell me anything. Hell, I was one of the few people who knew what those fuckers used to do to you in that house.
“I know things have been harder for us, different even, after what happened to you our senior year. Maybe it’s because I haven’t been around as much, or maybe you still blame me for what happened that night. No—” he stopped me as I opened my mouth to protest.
“Let me finish, please.” He took a deep, almost pained breath. “I understand if there’s a part of you that still blames me. Shit, there’s part of me that still does too. I wasn’t there for you when you needed me most. But I’m here now, Zoe.” He grabbed my hand and placed it over his racing heart. “It’s still me. You can still talk to me. I need you to talk to me right now. What is going on?”
This wasn’t how I wanted it to be after all this time apart. How long had it been? Ten months? A year? Too damn long. Josh was right. We were close once. There wasn’t anything I couldn’t tell him. But things had changed over the past six years. It wasn’t Josh—it was me.
I’d changed. I wasn’t the same girl he knew growing up. What would he think if he saw me for the monster I’d become? Emotion washed over me as I lost myself in his eyes. But as quickly as it came, that emotion was gone.
“There are things you can’t understand, things I can’t tell you. It’s for your own protection. I’m sorry.” I turned away fr
om him, avoiding disappointed eyes. God, I sounded like William. It made me sick.
“Yeah,” he exhaled, “I’m sorry too.”
Ouch.
After a few minutes, I heard him shift beside me. “Who sent you those?” he asked, his voice slightly distant.
I followed his gaze to the counter on the far side of the room where a vase held a bouquet of wildflowers. I hadn’t noticed them before. Curious, I held out my hands as Josh fetched them for me. The cold glass connected with my skin sending a chill down my naked spine. The flowers were intoxicating. A million times better than the sterile smell of the hospital room. I resisted the urge to bury my face in them. I fumbled with the tag, flipping it over to read the handwritten message.
“Get well soon. I’ll find you…”
“Who are they from?” Josh asked, taking the bouquet back from me.
“Um, a friend,” I said under my breath. “Just a friend.”
“Must be a pretty good friend. They’re nice,” he muttered as he set the flowers on the counter.
Before I could overanalyze the subtle jealousy in his voice, the door swung open and another man stepped into the hospital room. He chuckled when he saw me. “Always getting into trouble, aren’t you, Fido?”
Cody strolled across the room, giving Josh a stiff nod as he extended his hand. “What’s up, dude? I didn’t know your ugly ass was coming into town.”
Josh took Cody’s hand in a firm grip. “Yeah, neither did I. Zoe had the idea for a spur-of-the-moment visit.”
“Well, shit,” Cody exclaimed. “Ain’t that some good timing. Not the best time to be in SoCal.”
Josh flashed me a dark look. “Yeah, you’re telling me. What are you doing here anyway?” he said to Cody.
A blind man could see the tension between them. It looked like some things would never change. The events of that night affected more than just my life.
“Same thing as you are, dude, I’m checking on Zo. I’m her emergency contact. I got a call that she was in an accident and headed right over. I don’t live as far away as you do, remember? It’s only right that I should be here.” Cody smiled at me from over Josh’s shoulder. The smile seemed somewhat forced.
It was true that Cody had always stayed close. In fact, when he found out where I’d moved to after my year of isolated cabin life, he put in a transfer at his college and packed his bags, bound for the Sunshine State. I saw him often over the years, at least once a month. It was strange. William wasn’t nearly as suspicious of Cody as he was of others in my life.
Cody stood a couple inches shorter than Josh with wiry blond hair that fell past his shoulders. His skin was overcooked from years of sun worship and he always reeked of saltwater. It wasn’t hard to tell he was a surfer. He screamed of the California cliché. Think of a slightly less muscular Matthew McConaughey and you’ve practically pegged Cody. Sometimes I thought he’d be the perfect hippie living out of his van on the beach. Oh wait, he’d done that his sophomore year of college.
Cody sat at the foot of my bed, running his hands over my ankles. He flashed me a devilish grin. “Kinky,” he said, lifting the sheet and tugging on the cuffs.
“What’s with the restraints?”
I turned to Josh and shrugged half-heartedly. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve been a bad girl.”
Josh didn’t find this nearly as entertaining as Cody, who doubled over with laughter. He leaned toward me, purring at me in a suave, debonair sort of way. He did that rather well, maybe a little too well.
“Make yourself useful,” Josh hissed at Cody. “Maybe you can get her to talk.” He raked his fingers through his wet hair. The pain was all over his face. He’d always had this constant need to protect me. I hated lying to him, but he’d never understand.
“I was getting a ride home on a friend’s motorcycle,” I started.
“A motorcycle?” Cody looked amused. Josh, not so much.
Josh glanced at the wildflowers on the counter. “Same friend?” he asked, cocking a brow at me.
“Yes, a motorcycle. And, yes, the same friend. A truck lost control during the earthquake and crashed into us. But I’m fine now,” I added quickly, leaving out the minor details of broken bones, punctured lungs, and road rash.
Cody’s face fell. Apparently, it wasn’t funny anymore.
“A motorcycle accident,” Josh echoed. “A motorcycle and a truck? And you walked away from it?”
“Well, technically, I was carried away,” I joked. No one was laughing. I rolled my eyes and sighed. “But I’m fine now—just a little concussion and some scrapes and bruises. Most of this blood is from my friend, and he’s already been released.”
The two men exchanged a look, neither saying anything.
“I’m fine,” I insisted. “I was really, really lucky, okay?” I hoped they wouldn’t see my words for what they really were: lies. It wasn’t completely untrue. After all, Dr. Hayes did tell me I appeared to have escaped unscathed and that I was lucky to have survived. I was just relaying the information, right?
“If you’re fine, when can you leave?” Josh’s voice was tight, his eyes cold.
“Now.” I motioned for Josh to get my clothes from a corner chair. “I can leave right now. Dr. Hayes just gave me the okay before you came in. The nurse will be right in to discharge me.”
More lies. Always lies.
Josh froze in front of the pile of clothing. I saw his hands clench into fists at his sides. “This,” he paused, “this is ‘fine’?” He picked up the clothes and tossed them on the foot of the bed with disgust.
There was hardly anything left of the leggings and sweater I’d worn. They were covered in blood, some mine and some Alec’s. I set the tattered cloth beside me, keeping my eyes down. There was nothing to say.
Josh stormed out of the room without another word. Cody stood, taking his jacket off and handing it to me. “Don’t worry about Josh. He’ll get over it.”
“Yeah,” I sighed.
“Need help with those?” He pointed in the direction of my feet.
I pulled the sheet aside and pursed my lips at the restraints. “No, I think I can manage. They aren’t that tight. Thanks.”
Cody flashed me a wink. “See you in a bit, Fido.”
I gripped the jacket with both hands, watching Cody slip out of the room. One quick yank of my fingers and the cuffs around my ankles broke loose. I rose from the bed and tied the back of the hospital gown as tightly as I could before pulling needles and suction cups from my flesh without so much as a flinch. The heart monitor started beeping wildly and I knew we didn’t have much time. I pulled on Cody’s oversized jacket and exited the room before anyone came to check the machine.
When I walked into the waiting room, Josh was leaning over the front desk with his face in the palm of his hands, Cody beside him, flirting with one of the receptionists.
It was time to check out of Hell. We needed to get out of here before more of Baldric’s lackies figured out what I was, or worse, Baldric himself arrived. I stepped up to the front desk, tapping my fingers on the counter incessantly. “I need to pick up my things,” I said as the receptionist finally pulled her attention away from Cody. “It should be under the name Zoe Marks.”
The woman blushed, nodding as she ducked out of the lobby to retrieve my purse and cell phone.
“Miss Marks?”
I spun on my heels, coming face to face with the good doctor. He looked worried and I didn’t blame him. I could only imagine what would happen to him if I managed to escape while under his watch. It seemed to me that the general wasn’t one to accept failure. “What do you think you’re doing?” Dr. Hayes asked, shifting his glasses farther up his nose.
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m leaving.”
“Sir,” he said, directing his attention to Josh. I guess he looked to be the more rational of my two male companions. He probably was. “I cannot permit you to take this woman out of our care.”
“She said you released her.�
�� Josh scowled at the doctor, wrapping his arm around my waist, his grip firm. “She doesn’t seem to have any major injuries. I’ll sign whatever waiver I have to. I’m taking her home. She’ll be fine with me.”
“Is that what she told you? Well, I’m sorry, son, but she has been in no way ‘released’ yet.” The doctor took a step toward me, reaching for my hand. “Come on now, child.”
“Don’t touch her,” Cody snarled, stepping between us, shoving the older man’s hand away.
“Like I said, gentlemen, I can’t allow Miss Marks to be removed from hospital grounds. Security! Take this patient back down to intensive care immediately!”
Two large men stormed down the corridor. They came at me from either side, snatching me up by my arms like a rag doll until only my toes touched the ground. I didn’t think for a second that they were actual security guards. Their skin was too cold and their eyes too hollow. I glowered at the doctor as he flashed me a wicked grin, the jagged tips of fangs peeking out from under his wrinkled lips.
“Get her out of here,” Dr. Hayes growled.
Without warning, Cody jumped one of the men from behind, grabbing him by the throat and hurling him to the ground. For a brief moment, Cody and I locked eyes, and his normally brown eyes flashed to an intense yellow. I began to wonder what the hell drugs the doctors had given me.
A second later, a brown-eyed Cody and Josh had the security guard pinned to the floor. We were becoming quite the spectacle, the overfilled waiting room gaping at us as they pushed to get farther from the melee. The beefy man still holding me grabbed my other arm and yanked it behind my back, tightening his grip as if he was trying to prove who was in control. He was funny. I almost laughed.
“Do you really think I can be contained?” I asked, lowering my voice as I turned my attention to Dr. Hayes. “Are you really that stupid? You know what I am, and you know what I’m capable of. I wonder if this man has a family, because in about three seconds they’ll be planning his funeral, collecting the pieces in a body bag. And when I finish with him, I’ll come for you. I’ll cut off your head with that fancy pen of yours. I’ve already seen it happen and, Doc, it ain’t pretty.”