I tilted my head, trying to stretch out my sore muscles. Why did I hurt so much? I specifically remembered my chest, but not the reason behind the sore muscles.
"Evie? You awake?" Gabriel's soothing voice washed comfort over me.
I groaned softly. "Sort of." My voice sounded awful. I swallowed hard a few, times trying to make it less scratchy.
"If you can sit up, I'll give you some water."
I tried to push myself up, which is when I realized I was lying on a seat or several seats. Slowly, I peeled open an eyelid. The darkness outside was a relief since I didn't think my eyes could handle daylight.
Gabriel's face peeked over the seat behind me, and the kindest "dad" smile was on his lips. "So now that you've tested the comfort of your new SUV, what do you think?"
I flexed my muscles a little and cleared my throat again. "They skimped on the cushioning."
Gabriel smiled wider. "Thatta girl. How's your cut?"
I shifted my shoulders, which sent a massive bolt of pain to my chest. Wincing, I squeezed my eyes shut again and tried to breathe through the pain. I focused really hard on breathing in a way that moved my stomach and not my chest.
"That's not good," Gabriel said loudly.
I kept breathing deeply until I had the pain under some sort of control then opened my eyes again. A stranger with dark eyes, dark hair, and deep olive skin peered over the seat at me. He smiled, but I had no idea who he was, and couldn't figure out if it was a ha-ha-you-look-like-a-train-wreck smile or a hello-hot-stuff-I'd-like-your-number smile. He reached down and started to pull at the collar of my T-shirt. I looked to Gabriel and pushed the stranger's hands away.
Gabriel patted my shoulder. "He's a doctor, Evie. He's checking your wound."
"That better be all he's checking," yelled a voice I would know anywhere.
My head jerked toward the driver's seat where Harm's voice had come from. Tears came to my eyes, and I felt so relieved and happy and just overwhelmed. "Harm?" I yelled, and my voice cracked. "Harm?" I was crying, trying even harder to sit up, but it hurt so badly. I kept glancing at the driver's seat, trying to see him.
"Whoa there," Dr. Stranger Guy said. "You'll rip out your stitches. Just stay still."
I didn't care about my freaking stitches. I just wanted Harm to make the pain go away. The woman in the passenger's seat peeked back at me. She was beautiful and reminded me of Halle Berry, but with shoulder-length golden brown hair and light brown eyes. Her skin was midnight black, but there was this undeniable glow underneath it.
Her eyes were so sympathetic. "Harm," she said gently, "put your hand back to her."
The second I saw his large, rough hand, I grabbed it and held on for dear life, sobbing like a child.
"It's okay, kid." His voice was as shaky as the day they'd taken Dev away from me. "You're safe now. It's gonna be fine, Evie. I promise."
I closed my eyes and just let the tears fall as he held my hand, firmly rubbing his thumb back and forth over my fingers. Holding my big brother's hand helped me so much; it gave me strength.
"Gabriel," Harm called out over his shoulder. "I'm gonna say three."
Gabriel laughed lightly and replied, "You have no idea what you're talking about in this scenario. I call one."
The kind female voice in the front added, "I call thirty seconds."
I closed my eyes, trying to focus on the comfort I felt from Harm, but it wasn't enough. Whenever anything bad happened to me, I always wanted Harm there. He was always the first to come to mind when I was in physical pain. But that was before Dev… "Dev!" I yelled, my eyes flaring open. I tried to sit up again. "Where's Dev? Is he here? Where is he?"
"Damn." The girl in the front sounded amazed. "That was less than fifteen seconds. She's good."
"Or obsessive," Harm mumbled. In a louder voice, he called back to me, "He's back with the others, Evie."
Screw the pain, I pushed myself up and clenched my jaw through the flames lighting up my chest. "We have to go back for him!" I moved one foot to the floor. "We have to get him. Harm, turn around."
"Stop." Gabriel put his hand on my shoulder, holding me from moving any farther.
The doctor guy put his hands out to stop me from moving too. "You'll rip your stitches."
I almost laughed at the doctor's earnest face. Did he really think I cared about some stupid stitches?
"He's following us Evie," Harm explained.
I shook my head at that and attempted once again to clear the fuzz from my mind enough to work through it all. "No, we have to get him now, Harm. They'll—he'll—"
"Evie," Gabriel interrupted. "He's in my truck following us—right behind us. Now calm down and lie back."
I didn't move. "Behind us?" I had to be sure.
"Yes." Gabriel nodded. "I promise."
"But—" I hated how small my voice became. "Why isn't he with us, or I mean, in here… with us?"
Gabriel patted my shoulder again. "We had some trouble leaving San Jose. He got stuck in my truck, and we haven't stopped since. He's not happy about it either, trust me. But you have the good doctor here, and that's more important. Now lie back down and relax."
I glared back at the doctor guy. He was so not more important than Dev. Carefully, I rearranged myself on the seat, squeezing my eyes shut to the pain. Now that I knew Dev was okay and with us, I was able to focus on the flaming trench of hell spanning my upper chest.
Hernandez spoke much more softly. "Can I take a look at your injury?"
"No," I said forcefully without even thinking. He put his hands back up, and in a louder voice that lacked all playfulness, he called out, "Sierra."
The beautiful girl in the front turned around. Something about her eyes drew me in—they darted around from me, to my chest, and to Hernandez. Then she nodded once at Hernandez and turned to back to Harm. "How much farther, Harm?" she asked quietly.
"Gabriel?" Harm called out. "Are we almost there?"
Gabriel turned to the window. "It was a big mall along this street. We can't be far. Maybe up there beyond that overpass?"
I closed my eyes and forced myself to speak evenly. "I marked it on the GPS in the dashboard."
The smile in Harm's voice made me happy. "That's my girl, but I see it now." In a voice that sounded incredibly authoritative, he said, "Okay people, up ahead on the left, we'll be stopping. Vaughn, your presence is required ASAP."
My heart leapt up and did a happy dance as I realized he was talking to Dev. I was minutes from seeing him. I tried to pull myself up, but I was so weak, and the pain was so awful.
"Hold on there, beautiful." Hernandez put his hand on my shoulder. "You just stay here like this, or I'll give you another shot to knock you out. I can't have you moving around."
That pissed me off so much. I wanted to literally rip his damn arms out of their sockets and smash his brains in with them. His smug smile made me want to take a knife and… why was I so mad? I clenched my jaw tight, and through gritted teeth I pushed out the most polite words I could. "Get—your—damn—hand—off—me."
He pulled his hand up immediately and looked at Sierra.
I heard her tell Harm, "Drive faster."
My head fell back, and I panted through the pain. If I didn't want to see Dev so badly, I would have begged for that pain shot. Dev, Dev, Dev, I chanted in my brain. The car stopped, and I moved to get up, but Harm had already rushed around to the door beside me before I'd developed a plan for sitting up without stretching my chest.
He crawled into the SUV and kneeled beside me. "Evie, I need you to be careful. I know you want to move, but I need you to let Dev come to you. Be angry all you want, but please stay still."
I was angry. I was livid, and I couldn't figure out why. I wanted to hit Harm when I should have been so happy to see him. What was going on? Why couldn't I control my—my temper—Oh God, my temper—the infection—my wound. My eyes widened and it was a struggle not to cry like a baby. "Didn't—couldn't you—there's a vaccine i
sn't there? Harm, I'm not—"
"Damn it." He let his head fall forward, shaking it slowly. "Why are you so damn smart?" He put his hand over mine and his voice evened out again. "Just relax. You're fine, kid. We have a plan, but you have to do exactly as I say. It hasn't worked through your system yet. We still have time, just stay still."
The voice I'd been dying to hear floated in from the door, but Dev sounded so serious. "Harm, let me."
Harm patted my arm. "Just stay put, and let me get out."
I wasn't in the mood to pay any attention to Harm's words, though. The second my eyes connected with Dev's, it was like the first time we met all over again. That snap of electricity was there, but it was so much stronger, and I had to move toward him.
Dev winked at me, sending even more warmth throughout my body. "If you pull your stitches, I will not kiss you."
But I couldn't wait. I followed Harm as he climbed out. I managed to scoot to the edge of the seat when Dev stepped in and pulled me gently into his arms, cradling me close to his chest. He kissed my cheeks and my forehead and my nose. I just closed my eyes and buried my face in his chest, breathing him in.
"Are you trying to rip out your stitches on purpose?" He asked gently. "Do you have any idea how much fighting it took to get those in you?"
"I was unconscious," I argued. Really, how much of a fight could I have put up?
"Harm and I had some, uh, issues with letting Hernandez stitch you up since, well, he had a nice view while he was doing it." Yeah, that sounded like Harm and Dev. "I don't know which one of us was more protective, Harm or me."
"I admit to a tie," Harm shouted behind us.
Dev loosened his hold on me, but I clung to him. "Don't let go," I begged. The weakness to my voice and weakness of my begging made my lower lip tremble.
He kissed my lips gently for just a moment before Harm cleared his throat. He pulled back a bit but smiled lovingly at me. "I missed you."
"I missed you too." I shook my head vehemently. "I can't be apart from you like that—"
"Shh." He put his finger to my lips. "You don't ever have to worry about anything like that again. I'm not letting you out of my sight for the rest of our lives."
I smiled, but I felt so weak that I wasn't sure anyone could even tell. "I can live with that."
Harm cleared his throat again before gruffly saying, "I think the question should be can your gun-carrying older brother live with that, because I'll tell you right now, the answer is no."
His I-can-control-what-you-do attitude annoyed me enough to push away the pain and weakness. "Harm," I said loudly. "I love you, and I missed you too, but I didn't ask for your damn permission."
"He did." Harm smirked at me, and I rolled my eyes.
I glared at Dev. "You just had to give him that power." I shoved at his chest. "You just—" I winced as the pain cut off my response.
Dev cradled my face in his hands and kissed my forehead again. "Calm down, baby," he said slowly. "He already gave his permission, remember? When I asked you to marry me? Think about that night."
I squeezed my eyes shut tight and forced my brain back to those memories. The anger slowly faded, leaving me more tired than before and in more pain.
His voice was so soft and loving I melted into him more. "I need to check your bandage, baby." He pulled down the top of the shirt I was wearing, which wasn't mine and turned to Harm. "She's bleeding through the bandage."
"Hernandez! Get over here." Harm's yelling nearly made me flinch. It had been far too long since I'd been around his drill sergeant voice.
Dev stared into my eyes, his jaw clenched repeatedly. "I won't let anything happen to you. You hear me? You'll be fine."
His conviction frightened me all the more. Could I die from this? Or—I must not have any resistance. I was raised near Jay—we drank the same water, and he became— "I'm a—a psycho?"
He shook his head back and forth over and over. "No. No, baby. Not gonna happen. I won't let that happen. We have a plan." He tucked my head under his chin and held me for several minutes as I tried to get control over my fear.
Blood
"Vaughn," Harm cupped Dev's shoulder. "Move so Hernandez can look at her."
Dev nodded, and I was relieved that instead of leaving, he just climbed into the SUV to sit beside me.
Hernandez stepped forward and signaled for me to move to the edge of the seat. "Ah, how's my little patient doing?" His eyes sparkled as if he'd made a joke, but I didn't see anything funny about the remark.
"She's bleeding, Hernandez, how the hell do you think she's doing? And get that damn smirk off your freaking face before I beat it off." Dev's low, near growl amazed me.
I turned wide eyes to him, unsure of how to respond. Had he gotten more aggressive? Maybe it had spread? But he was tenderly stroking the back of my neck, not clutching it angrily. I looked over at Harm and noticed him trying to hide a smirk. He made eye contact with me and winked. Clearly I wasn't getting the joke.
Hernandez stepped back away from the SUV and stretched his arms out to me. "Climb on out here into my arms—"
"Like hell," Dev moved past me and in front of Hernandez, who smirked wider.
Harm put his hand on Dev's shoulder. "Vaughn, he has to look at her."
He glared at Harm for a moment, before giving in—sort of. "Whatever." He seemed pissed, but when he turned back to me, his arms open wide, his voice was sweet and soft again. "Come on, baby."
I climbed out into Dev's arms, and he ran his fingers through my hair so tenderly that it was like two different people. I felt really weak and tired and really just wanted to lay my head against Dev's chest and sleep. Hernandez walked closer to us and stretched out his hand to me. I looked back to Dev, but he was busy glaring at Hernandez. I looked to Harm, and he nodded encouragingly.
I placed my hand in Hernandez's and stepped forward, but my legs were like two sticks of licorice, and blackness crept into my vision, turning the world on its side. I could feel Dev reach for me from behind, but Hernandez was closer and gathered me into his arms.
He smelled weird. Not weird, exactly, just unfamiliar, I guess. "You've been on pain meds for several hours," he said softly. "It's only natural to be a little lightheaded. Just take it slow." His tone was very different than it had been when he spoke to Dev—it was much more reassuring and kind.
With Dev's hands on my waist, I was able to straighten up and pull away from Hernandez. "Well now," he said loudly, his smirk back. "Can I take a little peek?"
The almost sleazy pedophile-like way he said it along with the idea of having anyone look down my shirt in public made me want to step away from the guy.
There was no need though, since Dev shoved him away from us, glaring down at him. "I'm warning you Hernandez."
He put his hands on his hips. "How the hell am I supposed to check her wound if you won't let me look at it? I don't have x-ray vision, you know. I can't just imagine the blood and infection. So make up your mind, Vaughn. Either you want me to treat her or not? But don't rush into anything, I mean it's not like she's standing here bleeding or anything—oh wait, she is, isn't she?"
Harm finally stepped in. "That's enough, both of you. Dev, step away and let Hernandez do his job. Hernandez, do your job and only your job."
"What else would I do?" His words sounded sincere. He held his hand out to me again, and I took it. "Come on and step into my new office, beautiful."
I thought Dev's head might explode as I walked away with Hernandez. I wanted him to come with me, but Harm was speaking to Dev in low tones.
"So how bad does it hurt on a scale of 1 to10?" Again, his tone of voice shifted. He was now much more serious.
"I don't know, maybe a 7 or an 8." I looked back at Dev and Harm as we walked toward Gabriel's trailer.
"Well, we can't have that now can we, beautiful?"
Coming from Dev, being called beautiful made my insides all gooey. Coming from this stranger, the word "beautiful" made me feel a
little gross and really angry, especially since I felt like he was only doing it to piss Dev off. And that pissed me off. He was a doctor, for crying out loud. The least he could freaking do was be a damn professional. "You call me that again, and I'll rip your eyes out" And I felt like I could do just that, too. I wasn't grossed out by the thought, I was thrilled by it, and it scared the crap out of me.
"Point taken," he said with that worried expression again. He helped me up into the trailer. "Lie down on the bed in there." He pointed to the bedroom.
I managed to slowly lower myself down to lie on my back without screaming in pain. I heard the water running for several minutes before he came into the small room. He had a pair of scissors in his hand.
"I need to cut this shirt off to look at your wound. Is that okay?"
I rolled my eyes and nodded, reminding myself that he was a doctor. He cut the top of the shirt, but left everything from my breasts down intact. I was thankful for that, since it left me somewhat covered. I looked down to see that bright red blood was, in fact, seeping through the sterile, white bandage.
"You're not exactly what I thought you'd be." He started slowly peeling up the edges of the bandage.
"Uh—okay." Really, what was I supposed to say to that? Not what he expected. Why was he thinking about me at all?
He chuckled. "I just mean, I kind of expected a weak, girlie, little thing that hid behind her brother and boyfriend."
"Fiancé," I corrected, the pain forcing my voice to sound weak.
"Sorry, fiancé. But, well, no offense, it's just with the things we've heard—well, I thought you needed to be sheltered and babied."
I looked back in the direction I had left Dev and Harm. I thought out loud, sadly. "Clearly I need some protection, or I wouldn't have this new addition to my scars." It was self-deprecating, but completely true.
"No, I mean… nevermind."
I sighed. Why were men so difficult? "Tell me what you were going to say." I felt like I was on seriously short supply of patience, but I managed to pull together a little and add, "Please."
"Well…" With his hesitation, I wasn't really sure he would continue. "With the way Kenley and Vaughn jump all over anyone who says anything about you and constantly talk about how you won't listen to them, it just seemed like you'd be sort of spoiled and annoying."
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