He didn’t want to wake her, but inadvertently his actions did when Betty, their V clinic director of nursing, entered minutes later, wide-eyed and worried. “Dr. Bradley. Oh, my God, you’re awake!” She smiled and touched the tips of her fingers to her lips. “What can I do for you?”
“I need answers. What the hell’s going on with me?” He pushed the button on the bed’s remote to lift the head until he was in a semi-upright position.
“Let me get, Dr. La Mond. He’ll explain everything. Just hang on. I won’t be long.”
Just as Betty closed the sliding glass door, he heard a soft sigh to his right and turned his head. Chelsie grunted, then opened her eyes, blinked a few times, then squinted at him.
“Morning—or afternoon. Whichever the case may be.” He smiled.
“Asa! You’re awake!”
Celestial joy was the only way to describe her initial expression. She wrestled out of the covers, sat up, then put on her glasses and beamed at him. “Oh, Asa, I’m so glad you’re finally awake.”
“Yeah, that seems to be the general concession around here. I’m awake. How long have I not been?”
She raked her fingers through her thick hair—such a sexy gesture, coupled with her sleepy expression. Asa hurt like hell, but he had enough energy to grab hold of her arm. He tugged gently, and it cost him some powerfully harsh pangs in the center of his chest. He winced. “Really, at the moment, I don’t care how long I’ve been out. Get over here.”
She didn’t hesitate. She crossed over and snuggled up beside him as if it was second nature, but he could tell she was being cautious, because she couldn’t decide where to place her hand. Finally, she settled it on his shoulder. “How do you feel?”
“Like I’ve been run over by a semi,” he answered honestly. “So, seriously, how long have I been out?”
“It’s Friday morning I think.”
“Oh, hell,” he muttered, rubbing his jaw line, which was in bad need of a shave. His last memory had been the previous Saturday night at Cajun Refugees. “Where is that gutless bastard?
He didn’t hurt anyone else, did he?”
She leaned up and braced herself on her elbow. Her expression was sad and guilty. “No. Christian and Tiffany took him down. After that, the bouncers got hold of him and called the police. He’s in jail.”
Asa snorted. “Not good enough. Hell is where he needs to be.”
She grimaced. “No one needs to be there, but I get your drift.”
Still trying to save him, was she? Asa was a sorry excuse for a Christian, but right or wrong, he believed that some people were simply destined for that fiery hole. Chad was one of them.
Further discussion on the matter halted when the door slid open and Christian entered wearing a cheery grin. “Hey, buddy. Look at you. All bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. How do you feel?”
He scowled back at him. “Like shit, but already I can’t wait to get out of here. Don’t even think about playing doctor with me. I’ll be going home when I feel like it.”
Christian’s grin turned wicked. “Figured you’d be like this when you woke up.” Just then, Betty entered wearing a sheepish look and holding steel vampire restraints in her hands. “What’s it going to be?” Christian crossed his arms and quirked a brow.
Asa snorted. “Ha ha. You’re a real funny son of a bitch, you know it?”
Christian let out a short, dark chuckle. “So you’ve told me many times. Anyway, humor’s good for the soul. Behave and enjoy your woman. Betty, get him some ice chips and a clear liquid tray. And if he gives you an ounce of trouble, let me know. Keep those things handy just in case.”
She bit back a grin. “Sure thing.”
“So what happened?” he asked Christian after she’d left. It had to have been bad for him to have been lights-out for nearly a week.
“Partially severed left anterior descending artery, punctured lung, and just a hell of a
lot of blood loss. Your guardian angel must have been a nervous wreck this last week. I know all of us have been.”
Asa nodded. “I’m assuming you did the surgery.”
“Yes. Noah and Chelsie assisted.”
He glanced at Chelsie, amazed she’d been a part of his surgical team. He couldn’t imagine what she’d gone through, how she’d held it together, seeing his chest cracked open. She was stronger than he had even imagined her to be, and she made him proud.
He reached for her hand and squeezed it. “Thank you, Chelsie, and thanks to both of you for saving my life. I’m sure it was a dicey procedure.”
Christian’s expression turned grave. “You were in bad shape, Asa, but Chelsie, Tiffany, and I broke the sound barrier getting you here. Another fifteen minutes and I don’t think you’d be sitting here right now.”
Asa knew, based on how weak he felt, that he would be here for a while, but Christian knew the extent of his internal injuries, which would determine how long he was going to be in this bed. “So when can I look at getting out of here? Seriously?”
“I’d give it a week.”
He would have made the same judgement based on all he’d heard so far.
Chelsie sat up and brushed her fingers across his forehead. “A week is a good call on Christian’s part, Asa. All of this was so very scary, but not a one of us doubted you’d pull through. Your mom and dad are here. They’re both very nice.”
“Oh, boy.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m sure when my mother wasn’t wringing her hands she was quizzing you about every aspect of your life and us.”
She let out a light laugh. “Yes, she’s quite chatty. I didn’t mind telling her about my life, with the exception of what exactly happened to you. I feel so bad, Asa. If I hadn’t tried to stick it to Chad, none of this would have happened. This is all my fault. I’m so sorry.”
“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about, and it’s not your fault. I understand completely your need for revenge now. Trust me, the bastard’s going to get what’s coming to him.”
Christian rolled his eyes. “Not anytime soon, I can assure you of that. You’ve got a lot of healing ahead of you, buddy. And this one here could use some of your attention. She’s been glued to your side for a week—at the expense of her own health, I might add.” He gave Chelsie a chiding look.
Asa sighed. “You don’t look like you’ve been taking care of yourself at all. Have you lost weight?”
Chelsie chuckled. “I have. A whole ten pounds actually.”
“Well, that stops today. First of all, I like all of you, and I don’t like seeing less of you. Secondly, if you’ve been putting your health at risk for me, I’m going to be pissed off. You can’t afford to push your physical limits, Chelsie.” He glanced over at Christian. “I’m right, aren’t I? She hasn’t been taking care of herself.”
Christian gave her a look that indicated where his allegiance lay. “She’s been impossible. She hasn’t slept in a bed until today. She’s hardly eaten. Hell, it took her entire family to convince her to leave you long enough to take a bath.”
Asa gave her a scorching frown. “Shame on you. This ends here and now. Your ass is staying in that bed until Christian and I say differently, and you’re going to eat and put that ten pounds back on if I have to shovel the food in your mouth myself.”
“I’m not so sure I want to regain the ten pounds, but I won’t argue. I’ll eat, and I intend to stay right here in this bed beside you until you get out of your own.”
“Good. Christian, tell Betty to have one of the aides go get three or four dishes from the cafeteria and some ice cream. I’m starving, and screw the clear liquid. I’m not eating jello.”
“You’re bossy as hell,” Christian remarked.
Chelsie took his hand and squeezed. “He is, but he’s awake, and I couldn’t be happier.
Chapter 17
The next five days were almost blissful for Chelsie. Asa was recovering beautifully, although he was still in a lot of pain. During the day, visitors came out of th
e woodwork, leaving them little time for each other. Nights were the best. As soon as visiting hours were over, they talked and talked about life, their future, and their pasts into the wee hours of the morning until they both passed out from exhaustion.
Still, there was a dark cloud hovering over her dazzling rainbow: Chad. At least five or six times a day, Asa would bring up the Chad topic and talk about all the nasty things he’d like to do to him. Chelsie understood, and if she didn’t have such a horrid taste in her mouth from her own affair with revenge, she might have been more apt to agree with Asa’s plans of his own.
The problem was, hatred was driving those get-even ideas swarming in Asa’s mind. Seeing him so consumed with loathing for Chad was grieving her fiercely. The Asa she’d fallen in love with was a sweet, compassionate, tender-hearted soul. He still was, to a point, with her, but this insatiable need for vengeance was eating a hole straight through his injured heart, and it killed her to witness it.
They were just finishing up a late dinner—swordfish and rice pilaf, curtesy of her mother—when Christian slid back the glass door and walked inside.
“How’re my two favorite patients?” he asked, glancing between them sitting in their side-by-side hospital beds.
Chelsie answered. “We’re doing great. Mom made swordfish. There’s plenty left if you’d like some.”
“Sounds terrific. I’m leaving in a few. I’ll take some home for myself and Tiffany.” He took the stethoscope from around his neck and approached Asa’s bed. “Let me listen to your ticker, buddy. You still feeling okay?” Christian bent over him, put in the ear pieces, then listened while asking him to take some deep breaths.
Asa groaned. “Look, I’m fine, just sore. And when the hell are you letting me out of this place? I’ve been up walking, I’m eating, my heart is fine, blood tests have been fine, my pain level has decreased significantly. What the hell am I still doing here?”
“You’re not quite ready to hit the ground running yet, Asa. And neither are you.” Christian slid a glance Chelsie’s way then asked, “How are you feeling, darlin’?”
“Fine.” Chelsie felt well and rested, but she’d been a little disappointed for several days. Last Sunday she was supposed to have had the procedure for her turning. Of course, Asa came first, and she didn’t resent him in the least; it was Chad she resented for stealing so much from her and Asa.
Christian looked utterly unconvinced, as did Asa. She understood, because she had pushed her health to the very brink while Asa had been unconscious, but these last days she’d rested so much, her headaches were all but gone.
Asa said, “You do recall she was supposed to be admitted Sunday for her turning?”
Christian nodded. “I’m sorry, Chels. If I felt Asa could donate the blood, we’d be doing this right now. You still could if you wanted Tiffany to donate.”
“No. It should be Asa. It’s only right. He’s my life mate. I can wait a couple more weeks.”
“You shouldn’t have to.” Asa snarled. “God dang, I can’t wait to get out of here. As soon as I’m able, I intend pay that sorry excuse for a human a visit in prison. The death penalty will feel like a reprieve for him by the time I’m finished sowing his mind with every foul and evil thing I can conjure up.”
Chelsie was sick and tired of the subject of Chad. Asa kept bringing him up and would continue to ice the subject with yet a new threat he wanted to execute on him. It was getting old. Chad was getting what he deserved: jail. After everything he’d done, he’d be lucky to blend back into society by the time he was up for social security.
Christian said, “It’s going to be a while before you’re well enough to kick anyone’s butt, physically or with telekinetic and psychic persuasion. You need to concentrate on healing that zipper on your chest. Chad’s behind bars, and he’s going nowhere, Asa.”
“Christian’s right. Let this vendetta you have against Chad go and concentrate on your health.”
Asa shook his head. “No way, you two. You know as well as I do he can’t be prosecuted for attempted murder on me. You also know we have our own justice in situations like this, and I fully intend to mete some out to him very soon. For myself and you too, Chelsie. It makes me sick to think he laid his filthy hands on you. You’re lucky he didn’t kill you.”
Chelsie couldn’t take this a minute more. “But he didn’t. Look, Asa, Chad is probably going to be an old man by the time he gets out of prison. Nathan has Dominic working on both the New Orleans and Springfield district attorneys to ensure he doesn’t snake his way through some legal loophole. Let it go and let Nathan and Dominic handle—”
He cut her off, his features a study in fury. “I don’t give a shit if Nathan hired a baker’s dozen of attorneys! The guy will have a day of reckoning with me, and if you have a problem with that, then maybe you and I need to take a breather until you come to your senses.”
She gasped, shocked and hurt he could say such a thing. “How dare you say that?”
“I dare because I’m sick and tired of you trying to talk me down on this. I’m going to get even with that bastard! You can be sure of it. He doesn’t deserve your stupid concern for his sorry-assed soul, if all that nonsense is still in your mind. And if you think I’m going to put up with that praying-for-him bullshit, you’re crazier than him. You either get on board with this, Chelsie, or we might need to slow this thing between us to a crawl. I won’t have any life mate of mine feeling sorry in any fashion for that low-life Chad.”
“That’s about enough, Asa,” Christian snapped.
Asa came right back at him. “It’s not enough. Not by half, because I’m not getting through to her.”
Chelsie glared at Asa for several moments, breathing hard. “So let me get this straight. You’re saying if I have a problem with your need for revenge, I’m not only crazy, but you don’t want anything to do with me until I get on your vengeance bandwagon?”
Asa cleared his throat. “I wouldn’t have put it like that, but in a nutshell, yeah. He doesn’t deserve your sympathy or prayers or whatever misguided notions you have toward him. He deserves your hatred and my boot up his ass. At least to start with. If you have a problem with that, maybe you need to go home and do some soul searching until you come to your senses.”
She pivoted on the edge of her bed, took her feet and shoved his, then stood and faced him. “First of all, I hope Chad rots in jail for the rest of his miserable life. However, I believe anyone can be saved. Chad included. Whether you like it or not, I will continue to pray for him until he repents and gives his heart back to God. I refuse to hate him or anyone else for that matter. And God, Asa, this need for revenge you have is eating a hole through your very soul. If my stance on revenge is a deal breaker for us, so be it. Look how much it’s cost us already because of my own foolishness. I’m not going to sacrifice my faith for anything or anyone. Not even you, Asa.” She stormed out of the room, slamming the sliding door behind her.
Tears stung her eyes, and she didn’t want to get caught bawling by a staff member, so she hightailed it to the nearest public restroom, which blessedly was void of people. She picked a stall and locked the door, then let it all come tumbling out. The tears driven by pain, the wracking sobs driven by Asa’s cruel words, and his veiled threat to end things between them if she didn’t see things his way made her cry even harder.
The last thing in the world she wanted was to lose Asa, but if she had to choose between Asa and serving God the way she knew she was supposed to, her choice was a given: God.
***
“Brilliant.” Christian shook his head. “Can’t side with you on this one, Asa. Did you seriously not know what you were getting into with that woman? I was a little clueless at first with Tiffany because she’s not your standard Christian.”
“I’ll say. She has a mouth like a sailor, but at least she isn’t trying to save a black-hearted lunatic. I know she agrees with me on making Chad pay.”
Christian sighed and crossed
his arms. “Look, Asa, I think it’s safe to say Chelsie will probably never lay eyes on the guy again. So what if she wants to pray for him or ten serial killers for that matter? That’s between her and God. Let this vendetta go, and be thankful to God that He finally brought you your life mate. Don’t be a fool and screw this up. If you lose Chelsie by being a stubborn jackass, you know you’ll never have a second chance. A life mate for our kind is a one-shot deal, buddy. Many an idiot vampire has blown that chance. Don’t be one of them.”
Asa made a scoffing sound. “I’m not going to lose her. I know she loves me and she’ll come to her senses. I’ll apologize for getting foamed up and hurting her feelings, but she needs to know I’m not budging where Chad’s concerned. He and I will have a day of reckoning.”
Christian sighed and gave a little shake of his head. “Okay, I’m going to tell you exactly where you stand right now with Chelsie. And that’s in a sinking boat on a creek full of shit and not paddle in sight. I know it’s hard to think like a woman, Asa. You’ve never been one. But Chelsie’s spiritual values aside, I take her for being a strong, independent woman who isn’t about to have anyone dictate how she thinks. Get your mind out of the early twentieth century. You found your life mate in the twenty-first. You know as well as I do women aren’t like our mothers. They don’t stay home, raise kids, bake cookies, and take orders from their men. They give them, and we take them so we have access to the cookie.”
Asa laughed and clamped a hand across his chest because it caused a great deal of hurt. “I’m not being chauvinistic. I’m just drawing a line in the sand where Chad’s concerned. She’ll come around.”
Christian snorted. “Good luck with that thinking. I have to go. I need to finish rounds so I can go home and spend some quality time with my own life mate.”
After Christian left, Asa began to feel very bad for hurting Chelsie’s feelings. His friend was right. He couldn’t afford to lose her, but he intended to stick to his guns. Chelsie was soft-hearted but smart as hell. She’d come around. In a couple of hours, she’d be back. He’d make things right then, but he intended to make sure she understood he wasn’t going to waver in his thinking where Chad was concerned. A man had to do what a man had to do, for pride and family. Soon Chelsie would be his wife. He wasn’t about to let Chad get away with beating her up. If she didn’t understand that, maybe she was a little crazy.
Deadly Secrets (Forever and a Night Book 3) Page 21