Ash wanted to laugh, but the memory of the pain he felt last time kept him from doing so. Instead, he grinned at her. “Yeah, that stuff will kill you.”
Wow, Elizabeth thought. If he was attractive before when he looked like a head hunter, he was gorgeous lying in bed smiling at her. She shook off the effects of his smile and kept talking. “Ok seriously, there is a detective that wants to talk to you as soon as you’re up to it. For now, they have been told to stay out until you feel like talking, but they need to catch the guy that did this to you.” Elizabeth sat gently on the side of his bed. “It’s ok if you don’t remember. A lot of people don’t.”
“I remember you saved me,” Ash said quietly.
“I told him what you did,” Leanne spoke up. “He wants to say thank you, isn’t that right, Big Brother?”
Ash nodded. “I heard you,” he said.
Leanne rolled her eyes. “That is not a thank you.”
“Thank you,” Ash corrected himself. But he knew that it was Elizabeth’s voice he heard that pulled him back from Hell. “I heard you talking to me.”
“You did?” Elizabeth asked with a raised brow. “What did you hear?”
Ash shifted his position and swallowed the pain so that he could look her in the eyes. “You will not die today, not on my watch,” he told her.
Elizabeth heard her own words from his mouth and chills and gooseflesh broke out all over her body. “You heard that?” she whispered. Ash nodded. “You were flat-lined.”
“I heard you. You pulled me back. You saved me.” Ash never broke eye contact. Even though the doctor didn’t know exactly what she had pulled him back from, he needed her to understand how much she saved him.
“That’s freaky,” Leanne said. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“Not for you to know,” Ash said, leaning back against his pillow.
In a desperate attempt to change the subject, Elizabeth stood. “I want to check out your incision, if that’s ok with you?”
Ash nodded and Elizabeth pulled the sheet down to his abdomen. She gently lifted the hospital johnny up so that she could see the staples on his chest. Dr. Tucker had done a great job closing him back up. The wound was red and angry, but showed no sign of infection.
Elizabeth touched his skin lightly and was surprised to see his muscles twitch. “I’m sorry, did I tickle you?” she asked. She looked up at his face and drew in a surprised gasp. His face was not smiling, nor was he in pain. No, she could have written a book with all the things his eyes said to her. Hunger, and not for food. Desire. Sex. That was what his eyes were saying.
Elizabeth quickly set his gown right and pulled the sheet up to his chest. “I think everything looks great,” she said. She left out the part about how even with the scar, his muscled chest and ripped abs looked good enough to lick. “I may come back and check on you again,” she said as she quickly left the room without further explanation. Ash watched her go.
“You really have to quit scaring that woman,” Lele mused from beside him.
“Didn’t mean to,” he answered, still watching the door she left through.
Leanne glanced from her brother’s face to the door and back again. “Oh,” she laughed. “I see.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Ash had no idea how long he had been sleeping. All he knew was that he was awake and still in the hospital. Lele had left, probably to get some food. Ash’s stomach growled and he wondered if that fateful burger was the last thing he had eaten. The pain medication kept him loopy and he was missing large pieces of the past few days.
On the good side, the pain had lessened in his chest and he could actually move without feeling like there was a buzz saw ripping through his torso. How many days had it been? Three, he thought. He pushed up in his bed and reached for a cup with water in it. The liquid was room temperature, but felt good going down his parched throat. He looked for the call light and pressed the button.
“Can I help you?” the disembodied voice of one of the nursing staff asked a moment later.
“Food,” Ash grunted.
“Ok, be there in a sec,” the nurse answered.
A few minutes later, a large woman with short, curly hair entered his room. She had a tray in her hands and set it on the bedside table. Ash looked at her like she had gone nuts.
“Well, I know it isn’t much,” the woman said in a jolly tone, “But we gotta make sure your tummy can tolerate food before bringing on the steak and potatoes.”
Ash looked skeptically at the tray. It had two packets of crackers, some red jello, and a sprite on it. “Really?” he asked.
“Yes, really. Eat this and if it stays down, we’ll talk about getting you a sandwich or something. I know you’re a big guy and this is nothing for you, but rules are rules. We can’t have you getting sick and throwing up all over the place. Besides, wouldn’t want to rip those staples out now, would we?”
Ash wanted to say something snarky to her, to be his acidic self, but the woman was just so happy. He just couldn’t bring himself to do anything to upset her; instead, he picked up the packet of crackers and began munching down on them. Had Saltines ever tasted so good before? He thought not. The same with the jello. In a matter of minutes he had cleared the tray while his nurse watched. To his own amazement, he felt full.
He leaned back against his pillow and rested. “Sure does take it out of ya, doesn’t it?” the nurse asked with a smile. “I’ll be back in a bit with something better for you.” She picked up the tray and left his room without another word. Ash sighed and wondered what his doctor was up to. He thought since it was dark outside, she was likely working her shift in the ER.
“I don’t recall giving you permission to take a little vacation,” a deep voice chuckled from the dark corner of the room. Ash knew without even opening his eyes that it was that piece of shit demon.
“Figured I was due,” Ash said, nonchalant.
“Well, as it turns out, I got a change of plans for you,” the demon said, coming out of the shadows to stand at the foot of Ash’s bed. “Rashaan has gone into hiding,” the demon continued with a chuckle in his voice. “Chicken son of a bitch. You are going to go on and find another one for me.” He pulled a photograph out of his back pocket and dropped it on Ash’s bed.
Ash stared it in disbelief. “And just how am I going to do that?” he asked. “There is a line of staples down my chest.”
“You forget, human, how powerful I am. I can heal you if it suits me, and as it turns out, it does.” The demon walked around the side of the bed and laid his meaty hand on Ash’s chest. His chest started to burn, not in a painful way, just uncomfortably.
“I died. Our deal was that I work for you until the day I die. Well that day has come and gone.” Ash saw a tiny chance of escape and he was taking it. “I was legally dead for several minutes. I saw the flames of Hell.”
“But you didn’t go in,” the demon snarked. “The deal is not complete.”
“Wasn’t my fault,” Ash shrugged. “I was saved by the medical staff here. I was prepared to meet my destiny head on, but that pretty little doctor saved my ass. My part of the deal is intact.”
The demon raised a brow and then narrowed his eyes. “So you mean to tell me that the little doctor stole you from me? That she stole a soul that was rightfully mine?”
Ash’s heart hammered against his ribs. “No, that wasn’t what I meant,” he said quickly. Damn it, did he just put the doctor in danger? His big mouth had really done it this time. “She was just doing her job. I was just saying that you didn’t make provisions for that situation in our contract.”
Suddenly, Ash felt his chest tighten up and his heart stuttered. It felt like knives were being driven into his chest while his heart was being squeezed. He didn’t have to look to know that the demon was doing it. “I said I could cure you,” he growled, “but I can also kill you with just a thought. You will keep working for me and our contract remains valid. Because, if it isn’t, I am free to
take that sister of yours and maybe I will take that doctor too.”
Ash knew he meant every word. He had opened his mouth and made things worse. The demon could and would take Lele, and now he was gunning for the good doctor too. Ash wanted to tell him to fuck off, but that would mean certain death. If he were dead, no one would be able to protect Lele or Dr. Rone. As the machines started blaring alarms, Ash didn’t have a choice. He nodded in agreement.
The room was suddenly brightly lit and filled with hospital staff. They fussed over him, taking his blood pressure and giving him medications, and anything else they thought would help. What Ash needed, they couldn’t provide. He needed a time machine to go back and never strike the deal. He needed a miracle. And of course, even though he could hear the demon laughing, no one else could. Ash was left without a choice, he thought as the nurse stuck a needle into his IV. He palmed the photograph of the demon target and resigned to the calming effect of the medication. When he was able, he had to get out of there and back to work. His sister depended on him. And now, so did Dr. Elizabeth Rone.
***
Elizabeth heard the code all the way in the ER. They had done an announcement, looking for Dr. Tucker, throughout the hospital. Even though the nurse calling in the code didn’t say what room, she did say the floor and Elizabeth just knew it was her stranger. It was Ash.
She rushed out from behind her desk and tore through the hallway. She bypassed the elevator and shoved open the door leading to the stairs. She climbed them, two at a time, up three floors. She burst through the doors on the third floor and immediately turned to her right. She forced her feet to slow down as she approached Ash’s room. She tried to convince herself that the code wasn’t him. She didn’t understand why it upset her so much, but he just couldn’t die. Could not! She wouldn’t allow it. Besides, it may not even be him. The third floor was dedicated to heart patients. It could be anyone. She hoped it was anyone else. And then, she immediately felt bad for feeling that way. Her heart sank into her stomach as she heard the commotion coming from his room. She pushed her way into the room and made her way to Ash’s side. Dr. Tucker hadn’t gotten there yet, so she knew she was going to need to be on top of things until he got there.
“What happened?” she demanded as she checked his heart rate on the machine beside his bed.
“His heart rate rose to one seventy five,” one of the nurses answered. Elizabeth held her tongue. She could easily see that on the monitor.
“What caused it?” she asked with irritation in her voice.
“I don’t know,” a heavy set nurse told her. “I gave him crackers and Jello for dinner. That’s all. He seemed fine when I left him just a few minutes ago.”
Elizabeth knew crackers would not make his heart race. There had to be something else. For the time being, he appeared to be having a panic attack. His eyes were wild and searching and he was having trouble breathing. She had to get him calm first. “Give him Ativan, six milligrams push,” she barked.
The nurses ran to get the medicine and Elizabeth got right down in Ash’s face. “We had a deal,” she said for his ears only. “You need to calm down. Breathe with me,” she said. Then she made a show of breathing in and out slowly just as soon as his eyes connected with hers.
***
Ash knew the doctor was there. He wanted to tell her to get the hell out of there, but he couldn’t seem to get enough air into his lungs. Damn it, she was in danger! When she got down to his level, he looked at her, even though he didn’t want to. Her eyes drew his attention and her words grabbed him by the ears. “Breathe with me,” she said.
Ash watched her mouth move and without permission from his brain, he followed her movements. He drew breath into his lungs as she did, and before long, he was feeling a bit better. He felt a burning in his arm and knew that the nurses had given him something in his IV. Still, as his heart slowed and he felt calmer, he could hear the demon laughing. He could feel the demon’s presence in the room.
He struggled to form words at the lovely doctor. She leaned in closer to him, “What is it?” she asked.
Ash tried to tell her what was going on, but all he managed to whisper was, “Run.”
CHAPTER NINE
“It seems that I am a day late and a dollar short with this guy,” Dr. Tucker said as he entered Ash’s room. “Wanna tell me what’s going on?”
Elizabeth watched as Ash’s vitals returned to normal and he sank into a drug induced sleep. She heard the nursing staff give James the run down on what happened, and she let them. She continued to watch her patient until she was sure that he was okay, before turning to her colleague.
“I was nearby,” Elizabeth said simply. “It was just a panic attack. Seems this big scary guy isn’t so scary after all.”
Dr. Tucker raised one brow and the corner of his lip twitched, but he didn’t smile. His eyes spoke volumes, though. “Thank God you were here then.”
Elizabeth turned her attention back to Ash. When had she started referring to him by his name instead of her patient? Hell, he wasn’t even her patient. But still, she felt a possessive streak toward him unlike any other. A cool breeze drifted through the room and all the hairs on Elizabeth’s arm stood up. Why had he told her to run? Was he hallucinating from the drugs? A ball of dread formed in the pit of her stomach and Elizabeth entertained the thought that there was something malevolent in the room with her. She shook it off as not having enough sleep. Why would he tell her to run?
A warm hand on her shoulder broke her out of her own head. “Don’t worry about the paperwork,” Dr.Tucker said, “I’ll take care of it. And I’ll take care of him. I’ll call Lele and let her know what happened and that everything is okay. You need to go home and get some sleep.”
“I still have two hours of my shift left,” Elizabeth answered.
“Fine. Then you stay here with him. I’ll get one of the nurses to bring you a pillow and you rest over there on the couch,” he said, gesturing to the fold away couch bed on the other side of the room. “If you’re needed in the ER, someone will call for you.”
“I’m fine, really,” Elizabeth reminded him. “I can finish my shift. Besides, doctors do not sleep in their patient’s room. It’s unethical.”
“He’s my patient and I would feel better with you here to watch over him. The ER is dead tonight. Sit,” Dr. Tucker insisted. Elizabeth didn’t want to want to stay in that room, but she did. She sighed in resignation and her feet took her to the sofa.
“Maybe I’ll just sit for a few minutes,” she said, dropping into her seat. A wave of exhaustion swept over her and she realized just how tired she was. Just before she closed her eyes, she saw Dr. Tucker smile a knowing grin before he turned to leave the room.
***
Elizabeth hadn’t realized that she had fallen so deep into sleep until she was awakened by the sound of drawers being opened and closed. She forced her heavy eyelids open and saw her patient, up and out of bed, rummaging through the cabinets and drawers.
Speaking of drawers, he wasn’t wearing any. He was in his hospital johnny with his back turned to her. It was open in the back, exposing the finest ass she had ever had the privilege to lay eyes on. Her eyes traveled over his tight buns and down his long, muscular legs. They were dusted with coarse hair all the way down to his feet. But that ass… She jerked her eyes up his back to his shoulders. Linebacker shoulders. There was a tattoo on his left shoulder blade. She couldn’t tell what it was, but it was circular and looked like an original design.
When her brain caught up to her eyes, Elizabeth realized she was ogling her patient. She shook her head and jumped to her feet. “Mr. Bailey!” she demanded, “What are you doing? Get back in bed.”
“Sorry Doc,” he said without turning toward her. “Do you know where my clothes are?”
Elizabeth marched over to him and laid her hand on his bicep. The muscle rippled under her touch and she suppressed a shiver. What was wrong with her? “Please, get back in bed.”
>
He turned to her so fast that she flinched. His eyes were fierce and determined. “I have to go. Now. So where are my clothes?” he growled at her.
Elizabeth straightened her spine. He wasn’t the first, and he wouldn’t be the last patient to think he could scare her. “Your clothes were cut off when you came into my ER three days ago with a gaping hole in your chest. I must insist you sit down, now, Mr. Bailey.”
“Ash,” he told her.
“What?” she asked.
“My name is Ash.” He didn’t know why it mattered to him, but he wanted to hear his name roll off her lips. She was so cute, standing there with her hands on her hips, sleep rumpled and acting all professional.
“Ash. Fine. Please sit down, Ash.” Elizabeth said with exasperation.
Yep. He was right. His name on her lips was like angels singing. He felt it all the way in his bones. He watched as her mouth moved. His brain took off on its own little journey in a fantasy about tasting her lips and having her melt into him. Before he could act on it, he pushed past her. “I need clothes.”
“You aren’t leaving here,” she told him.
“I can and I am.”
“You will be signing out against medical advice,” Elizabeth warned him. “Your insurance won’t pay.”
“Don’t have it,” Ash countered.
“Well,” Elizabeth scrambled for another argument, “You aren’t going to get better if you just bust out of here without proper medical attention.”
Ash pulled the top of his johnny down, exposing the scar on his chest. “Can you take these staples out too?”
Elizabeth was dumbstruck. She knew that she had just done a slice and dice on this man only three days earlier. His scar should be healing, yes, but where it should have looked raw and angry, it was only a deep pink. She subconsciously moved toward him and held her hand out to touch it. “I don’t understand,” she said. The skin had already sealed itself closed. It was as if he had been injured more than a week ago, rather than only days. The staples could come out.
The Keepers of Hell Box Set Page 5