Lone Star Burn_Watching you

by Aliyah Burke

  He traced the bandage there and sighed heavily, nostrils flaring. “Are you okay?” His voice held a hitch.

  “Yes. Tired and sore but fine.”

  “Christ, Mason, you scared me.” He touched the cut on her lip before going down along the curve of her neck.

  “Sorry.” Honestly, she hadn’t a clue about what to say to that. If hadn’t already been unconscious, she’s sure she would have been frightened as well. The urge to burrow her face into his touch was powerful and she struggled not to but damn, if she didn’t want his strength around her.

  “You scared the shit out of me when I saw you lying there all cut up and bleeding.”

  She tried to give him a comforting smile but it didn’t come. “I’m fine. Or I will be.”

  αβ

  Patrick wanted to crawl in the bed with her and put his arms around her. He’d been on the other side of the cabin and the explosion had knocked him off his feet as well. Most took a spill as the house had gone up in blazing flames. He’d suffered a few cuts when the ball bearings tore by him.

  The woman lying there on the bed, however, had been hit much worse. The only reason she hadn’t died was because she’d been behind the point man and his larger body had taken the projectiles in his vest that would have been in her head, given the height difference.

  His gut churned with sourness at the thought of losing her. And in that way. Losing her would have been hell to begin with, but for her to have been killed in a raid, was unacceptable to him.

  He scanned her body, lying in that damn bed. The white bandages slicing her darker skin only served as a reminder how close he’d come to losing her. His anger surged to the top all over again. Hell, if the ones responsible for setting that trap hadn’t been caught and in custody when he’d gotten to them, he would have killed them for what they’d done to Teena.

  Still wanted to.

  “What happened?”

  “Didn’t he tell you?” He swallowed and did his best to calm down.

  “I don’t mean about them being captured. I mean to me. I hurt like hell.”

  “Trip wire set off was connected to explosives and those had been mixed with nails and ball bearings. Oh, some wood splinters as well. Didn’t help that when the building went up, there were even more.” He stared at her fingertips peeking out from the bandages on her left hand.

  “Explains why I feel so crappy.”

  “You were so close to the main point of the explosion, you suffered a concussion. When I got to you, you had blood coming from your ears, nose, mouth and even out of the corner of your eyes.”

  “How long have I been in here? And where is here?”

  “You’ve been in here for a week. This is Dallas.” He looked back at her face and found her eyes closed, breathing deeply. “Mason?” No answer. He checked closer and she was completely asleep. Not faking it.

  He pushed to his feet and pulled the blanket up over her, tucking her in a bit more. Patrick wound a curl in his fingers and wished they were anywhere but here.

  “You know she’ll be fine.”

  Patrick turned to see Frank walking back into the room. He wanted to snarl at the man and tell him to get lost. “She’s sleeping,” he said, giving his back to the man who was Teena’s partner.

  “I know. They gave her something for it, a bit before you came in. They want her resting as much as she can. Helps her to heal faster.” Frank moved across from him, Teena between them. He put the chair he’d carried down, then took a seat. “What are you looking for?”

  Patrick met the inquisitive gaze with one of his own. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. What are you looking for with her?”

  “What’s between us isn’t any of your damn business.”

  “The hell it isn’t. This woman is my partner. Not yours. Mine. I look after her and you, Patrick West are a danger to her.”

  That phrase got him. “I’m a danger to her? Me?” His voice rang louder. “Where were you when this went off, if you’re supposed to be looking after her?”

  “Not in the same damn state.”

  “So, because I was with her and this happened, it was my fault?”

  “No. I’m not talking about her physical injury. I know you’d never try to hurt her like that. I’d kill you for that if she didn’t do it first.” He cracked his neck, completely unperturbed by his voice raising.

  “Then what the hell are you talking about?”

  “I know you’re the one she goes to visit a few times a year.”

  Oh, that. “And? Again, we’re both adults. Consenting at that, so what business is it of yours what we do?”

  “Because I care about more than being in her pants.”

  “More than? Are you in her pants?” How upset would she be if she woke to find her partner dead? Probably pretty damn upset. He forced himself to relax.

  Frank shrugged, looking all too damn smug for his own good. “Like you stated, consenting adults.”

  “So what? You’re here to scare off the competition? Afraid if she could pick on her own, it wouldn’t be you?”

  “She’ll always take me over you. I’m her partner. You’re a fling she doesn’t even talk about.”

  That hurt and while he tried to dislodge the knife in his heart, he smirked. “Yet, you know about me.”

  “Because I followed her once to make sure she wasn’t doing something stupid.” A pointed glare. “Which she was.”

  Being with him was stupid. For starters, Patrick wanted to punch him.. “Yet she keeps coming back.”

  “You’re a hidden treat. Not something you take to meet the parents, but something you hide from your friends. You don’t get to show up at parties, and be the date. Not the knight in shining armor. Nothing but the dirty secret, no one should ever know about.” Frank got up, bent to kiss Teena on the cheek, all the while, holding his gaze. “Let her go, for her own good.” Then he walked to the door where he paused and added one last parting comment, “Find someone of your own to be with. Leave her alone.”

  Patrick rubbed his temples and leaned back in the chair. Was that true? He was nothing more to her than that torrid secret? Yes, he knew they didn’t talk about what they got together for and it was just sex. Or so, he’d tried to convince himself but knew it was a lie. Had been from the first time they shared a bed.

  A quirk of his lips. Okay, so their first time actually in a bed was the third time they had sex. A wall was the first and a table was their second.

  He yawned and cracked his neck. He hadn’t slept well since she’d been brought in here. Hadn’t left either, refused to go back to DC. Telling Seamus that until she was out of there, he wasn’t going anywhere. Thankfully as a man who rarely took any vacation, he had a lot of time on the books, so that’s what he was using. And while Seamus may not have given him his blessing, he couldn’t argue it.

  He woke later, when the nurse came in the room to check on her. The woman gave him a small smile as she went about her business. As she checked the IV, she gazed at him. “You know visiting hours are almost over.”

  Patrick just flashed his badge. “She’s not going to be without someone protecting her at all times.”

  Another kind smile. “You know she’ll be okay, right?”

  “Are you sure?”

  “She’s a fighter. I’ve met my share of them.” She paused beside him. “Would you like me to have a cot brought in?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “I’ll have it brought up.”

  “Thank you.”

  After midnight, he was stretched out on the cot, the blanket over him, dozing off and on when she whimpered. It wasn’t a light one but a deep cry. On his feet in an instant, he moved to her side and stared down at her. One light was on in the room, allowing minimal illumination but if the nurse entered, there would be some.

  Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes as she slept. There was torment in her expression but he felt torn between waking her and letting her sleep through
it. If he woke her, she would know he had caught her crying and Teena wasn’t one who would want that, he knew that much. However, if she were in the throes of a nightmare, he didn’t want to leave her like that.

  He bent and kissed the tears as they rolled from her eyes.

  She shifted and whimpered once more.

  “You’re okay, Teena.” He loved the way her name rolled off his tongue. After calling her Mason for so long, it was an intimate pleasure to call her by her first name. “I’m right here.”

  “Patrick?”

  He sat beside her, so he wouldn’t be looming over her when she opened her eyes. “Right here.”

  She didn’t open them. Instead, she turned toward him, or rather angled to him, then sighed heavily and relaxed.

  The touch of her fingers along his hand created a flutter in his heart. She may not be ready to face what they had while she was awake, but she had called out to him when she needed comfort.

  He woke each time someone walked in and made sure they knew he was watching. When morning arrived and she woke this time, he’d already gotten himself cleaned up and the cot had been removed.

  Her food was beside her bed and she yawned as she stared at him. “What are you doing here, West?”

  “Morning to you too, sunshine.”

  “Morning,” she replied. “What are you doing here?”

  “Came by to check on you.”

  “You just got here?”

  “About two seconds after this delightful looking breakfast was delivered. You should eat.”

  “Right.” She didn’t argue when he lifted the bed for her, so she could eat. “That’s good, thanks.”

  He moved the tray closer to her and watched as she attempted to eat with her bandaged hands. Moving the chair closer, he took the fork from her.

  “I’m fine,” she snapped.

  “You can’t win, so you may as well let me feed you.” He unwrapped the fork and put some eggs on it. “Come on, open up. I’ll make noises if it will help. Train or plane, I’ll even let you pick.”

  “No, it won’t help. Were you here last night?”

  “For a bit. Me and Frank stopped by to visit.” He held the fork, smiling when she opened her mouth, allowing him to slip the forkful of eggs in. “Chew, then swallow.”

  She complied and he fed her two more bites before she wanted a drink. Holding the bottle while she sipped from the straw he stared at the circles beneath her eyes and the drawn skin over her cheekbones.

  “Did you come back?”

  “Why?”

  “I thought you were here,” she said. “Guess it was a dream.”

  He leaned closer. “So glad I’m the one in your dreams. If it helps, you’re in mine too.”

  Her skin flushed.

  “We need to talk, Mason.”

  “I get it, West. You think because I’m in a hospital bed I will have to talk to you. That’s not the case. I don’t have to and I don’t want to talk. Especially, if this is about me being injured and how the job is to damn dangerous for a woman…For me.”

  He put the fork down and shook his head. “I’d love for you to be out of danger, Mason but I wouldn’t ever ask you to stop doing what you love. You were born to do what you do and that’s what makes you happy. This is about me and you. No more of your hiding from this. We’re going to talk.”

  “Can we do it after I go to the bathroom?”

  “Want me to get a nurse?”

  “Yes. We’re not that close.”

  He kissed her. “We should be.” Then he left to find her what she wanted, a nurse.

  Patrick waited outside until the nurse left. He came back in to find Teena propped up in bed, her food still beside her and the blanket pulled to her neck.

  “Hungry?” he asked making his way back to her side.

  “No, I had the nurse give me a few bites before she left.”

  “Okay. So can we talk now?”

  “No.”

  “Christ, Mason. Why do you have to make this so damn difficult?”

  “Because I’m at a disadvantage here. I’m in a hospital bed.”

  He furrowed his brow. “It’s not a war zone, it’s a talk. Generally, a congenial act. You don’t have to be anywhere but in the damn room with me, so we can talk.” His frustration mounted.

  “Says the man who can come and go as he pleases. The man who doesn’t need someone to help them if they have to pee. I’m not on even footing with you, because I can’t even stand on my own right now.”

  “Lord have mercy. I wanted to talk. Not battle. Talk. About us. Where our relationship could be going because I don’t want to be your secret any longer. I want to take it to the next level which you apparently don’t want to discuss, because you are recuperating in a hospital after coming close to near death. So I’m taking this as a talk with me is worse than what you suffered out there in the field. Point taken, Mason. I may be thickheaded and stubborn but you finally made your point. Message received.”

  He spun around and strode away, closing the door with a soft click. Part of him wanted to look back or go in there once more. Not giving her the chance to push him away like this. However, the part that won was the one that was tired of getting messages from her about how embarrassed she was to be seen with him. He didn’t get to be seen with her. He wanted to. Hell, when they met in Atlanta, they never checked in at the same time.

  The entrance door slid open and he walked away from the woman lying up there in the hospital bed, leaving his heart on the floor in her hospital room.

  Chapter Four

  “How are you feeling, Ms. Mason?”

  Teena turned from the low television noise to look at the woman who stood there. Her brown skin stark against her pale scrubs. “I’m fine.”

  “Is your young man coming back tonight?”

  “My young man?” I don’t have a young man. Hell, at the rate of my mouth, I’m not even going to have an old one.

  “Patrick, I believe he said his name was.”

  “Oh, no he’s not coming back.” I made sure of that. Allowed my bitchiness to leak through and push him away, because I’m a stupid fool.

  “Well, I’ll bring the cot up just in case he is able to make it. He’s not missed a night yet.” She patted her leg. “He sure does care about you.”

  Teena didn’t say anything as she was currently trying to comprehend her words. He had been there on a cot. I knew it. She hadn’t been mistaking anything when she thought he’d been there, brushing kisses over her eyes.

  Two days later, he hadn’t returned and she was having a hard time eating anything. The nurse threatened to put her on a tube if she didn’t start eating food. So she picked at it. Frank came for visits but even he couldn’t pull her from the funk she’d lowered herself into.

  The day she was allowed to leave, Frank returned to take her back to NOLA. “Where’s your man?” he asked as they waited outside for the vehicle to come pick them up.

  “I don’t have one thank you very much and I don’t want to have this discussion.”

  “You said you were falling in love with him. Why don’t you want to talk about him now?”

  “I love you Frank but right now, you need to drop it. I know you don’t even approve of him, so let’s not pretend you’re unhappy he is out of my life.” Her words were dagger sharp.

  “I don’t think he’s right for you. If you thought differently, you would have introduced us to him, hell, at least you would have told us you were dating. Instead, you sneak off in the night and shack up with him for a night here and there throughout the year. That’s not someone you’re proud of. So yes, I’m glad you’ve moved on.” Frank opened the door to the passenger side.

  “Let it go, Frank. For the love of all that’s holy, let it go.”

  He positioned himself by her chair and assisted her inside the car. She watched him say something to the nurse who’d come with them before he took the driver’s seat and the agent who’d driven the car over, got out.<
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  “I’m only looking out for you.”

  “I know and I appreciate that but I’m apparently capable of ruining my own relationships. And don’t need any help from you in doing so.” She rested her head against the window and prayed for this pain in her heart to leave her.

  “Hell, when I approached him about you, he didn’t fight. He’s not the one for you.”

  “This is the moment in your life where you really need to stop talking, Frank. I don’t think you’re going to want me flipping out on you at this point in time.”

  He held up a hand. “Fine, fine.”

  Tension tight between them as he got them to the airport and onto the plane. They weren’t flying commercial and she was pleased to know her director had sent the jet. The moment they were airborne, Frank moved closer to the seat she’d taken. She put her chin to her chest and sighed dramatically. “You’re really not going to let this go, are you?” she bemoaned.

  “No. I’m not. I’m not following what is going on with you and hell, I need to figure out women, so I will push you for a reason.”

  “Frank, please. Can we chalk it up to me being selfish and stupid and let it go with that?”

  “Selfish yes, stupid, not for a second. Just answer me one thing.”

  She winced from the throbbing behind her eyes. “What’s that?”

  “Do you love him?”

  She mulled over his question. “I think so, yes. I’ve never been in love before, so I’m not really sure how it’s supposed to feel but yes. All things point to that conclusion.”

  “Then why?”

  “This is where stupid comes back into play, Frank. I don’t know. I can’t make sense of it to myself much less figure out a way to get you to understand where I’m coming from in regards to this situation. I know you want to know, I get it. You want some form of understanding, well, guess what? You’re not the only one who does. I would love to know why I just kicked him out of my life in a fairly complete and succinct manner. But I don’t have a good reason. Hell, I don’t have a bad reason. I just did it. And now, I’m going to suffer for it which is no less than I deserve.”

  Exhausted after her speech, she turned from her partner and friend and closed her eyes, praying sleep would come on Mercury’s heels.