In Walked Trouble (Under Covers)

by Christina Elle

  The other man shook it. “How do you know Cassandra?”

  “Cass and I…we, uh…we’re…well, sir…” Another huge breath. On the exhale, he said, “I love her.”

  An awkward silence reigned in the room as the man looked at Luke with eyes the size of planet Earth.

  Luke scratched the back of his neck. “I mean, we haven’t really made anything official yet. But I was just thinking…hoping, really…that she’d—” He glanced at her. The love of his life. The woman who completed him in a way he didn’t realize he’d needed.

  “I see,” her father said. “Well, I’m Michael Stone.” His mouth turned down in regret. “My wife, Sarah, and my daughter, Meredith weren’t able to be here.” His gaze dropped to the bed where Cass lay. He released a long, harsh breath. “Meredith…she…”

  “Cass told me about her sister’s condition,” Luke said. “I’m sorry they couldn’t be here.”

  Michael nodded.

  Luke swallowed the emotions threatening to suffocate him and glanced at the bed where Cass lay sleeping. “How is she?”

  He shook his head. “She’s…” He looked up. “Not so good.”

  Luke’s heart stopped as his chest squeezed. “What did the docs say? There’s hope, right? She’s strong.”

  Michael’s eyes lit into a slight smile. “She is.”

  “Can I…” Luke cleared his throat. “Can I see her?”

  Michael gestured for Luke to take his place next to the bed.

  She lay as if sleeping. Machines beeped and lit up all around her. Her chest rose unnaturally high. The sheets on the bed had been pulled up to her chest and tucked in around her, her arms resting on top. IVs connected to the inside of both elbows. Tape surrounded her mouth where a plastic tube hung out.

  Luke’s chest heaved. He gripped the side of the bed, using the railing to stay on his feet. All the things he’d seen in his life—some of the most disgusting and deplorable sights imaginable—did nothing to dull the vision in front of him.

  Cassandra.

  “I’m so sorry,” he whispered to her. His hold on the bed should have crushed the plastic. “You don’t deserve this.”

  “I’ll give you two a minute,” Michael said, squeezing Luke’s shoulder.

  The curtain opened and then the door closed. Luke dropped into the chair next to Cass. He leaned over and gripped her hand in his.

  “Hey,” he said. “It’s me. Luke. You have no idea how glad I am to see you.”

  Up and down her chest went. The machine on the other side made a sucking sound. Like a robot breathing. Haw hoo.

  “Your machine sounds like Darth Vader,” he joked.

  No response.

  His smile faded. “Sure wish you didn’t need that thing. You gonna breathe on your own soon? I know you want to. Everyone’s here, waiting for you to wake up.” He stared at her closed eyes, willing them to move or blink, something. “We got Serrano and Ronan. The threat’s over. You won’t ever have to worry about them anymore. And your school… Ash talked to your principal. Everyone’s praying for you. They’re excited for you to come back.”

  Haw hoo.

  His face dropped forward, and he rested his forehead on her bed. “I don’t know what to do, Cass. I don’t know what I’m supposed to say. I need you to wake up and tell me. I’m lost without you.”

  Haw hoo.

  Luke sat up and leaned across the bed to look at her. He placed a kiss on her forehead. “I love you, Cass. So much. You hear me? You gotta come out of this, because I need you. I promise to be the man you need. The man you deserve. I wanna take care of you. Just wake up. Please.”

  Haw hoo.

  He wilted into the bedside chair, head cradled in his hand.

  Guilt invaded his stomach. It multiplied and spread like a virus, overtaking the entire room, dragging him down with it. He wished it would swallow him whole and be done with it. He deserved whatever he had coming to him after what he’d put Cass through. This was his fault. She might die because of him.

  There was a screeching sound as the curtains slid along the track in the ceiling and footsteps approached. Luke looked up to see a doctor enter, followed by Cass’s father with his head hung.

  Luke stood to allow the doctor to maneuver to the side of the bed and do his analysis.

  “How’re we doing, Ms. Stone? Feeling any better?” The doctor fiddled with her IVs, then glanced at the monitors on the machines around her. He pressed a few buttons as another doctor and two nurses walked in. As he called out a few numbers, the nurse typed on a tablet.

  “We’re going to try to turn your breathing machine off for a bit,” the doctor said. “Think you’re up for it?”

  Luke stepped forward. “You can’t.”

  The doctor spun with a surprised expression. “I’m sorry?”

  He stepped back. “I mean, you can’t. Can you? She’s…is she ready for that? Can she breathe on her own?”

  Michael sidled up next to Luke. “Doctor Sutherland said the longer she relies on that machine, the less chance there is for her to get off it.”

  Luke swallowed. “Yeah, but what if…”

  The doctor’s lips pursed and his eyes filled with compassion. “We need to see where she is in her recovery.”

  “Yeah, but maybe she needs more time,” Luke said, his words coming out hoarse. “She needs to heal. She’s been through so much. Why rush it?”

  “Doctor Sutherland says it’s time,” Michael said.

  Luke looked to the doctor for confirmation. “What if she’s not? What happens if she’s not ready?”

  The man looked to Cass’s father.

  “She wouldn’t want to live like this,” Michael said, glancing at his daughter. “Hooked up to machines for the rest of her life.”

  “But…” Luke started.

  Wait. That would mean… No, they couldn’t. They wouldn’t. It was too early to make that decision. There was still plenty of time for her to pull through this. “Michael, tell me you didn’t do it. Tell me you didn’t sign her life away.”

  The older man’s regretful expression was answer enough.

  “How could you?” Luke said, his voice growing louder. “How could you do that to her?”

  To us.

  Michael stepped back and signaled for the hospital staff to get on with it.

  “I’m begging you to give her more time,” Luke said, swinging a look at every face in the room. “Just give her a little more time. Please.”

  Michael slid a look at the doctor, then came back to Luke. “We have. This is it, Luke.”

  “It’s not time,” he said. “I’m not going to accept that. How can you go through with this knowing she might not survive?”

  Michael closed his eyes, pain etched across his features. His throat bobbed. “Doctor,” he said softly.

  The doctor spoke to the other medical staff in the room. He explained what he was going to do and what to look out for. It was all a jumbled mess of words to Luke. All he cared about was making sure Cass pulled through this.

  “All set, Cassandra?” the doctor asked, once again touching her IVs and checking the monitors around her. “We’re going to do this on three, okay? On my count. One, two, three.” The doctor and nurses moved around her, each seeming confident in their task, which included whatever it took to wean Cass off the machine. After a few moments, Luke watched the tube down Cass’s throat being pulled out.

  The ventilator went silent.

  A steady beep came through the box monitoring her heartbeat.

  Luke watched her chest, willing it to rise and fall as it had done moments earlier.

  With an expression that was hard to decipher, the doctor sent a look at one of the nurses, who quickly moved to the other side of the bed.

  Luke’s pulse shot up. “What’s going on?”

  “Cassandra,” the doctor said, ignoring him. “We’re ready for you to start breathing on your own now, okay?”

  Luke shot glances at all the medica
l professionals in the room, who seemed more on edge. Cass’s father was leaning forward with a torn expression.

  “What?” Luke asked anyone who would answer. “Someone start talking. What’s going on?”

  “Cassandra,” Doctor Sutherland said more authoritatively. “It’s time.”

  Beep… …beep… …beep… The beeping of her heartbeat started to slow.

  “Goddamn it, Cass. Breathe.” Luke rushed forward, shoving the doc out of the way. He squeezed her hand. “Breathe!”

  Beep…beep… … …

  A harsh cry exploded from the other side of the room.

  Luke watched Cass’s face. Closed eyes that usually held a defiant glint. Calm expression usually filled with love for those around her.

  He didn’t know what he’d do if she didn’t make it out of this. He wouldn’t say that he couldn’t go on. He knew he could. But he didn’t want to.

  Come on, Cass.

  Squeezing her hand, he tried like hell to transfer every piece of his energy and life into her.

  Beep…

  Beep…

  Beeeeeeeep…

  Then nothing.

  No monitors or machines making noise. No one talking. The door must have been closed, because there wasn’t even the dull din of noise in the hallway.

  Luke’s chin dropped to his chest. His heart drained. Bile rose in his throat. His head pounded.

  “No,” Luke said, reaching for the machines Doctor Sutherland had just turned off. “No. I’m not accepting this. I love you, Cass. You have to wake up. I love you. I need you!”

  “Sir,” the doctor said, scrambling to get close to Luke. “You can’t! There’s a DNR! You can’t resuscitate!”

  “Like hell I can’t!” Luke started punching buttons, making the machines around her screech and wail in revolt.

  Multiple hands stamped down on his shoulders, trying to yank him away from her. Luke focused his adrenalin to that spot, using every ounce of his power to shrug the person off. Whoever it was came back a second time. Maybe a second person, too, because Luke lost his footing. He threw his arms out, stabbing at the machine, doing anything he could to get the damn thing to turn back on. Before he was hauled away, he must have managed to press something right, because the machine kicked on and her chest heaved.

  He was dragged backward toward the door, his legs kicking wildly in front of him.

  That’s when her eyes shot open.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  What in the hell was going on? Cass had been dreaming. Luke was shot and he was dying. She tried to get to him, but she couldn’t. It was silent. She screamed, but she was the only one. Her dad was there. But he didn’t do anything to help. He just stood back and watched Luke die.

  Why would he do that? Didn’t Dad know how much Luke meant to her? Didn’t he know how much she would fall apart if something happened to Luke?

  Then everything went blissfully still. She felt warm. Light. Loved. She couldn’t explain it, but something wrapped her in strength. She knew everything would be okay. Everything was as it should be.

  I love you. I need you.

  But just as fast as the warmth came, it was snatched away. Blackness swallowed her up. Ice coated her body.

  She tried to scream, but nothing came out.

  “Cass.”

  She zipped a look to her right and connected with stunned blue eyes. Luke was held back with a doctor on one arm and a male nurse on the other.

  She coughed. “Luke?” Her voice was weak and sounded foreign to her own ears.

  A broad, relieved smile crossed his face. “Yeah, baby. It’s me. I’m here.”

  She cleared her throat. “You…You’re o-okay.”

  “Me?” he asked, shrugging the men off and getting to his feet. Three large steps and he stood at her side. “Of course, I’m okay. You were the one that had us worried.”

  Casting a glance around the room, she saw her Dad. She glanced down at herself in a hospital bed. “W-what happened?”

  “What do you remember?” Luke asked hesitantly.

  “I…I…” She tried to recall something, anything, but her mind was blank. “Hospital. I remember a hospital.”

  “That’s where Ronan took you. Do you remember what happened there?”

  She thought back to the despair she felt in that room. The utter misery that came over her from the vivid images rushing back.

  Her throat was dry and chalky. She spoke past the uncomfortable feeling. “Ronan and Miguel got into a fight. Miguel tried to stop his brother from giving me the drug. Ronan knocked him out. I got my hands free. When Ronan came at me with the needle, I bit him.”

  A broad grin spread across Luke’s face. “That’s my girl.” He ran a hand over her head and down her cheek. “Do you remember what happened next?”

  She smiled back, recalling her relief at seeing him standing in the room. “You got me out of there. You saved me.”

  His smile faded. His lips were still curved, but it was pasted on. Forced. He waited as if to see if she’d say anything else.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Cass,” he started. “What happened after that…” He swiped a rough hand over his short hair and blew out a breath. “You were…you were shot.”

  That quick the unpleasant memory rushed back. The indifference in José Serrano’s eyes. The startling boom of the bullet leaving the barrel of the gun. The shock. The fear. The pain.

  His other hand came up to her cheek and he cradled her face. “You’re safe,” Luke said. “Serrano’s dead. We got Ronan and his boys, too. No one’s coming after either one of us anymore.”

  They were safe. He was safe. No more danger.

  She wanted to rejoice in his statement, but…

  “And Miguel?”

  Regret covered his face before he shook his head.

  She swallowed past the emotions clogging her throat and tried to ignore the tears burning her eyes. “He was so young,” she whispered.

  “I know,” Luke said just as softly. “I’m sorry, Cass.” He leaned in and placed his lips on hers. “I’m so sorry.” He kissed her again. “I know he meant a lot to you.” Another kiss. “But you mean a lot to me, too. I can’t tell you how happy I am to see your green eyes looking back at me.”

  Dad walked forward to stand beside them. “So am I, Cassie. I thought we lost you for a minute there.” His chest rose on a ragged breath. “I can’t believe I…I don’t want to think about…”

  Cass stretched her hand out to Dad. He took it and squeezed.

  “Oh, Cassie,” he said.

  “I love you,” she said, swinging a look at her family, which now included Luke.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Six months later…

  The hot breeze blew off the ocean, sweeping into the beach resort hotel room like a sultry whisper. It grazed over Luke’s bare skin, making him shiver. Or his reaction could’ve been because of the woman beneath him with hooded eyes, parted lips, and chest rising with labored breaths.

  He’d never get tired of that look.

  After the disaster at the hospital with Serrano, and Cass’s close call with death, Luke and Cass had decided to take some time to spend together. He put in his transfer paperwork for a boring desk job in DC, while Cassandra put herself on extended administrative leave.

  It might be sunny outside, but neither of them knew since they’d locked themselves in their room for the last three days. Luke and Cass had already made love twice today and were working on the third. A tray of food they’d ordered from room service hours ago was left untouched next to the king-size bed and their still-packed luggage rested inside the door. White cotton sheets lay in bunches on the floor, discarded within seconds of walking into the room. The only things that mattered were their two bodies and the insatiable need for each other.

  “Ho-ly shit, Cass,” Luke moaned. “You know how much I love it when you do that with your hips.”

  “What?” she asked, looking up at him with
a mock innocent smile. “This?” She lifted herself at just the right angle.

  He released a strangled groan and dropped his forehead to hers.

  “Mmm,” she mused. “You know how much I love it when you react like that.” She did it again.

  “Jesus,” he said, struggling to get the words out. “Now you’re just torturing me.”

  She chuckled softly. “We can’t have that, can we?” Then the little minx did it again. And again. And again.

  He started to climb, but he wasn’t going over the edge without her.

  Wrapping an arm under her, Luke flipped them so he lay on his back and she sat cowgirl on top of him.

  Gripping her hips, he moved beneath her in the way he knew she liked. She gasped, and it only took seconds for her back to arch, eyes to close, and her head to tip back. The emotion coursing through him as he watched her was almost more than he could contain. He was giving her pleasure. He was what she needed.

  “Luke,” she breathed.

  He pumped into her harder and faster. “I know, baby. I’m right there with you.”

  She tightened around him and it was the most delicious sensation of his entire life. They came apart together, free-falling into the safety net where nothing could ever come between them. They were one.

  When they came back down, pulses slowing and heartbeats more regular, they lay in bed, her back against his stomach, not an inch of space between them. The sun started to set, a cast of soft shadows overtaking the room and its contents.

  She sighed. It was a deep, contented sound. “I’m so happy.”

  “Me, too,” he said, tracing his fingers over the silky curve of her hipbone. “I’m the luckiest bastard on the planet.”

  She laughed, and his chest filled with joy. “Oh really? Why’s that?”

  He tugged on her shoulder, urging her onto her back to look up at him. When his gaze met hers it was there—that comfort she always gave him. The feeling of knowing she completed him so fully it was like they were made for each other. “Because you’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. You’re everything good and right that I never thought this world held. You make waking up every day worth it.”

  Her eyes went glassy as a slow smile spread across her face and she cupped his cheek. “I feel the same way about you.”