Seared [Pain & Love 1] (BookStrand Publishing Romance)

by Ashlei D. Hawley

When Tyler entered the room, she couldn’t have been more surprised to see him. He sat in a chair beside her bed and gave her a timeless, patient look.

  “I am never leaving your side again, even under threat of death,” he warned her. “So do not try to send me away.”

  Reyna wanted to bluster at his arrogance and presumption, but she was drained. She couldn’t even muster up sarcasm or a measly glare. When he took her hand, she didn’t object. She noticed his hand was shaking.

  “How?” she asked, and getting that word out through the parched mess that was her throat was an unexpected trial.

  Tyler offered her water from a small white cup. She sucked on the straw that he held steady for her as he explained all about Mallory, her family, and the Hunters.

  “Wow,” Reyna said when she was hydrated and could speak with less pain. “Those guys sound like dicks.”

  Tyler gave her a scolding look and pointed out in a chastising tone, “You’re making light of the situation. They’re dangerous, Reyna, and if not for Mallory’s help, they would still have you.”

  “And instead, I’m in a hospital with a bum leg—hooked up to machines and feeling a little bit like I’ve been drugged.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “I am just…regular drugged, right? Morphine or something—not anything that has to do with you?”

  Tyler smiled at Reyna’s suspicious tone and leaned over to kiss her firmly. Instead of fighting him off, Reyna sank into the warmth of Tyler’s mouth. It wasn’t the inescapable, searing fury that had accompanied their first night together. She could almost taste the softness and sweetness under the delicious wonder that was Tyler’s own flavor. She sighed into the contact, and Tyler moved away.

  Tyler wanted to take his mate somewhere and touch her all over, memorizing her skin, scent, and feel. He didn’t like the fact that she was stationary and exposed in such an easily accessible location.

  Reyna smiled and rubbed at the new furrow between Tyler’s eyebrows. That frown had been put there by his worry for her.

  “I want you to go somewhere with me where you’ll be safe,” Tyler admitted. “I don’t want us to be separated again.”

  “No,” Reyna refused with a firm shake of her head. “No. I won’t be with you like you want, Tyler. I’m sorry.”

  Tyler was frustrated beyond levels he thought existed by his stubborn mate. She needed him as he needed her. She knew it and still attempted to deny it. What was so wrong about being with him in the way they both needed?

  “Reyna, I need you with me,” Tyler said in a near-desperate tone. She shrugged uncomfortably.

  “And I don’t need to be with anyone,” she responded quietly. She looked away from him, toying with the edge of the hospital blanket that was starting to feel scratchy against her bare legs. “I don’t want to be with anyone.”

  Reyna had been with someone who’d betrayed her in the worst way. Ronnie had “needed” her, too. He’d needed her credit score in order to get the house they’d bought together. He’d needed a partner to take on all of the responsibility for cooking and cleaning and hosting clients that he didn’t want to handle. Naivety had played a large role in Reyna falling into marriage with the handsome, smooth-talking Ronnie. He’d been an ace actor in his role. Reyna hadn’t realized the depth of his temper, the abusive streak or seriousness of his alcoholism until nearly three months into their marriage. She’d been pregnant by that time and had hoped Judith’s birth would solve their problems. More naivety on her part. She didn’t want to be in that position ever again. She wouldn’t take another risk on someone who “needed” her.

  Tyler felt intense sorrow. It burned as brilliantly as their attraction had since the moment they’d met, whether Reyna wanted to admit it or not. He knew she’d built up her walls, shored up her defenses, and raised the drawbridge. She was intent on keeping him out any way she could.

  Mallory entered the room with bags of sandwiches in hand and saw the fantastically handsome Tyler staring bleakly at a finally aware Reyna, who was avoiding his gaze. Mallory hadn’t been able to touch on Reyna’s thoughts or emotions while she’d been under. Now that her eyes were open and the drugs had worn off, Mallory was able to hear the frazzled thoughts and feel the tumultuous emotions. Mallory shut her side down, trying to value Reyna’s privacy. Plus, she didn’t need to be psychic. Just looking at Tyler and Reyna, one could define the intense and saddening mix of feelings between the two of them.

  “I brought some sandwiches,” Mallory announced quietly.

  Reyna looked at her, finally acknowledging that there were other parties in the room and offered a wan but welcoming smile to the other woman.

  “You must be Mallory,” Reyna said softly. Mallory nodded and placed the bag at the foot of the hospital bed. The hospital was a small local one and Reyna had good insurance. Therefore she hadn’t had to stay in the Emergency wing. She’d been moved to a single-bed private room due to her unconsciousness. Mallory knew a doctor would have to be called in soon to check on the woman, because her refusal to awaken had been a cause of extreme concern.

  Reyna observed Mallory, noticing that the woman—who was a few years younger than Reyna herself—was a tiny, trim Aryan beauty. She wore her thick hair loose and it curled around her collar. Her blue eyes were wide and lovely, but though the rest of the package could have convinced an unobservant person she was harmless, those eyes bespoke power, steel, and spine.

  “We should go as soon as we’re able,” Mallory told Tyler and Reyna as she sat in the single free chair in the room. “The Hunters might come if they think Tyler was able to follow you here, Reyna.”

  “Yeah, he brings me all kinds of trouble,” Reyna said dryly. The sarcasm was evident, but didn’t seem particularly venomous. She seemed worn.

  “Would you be OK with letting me take you somewhere safe?” Mallory asked Reyna, because she knew Reyna was the one to convince. Tyler would follow his mate anywhere she went.

  “I want to go home,” Reyna said in a tone heavy with weariness and stress. Mallory felt a deep sense of kinship with the other woman. She didn’t have to be psychic to develop an empathetic connection, especially with those she was driven to help.

  Standing, Mallory moved to Reyna’s bed and took a seat on the edge. She touched Reyna’s calf gently, being careful to avoid the injury farther up. Reyna didn’t move away, but she didn’t meet Mallory’s gaze, either.

  “You can’t go home, hon,” Mallory said in a gentle tone. Reyna still didn’t look at her. “The Hunters want you and Tyler and they’ve got ways of getting to you if you stay exposed.”

  “So what happens to the others you help?” Reyna questioned softly. “Do you have a paranormal targets protection program?”

  Mallory grinned—she couldn’t help it.

  “No, but maybe we should pimp that,” she replied with a chuckle. Reyna didn’t join in her laughter. Mallory sobered. “We wait for the heat to die down,” she continued. “Eventually they focus on another target. Seems the Hunters always have bigger fish.”

  “How long?” Reyna asked.

  “A couple of weeks,” Mallory suggested. “That’s usually good enough to get their attention focused somewhere else.”

  “And how long should I be here?” Reyna inquired of the other woman.

  “I’m not a doctor,” Mallory said with a shrug and a smirk.

  “But you are a psychic,” Reyna pointed out dryly. Mallory’s grin widened and patted Reyna’s calf once more before she stood. Tyler was standing at the window, arms crossed, staring down at the crowded parking lot.

  “Hit that button and ask a nurse if you’re good to go,” Mallory proposed. “I don’t think they’ll keep you for being stitched up. The possible concussion was the only concern.”

  Reyna hit the button to summon the nurse. A beeping began to sound in the hallway. Tyler didn’t turn from his post, but when Mallory tossed half of a sandwich at him, he was able to catch it.

  “Wow, good reflexes, slick,” she congra
tulated in a delighted tone.

  “Don’t flatter him,” Reyna commented with a small smile. “He saw the reflection in the window.”

  Tyler tipped a sardonic smirk her way as he unwrapped his food and bit into it. Reyna found by watching him eat that she was hungry—for food and for Tyler himself. She took that wayward thought, turned it into a vaguely humanoid form within her mind, and strangled it.

  “Can I have one?” Reyna requested, and Mallory beamed at her. The peppy blonde handed Reyna the uneaten half of Tyler’s sandwich before she unwrapped her own.

  Though she would usually remove the tomatoes, Reyna was too hungry to be offended by them. She was biting into the glorious, gooey collection of cheese, veggies, bread, and meat when a short older woman with a rail-thin body and kind brown eyes entered the room. She wore scrubs and had her dark hair cut short and tucked behind bare, compact ears. Her hands were small and efficient as they checked over Reyna and the machines that surrounded her. She quirked a smile at the sandwich, half of her glossed mouth tipping up and creating a barely noticeable dimple in her dark skin.

  “Sorry,” Reyna mumbled around a half-full mouth. The nurse patted Reyna’s knee as she fluffed the blanket back around her bare legs.

  “No harm to me, dear,” the nurse said as she moved to the dry erase board and removed the name “Kelly” to replace it with her own. “My name’s Gabby and I’m here to help. What did you need?”

  “Can I go home?” Reyna asked.

  “Well, that’s for the doc to say,” Gabby said with the slightest of frowns. “I can check you over and call him in.”

  “Thank you, I’d appreciate that,” Reyna said honestly as she swallowed the last bite of her sandwich. Mallory spirited away the wrapper before it got in anyone’s way.

  Gabby went through the process of gauging Reyna’s vitals and asking her questions to determine her state and how she was feeling.

  “I’ll get a doc in here when I can,” Gabby promised as she left the room.

  Of course as soon as the nurse left, Reyna’s bladder betrayed her. She didn’t want to bring it up, but even as she fought the urge, she knew there would be no denying the need to pee. She waited another minute, hoping the feeling would abate, but the strain became a burning pain. Damn the IV and the fluids it had been pumping into her. She’d been through this song and dance before when she’d had Judith—bringing the IV along to the bathroom was a nuisance and she couldn’t put weight on her right leg. She’d need help.

  “OK, this is dumb, but I need someone’s help to get to the bathroom,” Reyna announced before her embarrassment silenced her and resulted in an accident. She didn’t direct the words to either Tyler or Mallory. One was a stranger and though Tyler had seen and known her far more intimately, she almost preferred Mallory’s help.

  Tyler turned but hesitated as Mallory moved to the edge of the bed and offered an arm to help Reyna up. Her movements were brisk and she radiated only concern, no judgment or her trademark humor. Reyna blessed her for it.

  “No pressure on the leg, right?” Mallory asked. She kept her tone affable but firm. Reyna didn’t know if Mallory would be able to do what was needed, but she was a little taller and had a confident strength about her. They would manage.

  With Mallory’s help, the trip to the bathroom was made as quick as humanly possible, even with the IV trailing behind them. Tyler stood and watched, feeling useless as Mallory closed the bathroom door behind them. He swore silently to himself and returned to his window post—a furrowed frown now joining his crossed arms and stormy eyes.

  Mallory helped Reyna sit as efficiently as she could and turned around to give her as much privacy as she could offer without leaving her defenseless. A fall would really suck for the injured woman.

  “You’re strangely easy to get along with,” Reyna admitted softly.

  “I like making friends,” Mallory replied, smiling at the shower. Reyna could almost feel it, though she couldn’t see Mallory’s expression.

  “I don’t,” Reyna said in a hesitant tone. “But I like you a ridiculous amount for just meeting you.”

  “Does that make you mad?” Mallory asked as she turned around to help Reyna stand. She tried to make her smile friendly, but knew the expression had a shade of chastisement about it. Reyna pondered the question as she briskly washed her hands in water that didn’t get warm before she was done with it. Mallory handed her a towel, then supported her weight as Reyna tossed the cloth on the sink. Standing on one leg was beginning to tire her.

  “It’s weird for me,” Reyna said simply as she leaned heavily on Mallory.

  The shock of a psychic flood hit Mallory so hard that her knees buckled and she cried out. Closing her eyes against it, she kept her body focused on holding Reyna up as images swept through her. Light and feelings turned her brain to fire and her eyes blind.

  When she came back to herself, Tyler was holding Reyna against him and Mallory was sitting in the shower. Thankfully it wasn’t wet. She shivered as she stood. Rarely did she have such strong episodes.

  “If you don’t let yourself love him, you’re going to die,” Mallory told Reyna as the last light of psychic power drained out of her. She shook her head against the residual pain and pushed her way out of the small bathroom.

  “That’s pleasant,” Reyna said sarcastically.

  With Mallory suffering psychic whiplash, Reyna couldn’t exactly argue as Tyler gently picked her up and took her back to the bed. She could argue against her stupid body wanting to tuck itself closer to his warmth and inviting scent, though. She took each separate desire for cuddling and closeness, turned them into targets in her mind, and shot them with a mental shotgun. The imaginary violence was beginning to have less and less effect on keeping her wishes and feelings under control and it made her frown furiously.

  A tall, slim doctor with thick blond hair and placid brown eyes entered shortly after Reyna was returned to the bed. Mallory was in a chair to herself with haunted eyes and skin paler than it had been before the episode in the bathroom. Tyler had silently reclaimed his place at the window.

  The young doctor walked with a calm and confident authority and his friendly smile was exceptionally disarming. Reyna smiled back at him as the doctor took the place Mallory had previously inhabited on the bed.

  “So, you were a strange one,” the doctor told Reyna in an affable voice as he pulled her blanket aside and inspected her stitches. “No signs of a concussion,” he continued as he touched her face gently and observed her eyes. “And though you lost a fair amount of blood, not enough for prolonged unconsciousness. You seem fine now, and that’s a curiosity to me, as well. You should be suffering memory issues, confusion, among other things. But you’re fine. How’s the pain?”

  “Decent,” Reyna said as the doctor replaced the blanket and pulled out a stethoscope to check her heart and breathing.

  “I’m going to give you two prescriptions to have filled as soon as you can tomorrow and written instructions on how to care for the stitches. Avoid heavy lifting, running, anything that will put unnecessary strain on the injury. You’re going to want to stay off of it as much as possible at least a week, all right?”

  Reyna nodded as the doctor spoke. She would try to follow his instructions but doubted the likelihood of it happening. She’d always been bad about that.

  “So I can leave?” she asked hopefully.

  “Do you have crutches at home?” the doctor asked.

  “I do,” Mallory piped up, though her voice wasn’t as bright as it usually was. “A couple of pairs, actually. She’ll be set.”

  The doctor smiled and nodded. “Good to have friends,” he commented. Reyna didn’t respond to that. She wasn’t really sure anymore.

  Chapter Eight

  After they left—with Reyna in a wheelchair and Mallory pushing—Tyler pulled Mallory’s vehicle around and they both helped Reyna into the front seat. In spite of her pain, she fell asleep almost immediately. It was after mi
dnight and the day had been a trial.

  “Where are we going?” Tyler asked quietly as Mallory drove. The rain swished the windshield almost gently—nowhere near the fury of the earlier storm.

  “A safe house we’ve never used,” Mallory replied curtly. She hesitated before she continued, saying, “I was wrong. They aren’t going to stop looking for you two.”

  Tyler accepted the information somberly. Reyna wouldn’t like that, he knew. Not only had he uprooted her life, even if he disappeared now, she would be forever pursued. He didn’t know how to rectify things, or even where to begin his attempt if he had any idea.

  “Poor thing,” Mallory said sympathetically as she glanced over at Reyna.

  “She’ll sleep deeply until morning. I’ve made sure of it,” Tyler told Mallory. “I still have some power here, but it mostly deals with her. It doesn’t seem helpful at most times, but all I can do is try.”

  He trailed off and Mallory hurt for him. She’d seen and felt what had happened and what could happen between Tyler and Reyna. She wouldn’t wish that much pain on anyone—except maybe the Hunters.

  The town was relatively small and the safe house was only a fifteen-minute drive from the hospital.

  “I’m beat but Reyna needs some clothes,” Mallory said. “Get her settled and I’ll be back with some supplies in a little while, all right?”

  Tyler nodded his agreement and before he gathered his things and his mate, he squeezed Mallory’s shoulder. She smiled wearily at him and patted his hand. After Tyler left the car with his burdens, she drove away, heading toward a store that was open twenty-four hours.

  Tyler entered the small one-bedroom home with the key Mallory had given him. The dead weight of Reyna was making his arms quake. He was exhausted, as well, but he had work to do before he could sleep.

  Placing Reyna gently on the couch, he strengthened her compulsion to sleep—one of the few things he could influence in her mind now that they had shared a joining. He locked the front door and systematically checked all windows and the backdoor before he felt secure enough to return his attention to his mate.