13
Shylah was done?
What an absolute load of baloney. She wasn't done with Eden. He was like a tattoo permanently marked on her skin.
Walking down the hospital hall, Shylah was glad her shift was almost over. The extra stress of the past week was making her hand act up and keeping her distracted.
Stopping at the service desk, Shylah started flexing her hand. Jeez, she needed to take better care of herself. Otherwise, she would reverse all the months of physical therapy.
"All okay with the hand, Shylah?" Turning her head, Trent came over and stood by the desk.
"Trent! I mean Doctor O'Neil, hi! Yes, all is good."
"Great." Picking up a folder from the desk, the doctor turned to face Shylah. "You're with me for the rest of the afternoon."
Forcing a smile, Shylah met his gaze. "Who's first?"
Glancing down at the chart in his hand, a smile crossed his face. "We have Gladys Roberts in room ten for what she suspects is a heart attack."
Eyes widening, Shylah followed Trent as he moved down the hall. "Oh my gosh! She shouldn't have been left alone in a room waiting for a doctor."
Shaking his hand in front of Shylah, Trent didn't look concerned. "No need to panic. Mrs. Roberts comes in a few times a week for a suspected heart attack or stroke, sometimes a broken bone. We check that she's taking all her medication, have a chat, and she goes home."
Entering the room, an elderly lady sat on the bed, worry clouding her eyes.
"Hello, Mrs. Roberts, what brings you in today?" Trent asked.
"Doctor O'Neil, I'm so glad to see you. I've told you before, please call me Gladys. I've been having chest pains this morning. They're really stealing my breath. They feel worse than before." Not glancing at Shylah, the older woman only had worried eyes for the doctor.
Trent's face transformed into one of concern as he moved next to the bed. "I'm sorry to hear that, Mrs. Roberts, I mean Gladys. Could you describe your symptoms for me?"
Nodding vigorously, Gladys touched her hand to her chest. "I started getting pain right here. I decided to give it some time, see if it went away, but when I was eating my eggs, it just kept getting worse. I was going to leave it, but then I got this cough." Gladys stopped talking for a moment to demonstrate her cough. Shylah had to stop a smile at how forced it sounded. "And the burning, Doctor O'Neil, the burning in the back of my throat and chest is bad."
Turning on his penlight, Trent shined it in each eye. "Any dizziness or pain that extended from the chest?"
Shaking her head, Gladys watched Trent as he took out his stethoscope and listened to her heart. "Not so much. It was all chest pain."
After a few more moments of listening, Trent put his stethoscope back around his head. "Now, Gladys, have you been taking that medication I prescribed you?"
Eyes diverting, Gladys gave herself away before she answered.
"Gladys, we need you to take it. This sounds like heartburn, but we'll give you some medication and keep you here for an hour of observation. How does that sound?"
Closing her eyes, relief washed over Gladys's face. "Thank the Lord. I really thought it was it this time." Opening her eyes, Gladys smiled at Trent. "Thank you, Doctor."
"Anytime, Gladys." Turning his head to Shylah, Trent's patience for the older woman shined through his eyes. "Nurse, can you get Gladys an antacid? Gladys, Shylah will take good care of you."
Nodding, Shylah turned, feeling the older lady's eyes swing to her. "Shylah, are you new?"
Turning her head, she smiled. "I am. I haven't been in town long."
"You're a pretty thing. I have a grandson who would be perfect for you." Eyes lighting up, Gladys looked about ready to marry her off then and there.
Walking back over with the medicine and water, Shylah handed them to Gladys. "I appreciate the thought, but I'm not looking to date at the moment."
"Not looking to date?" The older woman looked over at Trent for help before swallowing the pill with the water. "Every beautiful young woman should want a strapping young man by their side."
Trent cleared his throat. "Shylah is already dating Eden Cole."
Swinging her head around to Trent, Shylah's brows pulled together. "I'm n—"
"Oh, Eden Cole from Marble Protection? Those boys are so lovely." Excitement on her face, Gladys looked about as far from a heart attack victim as she could get. "That is so wonderful. He's so down and gloomy all the time. You're just what he needs. A pretty thing like you will cheer him right up."
"Thank you, but we're not together." Not sure why she was explaining herself to this lady she hardly knew, she glanced over at Trent with questioning eyes. Trent didn't meet her gaze, eyes remaining on Gladys.
Leaning close to the doctor, Gladys put her hand on his arm.
"PTSD can do funny things to a man. My Henry had that from the war." Turning her gaze up to Shylah's, Gladys's held sadness. "They need kindness. Patience. It will be tough for both of you, but a little understanding will get you through."
Deciding that there was no point in disagreeing anymore, Shylah simply nodded. "Thank you, Gladys."
"Six Greenwith Court is my address. Pop over if you need any help with him."
Touched by the older woman's kindness, Shylah smiled. "Thank you."
A moment of silence followed before Trent stood. "We'll head off to the next patient now, but we'll drop by here a few times to check how you're tracking. Press that call button if you feel any pain in the meantime."
As Shylah left the room with Trent, she turned questioning eyes on him.
"I'm not, you know. Dating Eden."
Once they reached the center desk again, Trent reached for a new chart before he spoke. "You're not? I saw you together and just assumed."
Trent saw them together when?
"Eden and I have . . . a history that we're trying to work through, but we're not dating."
Nodding before glancing up at Shylah, Trent's lips curved into a small smile. "Noted."
For the rest of the afternoon, treating the patients went quickly. Things seemed to be back to a professional basis between her and Trent, which was something Shylah was grateful for. At the end of her shift, Shylah quickly got ready to leave. Once changed and ready to go, she stepped out the back door of the hospital and started making her way home.
"Shylah!" Turning at the sound of the voice, it surprised her to see Trent jogging toward her.
"Trent, what do you need?"
Once he was in front of her, Trent held out a phone. Her phone. "You dropped this as you were leaving. Thought you might need it. You know how they're attached to our hips and stuff."
She'd dropped her phone? Jeepers. Just after Eden had replaced it and then she hadn't even heard it hit the ground.
"Lucky you saw it. Thanks, Trent." Taking the phone, she slipped it back into her pocket.
"I wanted to catch you to apologize for suggesting in front of a patient that you were dating Eden. That wasn't my place."
Touched that he attempted to apologize, Shylah smiled. "Thank you, Trent. I appreciate it."
Looking slightly uncertain for a moment, Trent paused a moment before he spoke. "You can talk about it though. If you are dating."
Shylah stumbled slightly over her reply. "I, ah, appreciate it, but we're really not dating. I'm just happy being a singleton right now."
There was sympathy in Trent's eyes. "Eden can be a lot. I have had little to do with him, but I've heard that he's partial to angry outbursts. I hope you're careful around him."
Feeling like she needed to defend Eden, Shylah shook her head. "He's okay. I mean, he would never hurt me."
Stepping closer to Shylah, Trent placed his hand on her arm. "Just be careful. I know we're not dating or anything, but if you ever need a friend to talk to about anything, I'm a good listener."
* * *
Eden's eyes narrowed as the doctor moved his hand to touch Shylah's arm.
What the fuck?
&
nbsp; He had stood and listened to every word that asshole had said. He was done listening.
Walking up to Shylah, Eden stood so close to her he could feel her body warmth against his. Happy when she didn't pull away, Eden faced Trent.
"Eden, so good to see you," the doctor said, glancing up with a smile. Not seeming fazed by his presence, it's like the doctor had no self-preservation instincts.
Without returning the smile, Eden's eyes narrowed to where his hand still sat on Shylah's arm. Slow to remove his hand, the doctor switched his gaze to look at Shylah.
"Remember what I said, Shylah. See you tomorrow." Giving a nod to Shylah, before briefly glancing at Eden, Trent left.
Asshole.
Turning to face Eden, Shylah's face was masked, making it impossible for him to tell what she was thinking.
There used to be a time Eden could always tell what was going on inside her head.
"You don't seem to take a hint, do you, Eden?" Before he could respond, Shylah turned and started walking.
Keeping pace with her, Eden watched her from his peripheral vision. "The doctor's got a thing for you."
Shrugging, she kept her eyes ahead. "Thanks for the update."
Eden had come looking for Shylah for one reason—to trust her. Hoping, in time, the trust would be returned.
"I wanted to talk to you, Shy. It's been a hard year. Not just for me, but for the whole team." Hearing her breath catch for a moment was the only sign Eden got that she listened to what he was saying. "When we got back from the mission, they herded us into a room with government officials who told us exactly what they had discovered. They said an anonymous source had tipped them off. That the medical staff at Project Arma had injected us with experimental drugs for the whole ten months that we'd been a part of the project. We were the guinea pigs in their off-the-books drug trial. I remember sitting there and feeling like a complete idiot. We were SEALs. Trained to be the best. Yet we couldn't even uncover the truth in our own lives."
Shylah glanced at him out the side of her eye but kept moving.
"You trusted them," she said quietly.
"Exactly. Trust could have gotten me killed. Could have gotten my brothers killed. After my brother died when I was a teenager, and my parents became too distant to care, being a SEAL became my identity. The guys were my brothers, and Commander Hylar was a father figure." At the mention of the commander, Eden's anger intensified, but he pushed it down. Now wasn't the time. "It felt a bit like history repeating itself, except this time, I still had my brothers. And I had you."
Shylah's heart sped up, but her gaze remained straight ahead.
"I asked about you. They said they didn't have any information. They hadn't spoken to you. So, I raced down to the house at the first chance I got. When you weren't there, I didn't know what else to think. If our commander could turn on us when we'd known him for years, what was stopping the woman I'd fallen in love with and only known for a couple of months?"
As they came to stand outside Shylah's apartment building, Eden opened the door, indicating for her to enter and that he would follow. They took the stairs in silence, and Eden waited for Shylah to open her door.
Shylah walked inside her apartment while Eden remained by the doorway. She came to a stop when she realized he wasn't moving any further.
"I've lived for over a year not knowing where you've been, what happened to you, or why you disappeared. I assumed the worst because I lost the ability to trust for a while. It's something I'm working on. I understand that you won't tell me what happened until we can rebuild some kind of connection again. So, I'm going to try. For you."
Stepping closer to Shylah, he pushed her hair behind her ear, skin grazing Shylah's forehead. "I heard what you said, and I know I've been a jerk. I'm sorry. I want to work on us, whatever that may be. We can start as friends and see where that leads. We had something special, and I'm not ready to give up on that right when I've got you back."
Brows pulling together, Shylah placed a hand on Eden's chest. "And you came to discover all this in the last twelve hours?"
"I don't want to lose you again." Eden's voice was hard. Firm.
Now Shylah's heart raced, and there was a hint of uncertainty in her eyes.
"I came back for you, Eden. For us. I don't want to lose that either."
Nodding, Eden's eyes remained on Shylah's. "Good. Friends then."
"Friends," Shylah replied quietly.
"Great. I programmed my number on your phone when I replaced it. Use it."
Frowning, Shylah didn't answer immediately. "Why would I need to use it?"
"If we're friends, we might need to contact each other. Plus, I heard you're not a huge fan of me breaking into your apartment unexpectedly. This way, I can give you a heads-up before I break in again."
A hint of a smile showed on Shylah's face. "A call to give me a heads-up would be good. And I can let you inside."
Shrugging his shoulder, Eden took a small step closer to Shylah. "Whatever you prefer."
Cupping her cheek, Eden lowered his head and pressed his lips to her cheek. "Friends."
For now.
Then he left, feeling a bit lighter than he had in a long time.
14
The sound of rattling from the entrance of her apartment pulled Shylah from her sleep.
Pushing up onto her elbows, it took her a moment to figure out what the noise was. When she did, her entire body froze in fear.
Someone was at her front door, trying to get in. Remaining as still as possible below the covers, Shylah closed her eyes. Eden had put new locks on her door. They wouldn't be able to get in, he'd seen to that.
As the rattling continued, Shylah became increasingly fearful. Even if they couldn't jimmy the lock, there were other ways criminals made their way into apartments, weren't there? Maybe it was the people from Project Arma finally coming to exact their revenge for getting them shutdown?
Eyes darting to the window next to her bed, Shylah suddenly didn't feel safe under the covers anymore.
She grabbed her phone from the bedside table, then moved as quickly as possible toward the bathroom. Once inside, she quietly closed the door and locked it before sitting on the floor of the shower stall. For some reason, the small, enclosed space made her feel safer.
Pulling out her phone, Shylah debated over who to call. She could call the police, but they would likely take a long time to get to her. She could call Eden, but he also lived far away. Were there any other options?
Scrolling down to Eden's number, Shylah's eye caught the name right below his.
Evie.
She would be with Luca, and Luca was just as fast and strong as Eden, and he was closer.
Her finger hovered over the names for a moment, before clicking on Evie's. The phone rang a couple of times before a groggy sounding Evie picked up. "Hello."
"Evie, it's Shylah." Speaking as quietly as possible, Shylah could hear the shaking in her voice.
"Shylah?" Evie questioned, sounding confused. Luca's voice sounded in the background before Evie spoke again asking, "Is everything okay?"
"Um, not really. I think someone's trying to break into my apartment, and I was wondering if Luca could come over and scare them away. I was going to call the police, but—"
"Shylah?" Luca interrupted, and at the sound of his voice, some of Shylah's terror faded. "Are you okay?"
Wrapping her free arm around her middle, Shylah nodded even though she knew Luca couldn't see her. "I'm hiding in the bathroom, but I've been able to hear them outside my front door since they woke me up. I'm scared that it won't take long before they find a way in."
"I'll be there in a few minutes. Don't move and don't make a sound, got it?"
"Okay."
Hanging up the phone, Shylah pushed herself further into the corner of the shower. If she could make herself disappear into the wall, she would. Closing her eyes, Shylah tuned in to every small sound around her.
The rattling con
tinued for a while. Then there were a couple of loud thumps that made her jump. Maybe a shoe connecting with the door? Followed by silence.
Did the silence mean the thief had left?
A few minutes passed, where Shylah wondered if she was safe. She wanted to look, but her body refused to move. The sound of her front door opening made Shylah go still again. Wrapping her arms tighter around herself, her breaths shortened.
They were inside. Or someone was. If they could break into a locked front door, it wouldn't be long before they made it through the bathroom door.
Her body felt ice-cold as she scrunched her eyes shut and dropped her head onto her knees. She prayed Luca would turn up at any moment.
"Shylah?" Startling at the sound of the familiar voice, Shylah's head shot up.
Eden?
Unable to make her voice work, Shylah sat silent.
"I'm coming in, okay?"
The lock of the bathroom door popped as Eden turned the nob. In any other situation, she would probably be amazed at his strength in being able to break the lock so easily. But at this moment, her fear prevented her from any reaction.
The glass shower door slowly opened, and Eden's shoes came into view. Her gaze slowly rose to his face, and some of the fear leached from her body.
Eden's powerful form lowered until he was almost eye level with her.
"Hey, Shy, you doing okay?" His voice was gentle. Soft.
Nodding, Shylah remained where she was, taking a moment before speaking. "Someone was trying to get in."
Eden's eyes hardened. "I heard. You're safe now."
She always felt safe with Eden.
Frowning, something dawned on her. "I called Evie and Luca."
A disapproving look washed over Eden's face as he reached out his hand and caressed her cheek. "You should have called me. I was with Mason when Luca called, and I was closer than him. He'll be here in a moment. Mason's checking out the front. How about we get you out of the shower?"
Before Shylah moved, Eden reached out and lifted her into his arms. By resting her head on his chest, her body relaxed. "I'm glad you came."
Eden: A steamy contemporary military romance (Project Arma Book 2) Page 10