Lexie was tall but too slender to pose much of a threat. But the promise in her eyes made Shylah believe she would keep her word.
"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere," Shylah said, eyes flicking back to Eden. "I shouldn't have stayed away so long as it was."
She was just starting to realize the gravity her actions had on Eden. She'd spent so much time over the last few months thinking about her own physical and mental recovery, and the fear that Eden wouldn't want her anymore, that she hadn't considered Eden enough.
She'd underestimated how much she'd meant to him, something she never intended to do again.
"So, why did you?" Lexie asked, curiosity in her eyes.
"Lexie!" Evie hit Lexie's arm lightly. "You don't have to answer that, Shylah. It's no one's business but your own."
When Lexie rolled her eyes, Shylah had a feeling the other woman didn't agree. "Or, you could share the gossip and get a girl's opinion on it all."
When Lexie just stared at Shylah expectantly, she squirmed under the scrutiny.
She knew that Evie was aware of Project Arma and everything the guys had been through, but Eden hadn't mentioned anything about Lexie. Shylah didn't want to give away any secrets that weren't hers to give.
"I got into an accident. It left me with some injuries. One of the injuries caused nerve damage in my hand, among other things. It was a long road to recovery, and I didn't want to pull Eden into that mess."
Empathy shined in Lexie's eyes. "I'm sorry, Shylah. What kind of accident?"
A huff came from Evie's direction.
"Someone attacked me," Shylah responded, keeping her answer brief.
Eyes widening slightly, Lexie popped her hand on Shylah's arm. "Someone attacked you? A man, I'm guessing? God, what is it with men these days? Do they suck or what?"
The feel of Lexie's hand on Shylah's arm was comforting. Maybe these ladies would turn into friends.
Before Shylah could think any further into it, Eden's arm snaked around her waist. Craning her neck back to look at him, Shylah couldn't stop the giddy excitement she felt at his closeness.
"Hey," she said quietly, not able to hold back the smile that curved her lips.
"Hey, yourself."
Being close to Eden gave her the same feeling as when she consumed too much sugar when she was younger. High on life and ridiculously happy.
When Shylah eventually dragged her eyes from Eden, she noticed Lexie's gaze flick between her and Eden as well as Evie and Luca with longing.
Feeling self-conscious about making Lexie feel like the fifth wheel, Shylah shimmied herself out of Eden's arms.
"I'm going to go grab some more drinks for the fridge." Dashing away before Eden could stop her, Shylah made her way inside.
In the kitchen, she reached down and grabbed a couple of beers in each hand. Turning around, she almost jumped out of her skin when Mason stood right behind her.
Two beers slipped from her left hand, but Mason easily caught them before they hit the ground.
"Jeez, Mason, you scared the heck out of me." Heart still racing, she took a calming breath.
"Sorry, we tend to walk quietly. A habit from our time as SEALs."
"I know. Eden never makes a sound when he moves. I can't get used to it." When Mason continued to stand in front of her, Shylah started to feel awkward. "Was there something you wanted to chat about?"
"Actually, yes, I saw you walk in here and thought we could talk one-on-one. We haven't had a chance since you got back."
Shylah's chest tightened at the sudden nervous tension that crept into her shoulders. "Sure."
"I can hear your heart just about beating from your chest, Shylah. You don't need to stress."
Then why did it feel like she was about to face the firing line?
Giving a tight smile, Shylah placed the beers on the counter. "What's up, Mason?"
"Are you here to stay, Shylah?"
Was she here to stay? Forever?
"I plan to stay with Eden for as long as he'll have me." Whether or not that was the right answer, it was the truth.
Mason studied Shylah's eyes. He looked like he was a human lie detector. Eden sure was so she wouldn't be surprised if they all were.
"That man loves you. It damn near destroyed him when you up and disappeared."
The guilt in Shylah's chest intensified. "I know. I regret my decision, but I wasn't ready to lean on him for support, and I didn't want to unload my shit on him."
"It was his shit that got you into that mess, and he had a right to know. By leaving him with no answers, you left his life in limbo. You seriously underestimated how much he loved you."
There was no accusation in Mason's voice. He spoke like he was citing facts.
Shylah still felt the words like they were a direct hit on her, though.
"If I had to do it again, I would try to choose differently."
Again, Mason's piercing gaze held her captive, seeing much more than she likely wanted him to. "I hope you mean that, Shylah, and I hope you understand that if you leave, it won't just be Eden tracking you down."
So now Eden, the women, and the guys would look for Shylah if she left. Jesus, she was almost tempted to do it to see who caught her first.
"I understand, Mason, but I hope you understand that I don't intend to go anywhere. I love Eden. I've always loved him. It was hard enough being apart before. I don't think I would survive it again."
"Good. I'm glad to hear it."
With a quick nod, Mason grabbed the beer bottles from the counter and headed back outside.
Once Shylah was alone in the kitchen, she sagged against the counter.
She knew she'd brought pain to Eden's life, but being reminded of it every five minutes was wearing on her.
After a moment, Shylah headed back outside, walking straight to Eden's side. His arm immediately wrapped around her waist, and Shylah leaned into him.
"Everything okay, Shy?"
Glancing up into Eden's worried eyes, Shylah forced a smile she didn't feel. "Of course."
Arm tightening slightly, Eden lowered his mouth to place a kiss on her head. She didn't deserve him, but she sure as hell would hang onto him for as long as he'd have her.
19
"Gladys, good news, nothing in your test results shows anything serious."
Shylah picked up the chart and made her final notes.
"Thank you, dear, that makes me so relieved," Gladys said with a sigh. "Is it okay if I just rest here for a while? In case the tightness in my chest comes back?"
"Of course, we aren't busy now, so feel free to take your time. I can get one of the nurses to check on you before you leave."
Trent hadn't been wrong when he'd said Gladys came in a lot. This was the third time in less than a week. In all honesty, Shylah didn't mind. She would rather see the sweet older lady than a dumb drunk.
"It won't be you to check on me?"
Glancing up, Shylah gave the older lady a kind smile. "I finish in a few minutes, so unfortunately not. Linda is on tonight, and she's fantastic."
"Oh, yes, Linda is nice," Gladys exclaimed, just as an excited gleam entered her eyes. "So, how is it going with Eden? Word around town is that the boy is a lot happier."
"Word around town? Normally I would say not to listen to gossip, but in this case, Eden is happy, as am I."
"Goodness, what a relief. He needed a sweet girl to take care of him."
"I think, if anything, he's taking care of me." Placing the chart back in the folder, Shylah turned to leave. "It was nice seeing you again, Gladys. Just ring the bell if you need anything."
Giving her a final smile, Shylah moved into the hall and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She quickly sent a message to Eden.
I just saw my last patient. Be about ten.
The reply was almost instant.
I'm out front. Don't take too long, or I'm coming in to get your sweet ass.
Not able to contain the smile that spread across h
er face, Shylah was sliding the phone back into her pocket, when she heard her name called from behind.
"Shylah." Turning around, she caught Trent walking up to her from the front desk. "I'm sorry to ask, but could you see one last patient before you finish?"
Glancing at the time on her phone, it was already five minutes after she was supposed to leave.
Trent must have seen the hesitation in her eyes. "I hate asking. It's just that Linda's caught up with another patient, and Janet called in sick."
Shaking her head, Shylah smiled. "Of course." She wanted nothing more than to be in Eden's arms at that very moment, but that would come.
"Great, he's in room eight and just needs the flu shot. We've recently moved it to the top draw to the left."
"Got it," Shylah said with a quick nod.
"Thanks, Shylah." Trent smiled before heading back down the hall.
Whipping out her phone again, she sent off another message to Eden.
Will be a few minutes later, seeing one last patient.
Again, the response was instant.
Don't take too long. Same rules apply.
Almost laughing out loud, Shylah popped the phone back into her pocket as she opened the door to room eight. Grabbing the chart on her way in, she looked up to see her patient was a young man with dark hair.
His dark eyes darted to Shylah as soon as she entered the room. Something about him made her hesitate.
A nauseating smell seemed to emanate from him, causing Shylah to want to gag, and his fingers were tapping the chair almost rhythmically.
Pushing aside the uneasy feeling in her gut, Shylah forced a smile.
"Hi, I'm Shylah. I'll be giving you your flu shot today."
"Shylah. I'm Ben."
Ben's eyes trailed down her body, and Shylah had to restrain herself from crossing her arms over her chest when his gaze lingered there.
Moving straight to the drawer Trent had directed her to, she made quick work of getting the shot ready. The faster she got this done, the faster she'd be out.
Turning back to Ben, she had to stop herself from pulling back at his stench. It was like the guy hadn't showered in weeks.
"If you could lean back in the chair and roll your sleeve up to the shoulder, Ben, that would be great."
Leaning back, Ben seemed to study her as he went. "You're too pretty to be a nurse."
Giving a tight smile, Shylah wiped his upper arm. "Thank you, but I assure you I am a nurse, and I'm very good at what I do."
"I bet you are."
Not sure what he was getting at with that comment, Shylah refrained from responding.
Taking the cap off the syringe, she injected the shot into Ben's arm, throwing the empty syringe in the sharps container when she finished. Shylah removed her gloves and picked up the chart.
"Remain seated for a moment, then once I'm done, I can let you go."
Scribbling down the notes, it took Shylah a moment to notice that Ben hadn't responded. Turning her head, she saw that his eyes were shut and body still. Too still.
Panic hit Shylah.
"Ben?" Quickly moving to his side, Shylah lifted his wrist to check his pulse. "Ben, can you hear me?"
Hands turning clammy, Shylah noticed his heart rate was much too fast.
Suddenly, Ben's body jerked, causing Shylah to jump. Then another. It was almost like he was about to have a seizure.
Shylah reached for the emergency button.
Before she could press it, the hand she had been touching reached out and grasped her wrist. The grip dug into Shylah's skin, causing her to cry out in pain.
When Ben's eyes popped open, they were glazed over. Almost like when a person was high on drugs, and they didn't really see what was in front of them.
When his head cocked to the side, his eyes narrowed. Shylah's body chilled. Ben's eyes appeared darker, almost black, and full of unconcealed rage.
Terror stabbed at her, and her heart felt like it would pound from her chest.
Ben's hand tightened around her wrist further, the pain brought tears to her eyes. Then he flung her toward the wall.
Hitting it with a bang, Shylah dropped to the ground. Trying to push herself up, her left hand, the one that Ben had just gripped, gave out on her as pain radiated up her shoulder.
Cradling her arm to her chest, Shylah used her right hand to try to crawl toward the door.
Before she could make it a few steps, Ben grabbed onto her ankle, dragging Shylah toward him again. Strong arms flipped her onto her back.
Scream, a voice in the back of Shylah's mind urged. She needed to scream now before it was too late.
Opening her mouth, Shylah cried out as loud as possible before a foot stomped down on her stomach, stealing the breath from her body. Dropping to his knees, Ben climbed on top of her and reeled his fist back.
The punch hit Shylah in the temple. The shock of the hit prevented any pain for a moment before her vision fuzzed. She could just make out the hand reeling back again.
She prepared herself as best she could for another hit, but it never came. Something big collided with him, pulling the weight off her body.
* * *
What the hell was taking her so long?
Deciding he'd had enough waiting in the car, Eden pushed the car door open and headed for the hospital foyer.
Damn, he hated hospitals. They reminded him of all his worst memories.
It was in a hospital foyer he'd been told that his brother hadn't made it. Since he'd lost Shylah, every nurse had reminded him of her.
The smell of alcohol and bleach thickened the air. Glancing around the foyer, there was still no Shylah. Checking his phone, he frowned when there was no message.
Eden's head shot up when a scream echoed through the hall. To some, it would have been barely audible. To Eden, it was loud and piercing.
Shylah.
Moving his feet quickly, Eden sprinted down the hall, not caring who witnessed him moving so fast. At the sound of a fist colliding with flesh, Eden barreled through the door the noise came from.
The sight of a man raising his fist while sitting on top of Shylah sent him into a blind rage.
Reaching the man in under a second, Eden pulled his body off Shylah before his fist could swing. Throwing the man against the far wall, a loud thud of body hitting wall ricocheted through the room.
About to reach down and check Shylah, Eden stopped when the man grunted loudly before standing.
There was an indent where his body had hit the wall showing how hard the impact had been. The man should be unconscious. Instead, he stood with ease, eyeing Shylah on the ground.
A whimper sounded from where Shylah lay.
Not daring to take his mind off the man in front of him, Eden stepped around Shylah, guarding her with his body. If the man wanted her, he'd have to go through him.
The moment the stranger came to that realization, his eyes shifted to Eden, and a growl tore from his chest.
He sounded like a damn animal.
Only barely aware that an audience was forming outside the door, Eden took a threatening step forward. The man's eyes again darted to Shylah before flicking back to Eden, his chest rising and falling, clearly agitated that he couldn't reach her.
"You will not get to her, asshole."
Eyes turning black with fury, the only warning he received was a snarl before the man leaped toward Eden.
Bracing forward, Eden took the impact of his assailant, ensuring they didn't land on Shylah. Instead of attacking Eden, as he'd suspected, the man was attempting to push him aside to reach Shylah.
Fuck no. There was no way in hell Eden was allowing that to happen.
When the man tried to climb around him again, Eden lifted his leg and kicked out hard so that the man fell backward again.
Before the man could push forward, Eden was on him. Wrestling him to the ground, holding him in a lock grip.
The snarls from the man beneath Eden got louder, and his movemen
ts more aggressive. The man was damn strong, but his obsession with keeping Shylah in his sights was leaving him distracted.
Heavy footsteps sounded down the hall. Eden looked up to see Mason and Asher enter the room.
The man below Eden took advantage of his moment of distraction. Pushing Eden's body to the side, he leaped toward Shylah, who was now sitting against the wall.
At the same time, Mason lunged at the man, intercepting him moments before he got to her. With Asher's help, the two detained him.
Trusting that Asher and Mason had the man contained, Eden moved to Shylah's side. Bruising was already visible on her temple, and she was clutching her left wrist.
"How you doing, Shy?"
Shylah's eyes were wide as they glanced up at him, and her pulse was pounding. She was in shock.
Reaching toward her injured hand, Shylah flinched as he lightly touched the skin, avoiding the worst of the bruising. Gently lifting her arm, Eden inspected the injury.
"I think . . . I think he re-injured the nerves in my wrist." Angry bruising in the shape of fingers was visible, and her wrist seemed to hang at an odd angle. "I'll need a CT scan or an MRI."
Looking back up at Shylah's pale face, he pushed the hair out of her eyes. "That's okay. We'll get that done." As Shylah moved to stand, Eden placed a hand on her shoulder. "Shylah, I think you're in shock. I'll sit with you for a bit, okay?"
"When someone's in shock, they should lie down and elevate their feet," Shylah said as if reciting words from a textbook.
"Would you like to lie down and elevate your feet?" Eden asked gently.
"No."
Shrugging, Eden turned so that his body blocked the commotion behind him. "I'm happy to break the rules and sit with you if you are."
Shylah's eyes were still wide, pupils dilated. "He, um, he attacked me after I gave him the flu shot."
Taking Shylah's good hand in his, he noticed it was ice cold. "He was fine before you gave him the shot?"
"Yes. I mean, he gave me the creeps, and he smelled really bad, but he wasn't attacking me." Eden looked up to see Mason's subtle head nod as his friend went to retrieve the syringe. "If you hadn't come in, Eden, I think he would have killed me."
Eden: A steamy contemporary military romance (Project Arma Book 2) Page 14