Exposure - Kelly Moran Page 0,111

of curses, he vibrated with tension as she removed the capped IV. When she started blathering about discharge orders, he cut her off.

"Raven Crowne. What room is she in?"

The nurse looked up, startled. "Um?? She grabbed a tablet and swiped the screen, pushed a few icons. "Four-seventeen--"

He shot off the bed and strode from the room. At the end of the hall, he searched for an elevator, made his way over, and punched the button for the fourth floor. Inside, Hintz and McCannon calmly stared at the numbers while Noah paced.

Taking fucking forever??/p>

With a ding, the doors opened. He surveyed the sign to find her room and turned right.

Max sat outside one of the rooms and stood when he saw them. "They just brought her in a few minutes ago. She's still asleep."

There were no words to match the gratefulness for what his bodyguard had done for Noah or Raven. One day, Noah would find a way to properly thank him but, for now, he just needed to see her or he'd split apart at the seams.

He laid a hand on Max's shoulder, squeezed and let go. "Can you get in touch with Raven's mother? Let her know what's going on. Nicole, too."

"Consider it done."

He turned toward the room when McCannon called his name. Noah glanced over his shoulder. "Thank you for everything. But seriously, just go the hell away until morning, McCannon."

The agent laughed as Noah entered Raven's room.

The drapes were drawn, the room dark save for the dim light above her bed. Murmurs from McCannon and the bodyguards in the hall faded with the beep of her monitor. She had an IV in one arm and a blood pressure cuff on the other.

She was so damn pale. Her face was disfigured from the swelling, the bruises stark against her skin. His eyes welled and he had to choke back a sob.

"Ah, God, baby. Look what he did to you."

Shaking, he gingerly sat on the bed by her hip and took her delicate hand in his. The solid weight of it, of being able to touch her warm, soft skin, cracked his chest wide open. Gutted. And, fuck it all. He let the tears free and reached up to brush the hair off her cheek.

"I thought you were dead." Bringing her palm to his lips, he kissed it. Held it there. "I thought I'd never see you again. Shaved twenty years off my life, baby. Swear to God."

As if he needed more confirmation, he looked at the monitors again and let the relief swallow him whole. He swiped a hand over his face and blew out an uneven breath.

He stared at the ligature marks on her wrists and fought a wave of nausea at what she might've gone through before he'd gotten to her. When they'd first begun their relationship, she couldn't even handle sex without him in restraints. They'd come so far since then. He could only hope this one terrible night didn't set back all their progress.

None of that mattered if she didn't wake up. He couldn't do this without her. For as far back as he could remember, it seemed as if every breath he took was for her. As her friend, then her lover. He wanted to be her everything. She already was his.

Rubbing his thumb across her knuckles, he thought about the ring he'd bought her before leaving for the photo shoot in Mexico. He didn't know if it was hope or idealistic stupidity that sparked the purchase, but the ring had called to him. Immediately upon seeing it, he'd known it would be perfect. The unique band had silver and gold winding together to form a knot that held a princess cut diamond. Like them, tangled in chaos.

He reluctantly let go of her hand and strode to the doorway to find Hintz. "See if you can figure out what they did with my clothes. There was something inside my coat pocket??

He trailed off when Max held up the black box. "Thought you might ask for it."

McCannon grinned and bowed his head. Hintz stared at the ceiling, fighting a smile.

"I'm giving you a raise." Noah took the box from Max's outstretched palm.

Max shrugged. "How about tomorrow off and we'll call it even?"

There would never be an "even" here. Max had been with him, a silent protector, since before his move to Alaska. He'd watched over Raven, had taken a bullet for her, and there was no way to repay someone for that kind of