The Price (House of Sin #5) - Elisabeth Naughton Page 0,12
and even breaths told me he was simply sleeping.
I didn’t move, though. Didn’t stop touching him. Couldn’t. Wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to let go of him after everything that had happened.
Marco and Felicity spoke in hushed voices as Felicity turned to grab items from the bag she’d carried onto the plane. Throat thick, I managed to ask, “What did you give him?”
“A drug cocktail that’ll keep him out for a good long while.”
Felicity must have sensed the worry in my eyes because she paused whatever she was doing with her bag and looked across the bed at me. “An antianxiety med to keep him calm, and narcotics for the pain. That’s it. I’m going to start an IV next so we can get some antibiotics in him. The last thing he needs is an infection on top of everything else. He’s going to get through this. Trust me.”
Tears burned my eyes all over again, but I fought them back and swallowed hard as I nodded, knowing they’d do Luc no good now. “H-how do you know how to do all this?”
She pulled supplies out of her bag. “My father’s a doctor.”
Marco huffed. “She’s too humble. She’s a doctor as well. And a better one than her dad.”
Felicity frowned Marco’s way, then looked back at me. “I’m not licensed in Italy.”
“She still practices, though,” Marco said.
“Now and then,” Felicity said to me. “Most of the people I help get out of the Entente are in need of medical attention. I’ve got plenty to keep me busy. Have faith, Natalie. I’ve dealt with this before. I know what I’m doing. Luc’s going to be okay. I promise.”
I didn’t want to think about anyone else having gone through this. And since I couldn’t quite find my voice yet, I just nodded and pressed my lips against Luc’s forehead once more, thankful that Felicity and Marco were on our side. If I’d been left alone with him in his condition...
I pushed the fear aside and told myself we were safe now. They couldn’t hurt us anymore. I believed it. I had to believe it, because I wouldn’t accept any other outcome.
Marco moved around the bed. And as metal clinked and the two began working on Luc’s wounds, I closed my eyes, rested my cheek against Luc’s soft hair and focused on Felicity’s words.
Have faith...
I did. I would. In us.
Because us was the only thing that mattered.
Whatever drugs Felicity had given Luc had kept him asleep as she and Marco had cleaned his back, stitched his wounds, and covered the raw skin with bandages.
When they were done, Marco helped me move Luc into a better position on the bed. We were both worried about him waking again and becoming agitated, so I sat in the middle of the bed and leaned against the headboard with a pillow propped on my lap so Luc could lie between my legs with his cheek resting on my thigh.
He didn’t wake when we repositioned him, but he startled a couple of times, so I ran my fingers through his hair and whispered sweet words to reassure him, and it helped.
Marco and Felicity had left me after Luc was situated. I wasn’t sure what they were doing but I suspected they were cleaning off Luc’s blood. Just the memory of all that blood...
I closed my eyes, leaned my head back against the wall as I sifted my fingers through Luc’s hair and willfully banished the image from my mind. I knew I’d never be able to, though. Seeing Luc strung up like that as they whipped him like an animal, hearing his agony intermixed with my sobs...
It would all forever be engrained in my mind like a movie reel set on a loop. Along with every other wretched thing the monsters in his House had done to him in that room.
A soft knock sounded at the open door, and I opened my eyes and lifted my head from the wall as I glanced in that direction. Seconds later, Marco stepped into the room wearing a fresh white button-down rolled up to his elbows.
“Hey.” He nodded at Luc between my legs on the bed, his voice low. “How’s he doing?”
“Still sleeping,” I said softly.
“That’s good.” He crossed to me and held out a glass. “Here.”
I glanced at the two inches or so of golden liquid and wrapped my hand around the glass. “What is it?”
“Whisky. Well, I think you Americans call it Scotch whisky.”