days, but I knew I needed to do it. Not to mention the fact that Hudson deserved to know the details after risking his own life to save mine. “I want to, but my head is a little scrambled. Can you catch me up on how I got here first? My memories are so scattered. I remember you, I remember your voice, and I know that you hauled me out of there, and that you gave me some water. After that, there’s a…huge hole until I suddenly woke up here.”
And you comforted me, holding my hand so I wasn’t afraid of the dark.
Nobody would know that Hudson was that sweet by looking at his face right now, but I could never forget that part of him existed, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.
He nodded sharply. “It’s normal, considering your physical state, for none of your recollections to be clear. You were in bad shape, Taylor. I’m not sure you would have lasted another day without water. Honestly, I’m surprised you were still alive and able to comprehend anything, but I was pretty fucking grateful that you were still breathing. Jax and I hiked our way in, and took you out the same way. So you do remember stopping for water, but nothing after that?”
I nodded slowly. “I remember wanting to drink until I couldn’t do it anymore, and how damn hard it was to take in that first bit of water. I even recall being glad you took the water away, so I didn’t throw it up all over you. I couldn’t see you, but you were there for me, and I’m more grateful for that than you’ll ever know. You saved my life, Hudson.”
“Don’t,” he said with an irritated growl that I hadn’t heard before. “You were in that situation because of me and my company in the first place. So don’t thank me for saving you from a situation you should have never been in to begin with, Taylor.”
I took the cap off the water, and downed a sip before I answered, “It wasn’t your fault. It was something nobody could anticipate, and I’m going to be grateful whether you want me to be or not. I’m happy to be alive, Hudson, and if you hadn’t gotten me out of there when you did, I know I would have died.”
God, he had no idea.
“You’re stubborn,” he muttered. “But that’s probably what kept you alive.”
“Then don’t complain about it,” I suggested, trying to give him a smile, and mostly failing because of a painful crack on my lip.
Hudson let out an exasperated breath. “I definitely can’t complain about your tenacity, and I won’t, because it most likely kept you breathing until we got there. I’ll catch you up on what happened while you were out.” He drained his mug and sat on the dresser. “Jax and I didn’t stop again after I got some water into you. Not until we got to the coast. Our only objective was to put as much space between us and the rebels before they woke up. We were met by a physician and Prince Niklaos when we got to the coast of Lania where the boat was waiting. The doctor did all that he could for you from inside a small tent and on a cot. After that, we took the boat to a mostly uninhabited island that has an airstrip. Jax and I had landed there, and my pilots were ready for takeoff when we got back. We were in the air almost immediately. We stopped on the Portuguese coast to refuel, and right now, we’re currently over the Atlantic Ocean. We’ll be flying over the East Coast of the U.S. in a few hours, but since you’re awake, and have your vital needs covered, we’re heading straight for San Diego. If we don’t have to risk having the general public become aware of this entire incident, we’d rather not. There are several ex-military physicians on staff at the best medical facility in San Diego who know what we’re doing with Last Hope, and who know how to keep the media away.” Hudson took a deep breath before he concluded, “Honestly, you didn’t miss a whole lot after you conked out. It’s mostly been a scramble to get you back to the States, and out of Lania as soon as possible.”
My mind was about to explode from trying to follow his explanation. I wasn’t even going to ask how