The Lasaran (Aldebarian Alliance #1) - Dianne Duvall Page 0,70
and Marcus and North Carolina. So when Walker left, I remained behind and read her thoughts.”
“Reading her thoughts made your nose bleed that much?” She recalled the crimson liquid that had liberally coated his mouth, chin, neck, and shirt.
That had been a lot of blood. If she hadn’t known him and had seen him on the street, she would’ve thought he’d been in a fistfight with someone who had punched him in the face multiple times.
He nodded and admitted somewhat sheepishly, “It hurt like hell. But she’s my only link to Amiriska unless we cross paths with Roland again. So I kept pushing and pushing until I finally managed to find my sister in her memories.”
Hope rose. “She knows Amiriska?”
“Yes. Or at least she’s met her and knows where Amiriska is staying.”
“In North Carolina.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know where in North Carolina?”
“If we obtain a map, I can find it.”
“We don’t need a map. Prepaid internet was included in the burner phone I purchased. I can pull it up and plan our route.” She studied the now-glistening wound. “I don’t know how to keep this ointment from rubbing off without wrapping you in gauze like a mummy.”
His lips quirked up. “If you do that, I won’t be able to feel your bare skin against mine.”
Her pulse picked up. “Don’t tempt me. We both need rest. How’s your head?”
“Better since the shower,” he said with a grin and a wink.
She smiled. “How did you keep the other soldiers from asking about the blood when you left? Did you make them not see it?”
“No. I couldn’t. Reading Eliana’s mind taxed me so much that I could barely walk afterward.”
Her brow furrowed with concern. “What did you say when they asked?”
He pointed to his face and shook his head with a wry smile. “Fucking nosebleed. Can you believe it? I’ve been getting the damn things ever since I was a kid.”
She arched a brow. “Have you?”
“No. But they believed me. The first group of soldiers was relieved. They thought I had pissed off the immortal woman and she’d hit me.”
Lisa laughed.
“The rest just said things like that sucks. Or damn, man, you should get Seth to fix that for you.”
She frowned. “Roland mentioned a Seth. I wonder who he is.”
“I don’t know.”
Lisa considered his wound. She wished she could take him to a hospital and get him some real help. Shaking her head, she motioned for him to lean toward her. “I’m going to go ahead and do the mummy thing.”
She thought at first he would argue. After studying her for a moment, however, he dutifully leaned forward, away from the wall.
Grabbing some padded nonstick gauze patches, she asked him to hold them in place while she scooted closer and unrolled thinner gauze around and around him. “Thank you. I thought you were going to protest.”
He smiled and ducked his head to press a kiss to her neck. “I just wanted to feel your arms around me again.”
“Flirt.” she said, hiding her worry with a smile. His wound was getting worse. His skin felt hotter despite the chill of the room, indicating he was running a fever. And he had nearly passed out in the shower. It scared the hell out of her. “Next we eat and get some rest.”
He nodded.
Perhaps if she told him she needed rest, she could convince him to stay here another day. Give him time to recuperate from forcing the telepathy thing. Ensure there would be no more nosebleeds. See if his chest wound would improve a little bit.
And she was tired. Exhausted really.
When she reached the end of the roll of gauze, she tucked it in tight to keep it in place, then added some first aid tape.
Another of those sharp cramping pains tightened her belly. Hissing, she cupped it with both hands and breathed through the spasm.
Taelon rubbed her arms, then shifted to sit beside her.
She bit back a moan as the pain intensified.
“The day has been taxing,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to her hair. “Perhaps we should rest here for another night to ensure you and the baby are well.”
If she had to play the baby card to keep him from killing himself, she would. “Okay. I am pretty tired.”
“I’m sorry.” He rested a hand on her tummy. “I should’ve insisted we stop sooner.”
She leaned into him. “We needed to put some distance between us and the soldiers in black.” The pain eased. She sighed in relief.