Meant to Be Immortal (Argeneau #32) - Lynsay Sands Page 0,66

five hours,” Decker corrected. “It was just after one when we got back to the RV after dropping Mac and CJ off at the office. We dropped off Mac’s things, tended your wounds, and returned to the hospital at 3 p.m. It’s now eight o’clock. You ate three times in five hours, and that doesn’t include the lunch we’d just had before the incident with the truck. There is something wrong with you.”

“Maybe he has a tapeworm,” CJ suggested, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. Her skull was reverberating with pain and their squabbling was just aggravating it. She couldn’t decide if they sounded more like fractious siblings or a quarreling husband and wife, but they weren’t helping her headache any.

“We’ll be at the police station in a few minutes and you can get water there,” Mac said suddenly, his voice soothing but carrying an undertone of concern that told her she wasn’t hiding her pain well.

His words also reminded her that she was still clutching the pill bottle in her hand, but hadn’t done anything with it yet. Forcing her eyes open, she squinted down at the bottle, undid the lid, retrieved two pills, and dry-swallowed them. To hell with water, she needed pain relief now.

“How bad is your headache?” Mac asked with concern as she tucked the pill bottle back in her purse. “Maybe we should take you back to the hospital and—”

“Try it and I’ll be kicking you guys out of my car and driving off without you,” she growled, closing her eyes once more, but then snapped them open again as Decker’s words finally penetrated the pain clouding her brain. “Tended his wounds? Bricker was hurt too?”

“Nothing serious,” Decker assured her. “Just a bruise and a little road rash on his ass.”

She thought she heard an annoyed growl from Bricker, saw Mac’s lips twitch with amusement, but was scowling herself. “Why was I the only one to end up in the hospital? Bricker got off with just a little road rash, and you—” She glared at Mac. “What about your back?”

“My back?” he asked, his eyes going wide.

“Yes, I distinctly recall you skidding across the tarmac on your back with me on top of you after—” She stopped abruptly, a frown claiming her expression. CJ had been going to say after Bricker scooped them up and tossed them out of the way of the pickup, but that was impossible. That couldn’t have happened. Obviously, her memory was confused, or mixed up with maybe some dream she’d had. In which case, she didn’t want to say anything about her mixed-up memory. The men might see it as another reason to try to convince her to return to the hospital, so she closed her eyes again and muttered, “Never mind.”

Silence fell in the car then, but she ignored it and just concentrated on trying to breathe deeply as she waited for the pills to start working and her head to stop aching. She wasn’t going to admit it to the men, but she was a little concerned about her headache. Not a lot. Certainly not enough that she’d been willing to admit to the doctor and nurses to having one, or to the severity of it, and risk being forced to stay in the hospital for observation. CJ hated hospitals. She wasn’t keen on doctor visits either. Besides, her headache was probably a combination of hitting her head and dehydration. Maybe even a need to eat. She hadn’t had anything since lunch.

She’d grab a glass of water at the police station and see if that helped. Maybe they’d have snacks there too. Something to bring her sugar up. If eating and drinking didn’t help, and her headache persisted or got worse, she’d consider going back to the hospital. But she wouldn’t like it.

A combination of the vehicle slowing down and the clicking of the blinker being utilized made CJ open her eyes. Much to her surprise, they were pulling into the parking lot of a Tim Hortons coffee shop with a drive-through.

“We can get you a bottle of water here,” Mac said in explanation when she glanced his way.

“Thank you,” CJ breathed.

Mac nodded as he maneuvered into the short line of cars waiting to place an order, and then asked, “Did they feed you anything in the hospital?”

CJ started to shake her head, but immediately stopped as the action sent pain shooting through her skull. Resisting the urge to clasp her head in her hands until