Raiden (The Kent Brothers #2) - A.M. Hargrove Page 0,34
and the rest of the group trailed behind him. The nurse came over and gave me the full instruction on the morphine button. Then I dozed off until they transported me to my room. Hospitals sucked. Every time I fell asleep, someone came and woke me up. This would be a long three days.
The next time I awoke, it was to the aroma of a forest, instead of the acrid smell of the hospital. Raiden was here. Taking my time to inhale his luscious scent, I slowly opened my eyes to see him watching me and holding my hand.
“Good morning, lazybones.”
Gah, the man was sin wrapped over sex. How could my brain even go there while my body reeled in pain? Swallowing the bucket of dust that had accumulated in my throat while I’d slept, I reached for the giant cup of water sitting on the nearby tray. But the slight movement brought another slicing pain directly to my side. The groan escaped before I could squelch it, which sent Raiden flying to his feet.
“Are you okay? Let me help you.” He handed me the water and held the cup as I guzzled its contents. “Take it easy on that.”
“I was thirsty.”
“Yeah, but you don’t want to make yourself sick.”
My head flopped back to the pillow and before I could respond, he was fluffing said pillows and raising the bed a bit. “Better?”
“Much. Thanks. I wish I could brush my teeth.”
“I can help with that.” He gazed around the room until his eyes fell on the items he searched for—a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a pan. I watched him squirt the paste onto the brush and then he handed it to me. It was heaven when I finished.
He laughed. “I almost feel like I’m the dentist, except I need one of those suction things that gets the junk out of your mouth.” He took the tray and rinsed it out.
“Thanks for doing that. I feel like a new person. Are there any facecloths in here? My face feels grimy.”
He found a stack, and it was the next best thing to a shower.
“What else can I get you?”
“Nothing. I can’t eat today, and besides, I don’t have an appetite.”
“Same here. You scared the crap out of me, Scottie. You are the most hardheaded woman.”
“I saved our lives.”
“But nearly got killed in the process.”
“Uh, the operative word is nearly, which means I didn’t.” Raising my arms, I went on. “See, I’m fine. Except for the wound, I’ll be home in a few days.”
“Scottie, this isn’t a joke.”
A sigh whistled out of me. “Raiden, I’m not turning it into one. I’m only putting it into perspective. Had I not done what I did, those guys would’ve busted in and shot us both. We wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. Sometimes you have to make a sacrifice play, like in baseball.”
His eyes pierced me before he answered. “Fine, but next time let me do the sacrificing.”
My sassy mouth wanted to fire back with his lack of skill in firearms, but I kept it shut. That would only lead to another argument, which neither of us needed, and insulting his manhood wasn’t appropriate.
However, I had to mention this. “I think it’s time you get trained in how to handle a weapon.”
“I know how to handle a weapon.”
“You need to get a permit so you’re legal. Drex can take care of that. He has connections with the local sheriff.”
“Isn’t that what bodyguards are for?”
“Oh, and they did a damn good job of covering us, didn’t they?” I knew my reply was snarky, but the point was if O’Brien wanted to get to us, he’d find a way.
“Drex has ramped up the numbers of them again. We lost some last night.”
I rubbed my head. The number of casualties kept growing. “Good to know, however, we still need to protect ourselves.”
No response, and how could he disagree? It was the only thing that made sense.
“Raiden, I don’t like admitting this, but I’m scared. You’ve seen WI and how their security is better than anything. If O’Brien’s men got past that, they can get past anything.”
His head dipped up and down. “I’m scared too. I’m frightened something will happen to you.” He took a hold of my hand again and brought it up to his lips. “The stakes have shot sky-high. Drex assured me this was the safest place when I told him I wanted to run. He said O’Brien would send men after me no matter where I