Savage Vandal (82 Street Vandals #1) - Heather Long Page 0,22
the bed, all right? Would that be all right? We just need to make sure you don’t hurt anything else.”
The shaking seemed to be coming from deep inside.
“Put her down, Kestrel,” the man ordered. “What’s your name, sweetheart? None of these idiots bothered to tell me.”
I should totally lie. But my head hurt too much. “Emersyn.”
“Nice name,” he commented as Kestrel set me on my feet. My ankle protested violently, but I forced my footing to stay steady.
“I’m Mickey,” the man said as he held out a hand to me. “Most of them just call me Doc, but here, brace yourself on my arm and we’ll get you squared away.”
I didn’t know if it was the pain or the soothing patience in his voice, but I put a hand on his arm just like he said and started forward. The sensation of hot and cold washed over me in waves and my stomach rolled, but I had always been good at ignoring the protests my body made. If only my head would stop.
“Easy there, Emersyn, that’s a sweetheart, almost there. Lean more on me and keep your weight off that foot.”
A shuffle of movement had me stiffening, and I jerked to find gray eyes right behind me. Where had Kestrel gone?
“Back the fuck off, Hawk,” Doc ordered in a tone made of corded steel. “Ignore him,” Doc said to me in a far gentler tone. “Kestrel was right—you’re safe here, and they’re backing off now.”
“I’m not fucking leaving, Doc. Stop telling her bullshit.”
We were finally at the bed—though it was more of a table. The cool air on my bare legs reminded me I just had on a T-shirt. I had to assume it was the guy with the pretty tattoos all over his chest and arms. But I didn’t much care right now.
Hawk.
Kestrel.
Why were they all named after birds?
Wait, Doc wasn’t named after a bird.
“If she needs you to step the fuck out, Hawk,” Doc growled out, “then you’ll damn well do it, and if you fight me on this, you’ll lose. She comes first. She’s the patient. You’re just an asshole.”
That was almost funny, only the room kind of blurred around the edges. I put my hand on the table, and all at once, I couldn’t figure out how I was going to climb up there. My tongue felt thick, and my lips numbed.
“I don’t feel so good.”
The first time I’d dropped from the silks, I’d done it under orders. You couldn’t learn to fly if you didn’t know how to fall.
This was a lot like that. Everything went weightless, and I crumpled.
Only instead of bouncing into the net, I found myself staring up into a pair of fierce gray eyes so filled with fury, I was kind of glad I was about to pass out.
Whatever I’d done to piss off this man, I had a feeling they wouldn’t find my body.
Maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
The next time I opened my eyes, the room was dim with almost no light, save for a sliver of it on the far side of the room. The bed was soft under me, softer than most of the mattresses I’d ever had. I needed something firm to support my back. Soft encouraged laziness. The cool air was still there, but the antiseptic smell was gone. I couldn’t sort my thoughts into a straight line, but when I tried to sit up, my stomach lurched again.
“Easy,” a warm, almost honeyed male voice said, and there was a steadying hand on me. “Got the pail right here if you gotta upchuck again, though I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t.”
I frowned. “You’re not Doc.” My voice came out super scratchy and rough. Had I swallowed glass?
There was something icy and cold at my lips, and I opened my mouth to take the ice, half aware of the warm fingers chasing the ice in so it didn’t fall out. Fuck, I was all kinds of sloppy. Why couldn’t I focus?
“I’d offer you water, but we have you on an IV,” the honeyed voice told me. “Doc’s orders. He’ll be here in a couple of hours to check on you.”
He had to go?
“Want me to settle another pillow behind you, let you sit up some?”
“Please,” I said and tried to focus, but I couldn’t see anything. He lifted me with care, and then there was another soft pillow behind me. When he settled me back against them, he did with such smoothness, my