Savage Vandal (82 Street Vandals #1) - Heather Long Page 0,23
stomach didn’t protest.
Before I could ask anything else, he pressed more ice chips to my lips, and I sucked on them gratefully. A few more of those, and my next words weren’t so harsh. “Why is it dark?”
“You have a concussion,” he told me in that melodious voice. The rich, deep timbre of it was something I could listen to for hours. “Doc explained the light in the clinic probably contributed to your symptoms worsening when you woke up earlier. So we’ll keep them off for now. I can see what you need.”
That shouldn’t be comforting. “Where am I?”
“Somewhere safe.”
I licked my lips. “That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting right now, Dove.”
“That’s not my name.”
“But it suits you.” There was an element of laughter in his voice. Was he laughing at me or with me?
The thud of my skull made trying to puzzle that out hard. I was so tired. “Who are you?”
“My name’s Vaughn,” he told me.
“So you’re not named after a bird?” Oh what was it with them and birds?
He chuckled for real this time. “Sometimes they call me Falcon. But my name is Vaughn.”
Huh.
I thought I might have fallen asleep, but when I jerked awake, he was right there again, all soothing, deep voice in the dark. “You’re safe, Dove.”
“Stop calling me that.”
“Nah,” he said, almost teasing. “I like it. Besides, you’re more like a wounded bird right now.”
Wounded. “Has someone called my parents?” Dread curled through me. “Or the company?”
“Nope,” he told me. “No one knows where you are.”
The sinking sensation gave way to relief and then to sinking all over again. If the company didn’t know where I was, then Eric couldn’t bribe someone and show up. If my parents didn’t know, then they hadn’t dispatched some handler to deal with me. But I didn’t know these people…
“You’re the one who gave me your shirt.”
“Yep,” he said. “Looked good on you too. Though it kind of fit you more like a dress.”
I wheezed a little laugh. “I should say thank you.”
“Nah, you were having a shit night. Pretty sure you still are, Dove. You should try to sleep. Doc came and checked on you a little while ago. He’s wrapped your ankle and your wrist. Checked the stitches in your head. And I’ll go back to putting ice on your chest and sides here soon. We’re in the twenty minutes off portion.”
“I’m so tired,” I admitted. “But I need to…” I needed to do something. But fuck if I knew what. I thought that I could handle Eric, that he would do what he did but he wouldn’t go any further. I never expected him to drag me out into the alley or whatever he was going to…
“You don’t need to do anything but rest, Dove. We’ll take care of everything else.”
That sounded too good to be true.
“Why?”
Instead of playing dumb, he just said, “Why not?”
“That’s not an answer.”
“You’re a petulant little thing, aren’t you?” That rich tone of amusement drifted back into his voice. “Go to sleep, Dove. Plenty of time to argue tomorrow. Soon as you can handle it, I’ll get you another steel tray to whack me with.”
I laughed, and it hurt. I couldn’t quite keep the gasp of breath to myself. Almost immediately, he stroked a warmed calloused hand over my cheek and up to my hair. “Shh, easy,” he murmured. “No more jokes. Sleep is the best thing for you.”
“I need…”
“What do you need?”
“Nothing.” Nothing I could ask for. I didn’t even know why they were doing this. Or who they were…but he was stroking my hair, and my eyes got heavier and heavier.
“It’s all right, Dove, you sleep. Nothing is going to touch you here.” At least that’s what I thought he said before I plunged back into darkness.
Chapter 6
Emersyn
The headache awaiting me the next time I opened my eyes promised me the night before hadn’t been a series of stop-motion filled nightmares. I was still in a soft bed, in a mostly dark room, though the light in the corner was a little brighter and the sliver had become a soft pool. Everything hurt, not as bad as it had, but the body aches stretched and threatened me as I rolled over.
Instead of an IV in my hand, there was a Band-Aid across the back of the right one. My left was coated in a splint while also being wrapped in an Ace bandage. I shifted again and my ankle immediately protested, but I could