she felt like she had the flu with the way her entire body ached. The chills were so bad she felt nauseous, and her entire body was covered in sweat. Instead of feeling hot though, she was freezing.
“Here,” someone said, his voice so soft and gentle she thought she might be imagining it. Then a cup pressed to her bottom lip and she drank the water. “There you go. Keep fighting, you’re going to make it.”
Zoe had no idea who was talking. Maybe a nurse at the hospital? She couldn’t even remember what the last thing she’d been doing was.
“It’s cold,” she managed, drinking a little more water, but then the cup disappeared.
“Can’t let you get too hot,” he said, but then something warm wrapped around her and Zoe sighed in relief. “I know you’re a fighter. You can do this.”
She was a fighter. Zoe had fought for everything her entire fucking life. She’d worked grueling hours and studied her ass off for years to get into nursing school. Then twelve-hour night shifts sometimes turned into doubles.
Zoe was one of the best trauma nurses in Salem, and she wasn’t going to let something as stupid as a fever take her down, not after everything she’d gone through to get to where she was.
The fever pulled her back under and she had no idea how long it had been when she finally opened her eyes again and didn’t feel like she was going to die or throw up. Zoe groaned, rubbing the crusty shit from her eyes.
“Hey, look who’s awake.” A woman smiled down at Zoe. She had a slight accent and held a cup to her lips. “Drink some of this. You’ll feel better.”
She did, and it tasted like ass, but instantly she felt more awake, and the fog started to disappear. Her stomach grumbled and the woman smiled before reaching for a bowl of soup.
“I can feed myself,” Zoe insisted, trying to sit up.
Something heavy kept her from moving and she started to freak out, flailing around as the woman tried to calm her down.
Then it tightened around her.
What the fuck?
“Uh, yeah.” The woman laughed a little, covering her mouth with her hand as she blushed. “You wouldn’t let him go.”
What in the actual fuck was she talking about?
Zoe turned and found a guy smiling down at her. “Hello.”
Apparently, she’d been using him as a pillow for who knew how long, and his fucking arm was around her waist.
“Glad to see you alive,” he told her, that gentle voice making her shiver as she remembered bits and pieces of what he’d said to her in her fever dreams.
“Get the fuck off me,” she snapped, shoving him hard.
Zoe didn’t expect him to practically fly off the bed and hit the ground with a sound that made her wince in sympathy.
“She’s definitely feeling better,” he said from the ground, laughing with a hoarse chuckle.
“Sorry, I know this is strange, just let me explain,” the woman said. The accent was so familiar, but it was hard to put her finger on what it was. “I’m Lily. This is Liam.”
Zoe watched with wide eyes as this Liam stood up. Holy shit, he was fucking huge.
“What is going on?” she demanded, unable to take her eyes off the man who was watching her like he couldn’t believe she was alive.
Lily cleared her throat. “Liam, you should go.”
“No.”
She blinked in surprise at the tone of his voice. It was absolute. Nothing and no one would be able to get him to leave and considering his size and muscles she didn’t think there was anyone who could.
“Liam.” A deep voice chastised this man she didn’t know, and Zoe found herself looking at the one guy who might be able to make him move.
His dark skin glowed and he was absolutely massive, even bigger and taller than Liam, but he looked down at Lily with a soft, tender look and kissed her cheek like she was the only person in the world.
“I think all of you should stop fucking around and tell me what’s going on,” Zoe snapped, glancing between the three strangers. “I don’t care if he leaves or not. Just tell me.”
The way Liam grinned made her uncomfortable, like she’d given him something he’d fought to win, and she hadn’t even realized it.
Lily sighed. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
Zoe sat up in the small bed, studying her hands as she tried to remember. She should be more afraid, right? Why wasn’t she terrified that