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S pade worried that Cynthia wasn’t going to wake up. She had been asleep for almost two hours, and he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her, almost willing her to wake up. The doctor had come in to check on her a couple of times, and the nurses came into the tiny room every fifteen minutes to take Cynthia’s vitals while they waited for her blood test results. He felt crazy for almost hoping that she had been drugged. That would explain why she was acting the way she was, but wishing that on her wasn’t fair.

“It’s time to check her vitals,” a nurse said, rushing into the room.

“When will she wake up?” asked. He had asked that question of every nurse that came into the room since Cynthia passed out in his arms. He could tell that the nurse was annoyed with him by the way she smiled and rolled her eyes. didn’t care though. He’d ask it every time he saw a nurse until Cynthia woke up.

“We’ve already told you that we can’t know that. We need to figure out what issues she’s facing before we can treat her. I’m sure that once all that happens, she’ll wake up. In the meantime, we’re going to move her to a private room when she’s more stable so that she can be better monitored.” All that sounded good to him, but she really didn’t answer his question. He knew that she couldn’t—no one could, but he’d probably still ask when he saw a nurse in Cynthia’s room.

He nodded, “Thank you,” said. “Patience isn’t my strong suit.”

The nurse finished taking Cynthia’s blood pressure and smiled over at him. “No kidding. I couldn’t tell.” She told him to use the red call button if Cynthia needed anything, and he nodded again. The nurse left and he sat back down in the chair next to Cynthia’s bed. For now, he planned on watching her and waiting for some good news.

His cell rang and he pulled it from his pocket. “Hello,” he growled into the phone. He felt as though he was angry at the whole world and was taking it out on everyone around him.

“Hey, man,” Mace said. “From your tone, I take it things aren’t going well.”

“Far from it,” grumbled, “Cynthia hasn’t woken up yet.”

“Jesus,” Mace spat, “have the blood tests come back yet?”

“No, and waiting is driving me crazy. I promise to call you when they do, though,” offered.

“I appreciate that,” Mace said. “I just feel awful that this happened at my club. I guess we’ll need to start vetting people who come into the Road Reapers, better. Especially during parties,” he said.

“Yeah, there were a ton of people there tonight,” said, sounding as though he was accusing Mace of something. He wasn’t, but picking a fight with anyone was better than sitting in the hospital room, worrying.

“We’re growing, but I can promise you that if she was drugged, we’ll find out why and who did it,” Mace assured. “Will you let me know when she wakes up? When she’s ready, I’d love to ask her a few questions.” suddenly felt very protective of a woman he had no right to feel that way about. He knew that Mace would never do anything to hurt or even upset Cynthia, but wanted to tell him to back off.

“Sure,” he said, instead, “but, only when she’s ready.”

“Understood,” Mace agreed, “thanks, .” He ended the call as a doctor walked into the small room. He had been one of the first people to look Cynthia over before a nurse came in to draw her blood.

“We have the test results back,” he said, cutting to the chase. appreciated that since he already felt as though he had waited an eternity for answers. He nodded at the doctor to continue.

“Cynthia had Rohypnolin her system. It appears that she was drugged, and she’s very lucky that she only passed out. This drug, when mixed with alcohol, can be deadly.”

“Shit,” growled. “Will she be okay?”

“She should be,” the doctor assured. “We can’t be sure how much she was initially given, so we’re going to skip the activated charcoal, which is usually what we do, and give her Flumazenil. I’ll have a nurse come in to start the treatment. We will put it right into her IV.”

“Will she wake up then?” asked.

“It will take her some time, and she’ll be groggy when she does wake up,” the doctor said. “She might be here for a day or two, and you’re welcome to stay with her.” That sounded good to him because there was no way that was going to leave Cynthia’s side. Not until they knew who did this to her, and if she’d give him a chance, not even then.

Sleeping on the hard chair had his back feeling like it might break in two. But there was no way that he’d crawl into bed with Cynthia without her permission. He just hoped that she’d wake up soon so that he wouldn’t have to spend another night sleeping on that chair.

Cynthia mumbled something in her sleep and held his breath as though waiting for something else to happen. “Cynthia,” he breathed, standing by the side of her bed. “Wake up, honey,” he said.

“Don’t call me honey,” she mumbled—her eyes still closed.

chuckled and pulled her hand into his own. “Are you going to open your eyes?” he asked, leaving off the honey part this time.

“No,” she grumbled, “why does my head hurt so bad?”

“Because you’re coming off the drugs you were given. The doctor said you will feel like hell for a few days.”

“Well, that sounds great,” she mumbled. “Can I get something for the pain?” she asked.

“Hold tight,” he ordered, “let me get your nurse.” He ran out of the room and found her nurse at the nurse’s station around the corner. “She’s awake and asking for pain meds. She has a headache.”

“That’s normal,” the nurse assured. “I’ll be right in with some medication and will let the doctor know that she’s awake.” nodded his thanks and headed back to Cynthia’s room.

“Your nurse is bringing you in pain medication and letting your doctor know that you’re awake,” he said.

“How long was I out?” she asked.

“Almost a day,” he said. “You had me worried and Charlie and Ink want you to call them as soon as you are up to it. For now, I’ll text Ink to let him know that you’re awake.”

“Thank you,” she said, “I appreciate that.”

The doctor came in and started asking Cynthia a bunch of questions while checking her out completely. had to hand it to the guy, he was thorough. His exam took about a half hour and when he finished, the look of concern on his face worried .

“Can I go home soon?” Cynthia asked. He knew what the doctor’s answer was going to be before he even opened his mouth.

“I’m sorry to tell you this, but you will need to stay another night,” the doctor said. “Your bloodwork isn’t back to normal yet and we’d like to keep an eye on you.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” she almost shouted.

“It’s for your own good,” the doctor insisted.

“It’s only one night,” said. “You can do anything for just one night. I’ll even spend the night with you again.” She shot him a look and he could see the anger in her eyes. That was too bad because she was going to follow the doctor’s orders even if he had to physically sit on her to get her to do so.

“I’m going to have your nurse come back in to take your vitals. If you need anything else or have any questions, please let me know.” thanked the doctor while Cynthia continued to stare him down. He’d hate to brake it to her, but she didn’t intimidate him as he did the first time they met. In fact, he found her little scowl adorable.

“Did you really stay here with me last night?” she asked.

“Yep, and that fucking chair just about broke my back,” he said, nodding to the chair in the corner of the small room. She looked at the chair and then back at him.

“Well, if you stay again tonight, you’ll have the same issue. Why not go home and get some sleep? I’ll be fine here. Thank you for bringing me to the ER. I really appreciate everything that you’ve done for me.”

She didn’t know it yet, but he wasn’t going anywhere. He’d gladly sleep in that God-awful chair again if it meant staying by her side. “I’ll stay,” he insisted.

She shook her head at him, “The chair it is then,” she said.

“You know,” he started, “your bed could be big enough for the both of us,” he said. From the look on her face, she wasn’t very happy about that suggestion.

“Not a chance,” she spat, “I told you that I’m not dating anyone, . I said that I appreciate your help, but that doesn’t mean that I’m going to sleep with you.” The thought of Cynthia sleeping in his bed ran through his head and had to stifle his groan.

“We’d be sharing a bed—nothing more. I’m not going to ask you to date me afterward,” he insisted. He wasn’t sure, but Cynthia’s expression looked as though she was a little disappointed that he said that. But that was just wishful thinking, right?

“I’m good with the chair,” he lied. He wasn’t sure how much longer he was going to be able to put up with Cynthia pushing him away. She had already made it perfectly clear that she wasn’t interested in him when she made up a boyfriend. But must have been a glutton for punishment because he wanted to stick around and let her keep on denying her feelings for him. She was stubborn, but he was sure that she was worth waiting for. If he had to wait on her forever, he would.

had spent most of the day on the phone with Razor, trying to figure out who drugged Cynthia. Getting his boss involved might not have been his best idea, but Razor used to be his partner. They had gone into many dangerous, undercover situations, so this case should be a piece of cake. Of course, Razor told him that he was too close to the case and that he should sit this one out, but there was no way that he was going to do that.

As his Captain, Razor liked to give him shit. It wasn’t that long ago that they were partners, and when Razor offered to handle Cynthia’s case himself, as a favor to , he was grateful, but there was no way that would let him kick him off the case.

When Razor insisted that he get to interview Cynthia as soon as she woke up, he foolishly agreed without discussing it with her first. He was pretty sure that was going to piss off Cynthia, but he had waited until the last minute to tell her about the interview.

As soon as she woke up, he texted Razor to let him know that she was awake, and he promised to be over within the hour. One thing he knew about his Captain—he was always on time. It was now or never for to tell her about their soon-to-be visitor.

“Um, I have a little confession to make,” he breathed, sitting on the edge of her bed.

“I’m almost afraid to ask,” she grumbled, sitting up in bed.

“It’s nothing bad,” he insisted. “My boss wants to come in to ask you a few questions—if you’re up to it.”

She shrugged, “If you think it will help catch who did this to me, I’m all for answering all his questions.”

“Great, because I didn’t know how to tell you this, but he’ll be here in a few minutes. He’s in the lobby, waiting for the okay to come up here,” admitted.

“You waited until the last minute to tell me about his visit?” she asked. “How long have you known that he was stopping by?”

He flashed her a smile, “Since you were asleep yesterday. He said that he wanted to talk to you once you were awake. I called to tell him that you had woken up and the doctor gave me the go-ahead to let him come in to talk to you.”

“Oh,” she breathed, “you checked with my doctor before telling Razor to come in?”

“Yes, I wasn’t going to let him just show up here if you weren’t medically ready to see him,” he said.

“That’s sweet,” she almost whispered. He really hadn’t thought about it that way, but if that got him brownie points with Cynthia, that would be good with him.

As if on cue, Razor knocked on her door and pulled it open. “Hey, are you ready for me?” Razor asked.

“Yep,” said. “Just go easy on her. She’s still a bit queasy.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to pick her up and spin her around the room or anything like that, man.” Razor walked over to Cynthia and held out his hand. “Razor,” he said.

“Is that really your name?” she asked.

“Nope, but it’s what you can call me.” She nodded and Razor pulled a chair to the side of her bed. “I just have a few questions.”

“Shoot,” Cynthia said.

“Were you alone at Road Reapers the night this happened?” he asked.

“Kind of,” she said, shooting a look. “I met Charlie and Ink at the bar. But then, Charlie had a bit too much to drink, and she had to go home early.”

“Ink is the one who got you your drink?” he asked. had already filled him in on most of the details, but he still needed to ask Cynthia the basics.

“Yes,” she said, “but he isn’t the one who drugged my drink.”

“Of course not,” Razor said. “I’m a member of the Road Reapers too and know Ink. He’s not the type of guy to do something like roofie anyone. You work with him, right?”

“Yeah, I work in his tattoo shop, and he’s also one of my best friends—Charlie too. I honestly don’t have any idea why someone would do this to me. Maybe it was just a prank, and I was the unlucky person who got the drugged drink.” Razor looked up at and could tell what he was thinking. It was a long shot that she was just unlucky. No one else had gotten sick at the bar that night. Cynthia’s drink was the only one roofied, and that couldn’t be just because of bad luck.

“Do you have any enemies or anyone who’d want to hurt you for any reason?” Razor asked.

“No,” she breathed. “I can’t think of anyone who’d want to hurt me.”

“Okay, if you can think of anything out of the ordinary from that night, or remember seeing someone there who usually doesn’t go to the Road Reapers, let me know.” Razor pulled out his business card and handed it to Cynthia.

“Thank you,” she breathed.

“Thank you for answering my questions, Cynthia,” Razor said. He was really pouring on the charm and wanted to tell him to cut it out. “I will do my best to find out who did this to you.” She nodded and lay back in her bed. could tell that having to answer Razor’s questions had really taken a toll.

“I’ll walk you out,” offered. “I won’t be long,” he promised Cynthia. They walked into the hallway and Razor turned around and smiled at him. could tell that he had wanted to give him shit the whole time they were in the hospital room. He knew that he was watching Cynthia like a hawk watching its prey, and Razor would notice that too. There wasn’t much that the guy missed—that’s what made him a damn good cop.

“Tell me that you’re not going to just take her home and drop her off when she gets out of here,” Razor insisted.

“I can’t demand that she come back to my place, but I’m going to try like hell to make that happen,” said. “If someone did this to her on purpose, they’ll be waiting for her if she goes home.”

“Agreed,” Razor said. “You really like her, don’t you?” His old partner knew him better than most people. Razor usually pried into his private life, and didn’t mind—most of the time. But he didn’t want to jinx things with Cynthia by saying out loud that he liked her. Instead, he just stood and stared down Razor, hoping that he’d forget all about his question.

Razor chuckled and shook his head. “You just answered my question, man,” he said. “I’ll let you know if there are any updates in the case. You’ll do the same, right?” he asked.

“Of course,” agreed. Razor clapped him on the shoulder and walked down the hallway to the elevators. watched him go and when he stepped on and the doors closed, blew out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. Yeah, he liked Cynthia, but that was something that he planned on keeping to himself.