Page 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Henley

“ I s everything set up?” I ask as I hold Elodie’s hand in mine. “Was there anything else that needed to be done?”

“I believe so, everything is in order,” he acknowledges as he checks off things on his clipboard. He takes a moment to regard me and sends an obvious glare my way.

“We don’t pay you for dirty looks, doc ,” I sneer. He doesn’t say anything back and after a few moments of holding his gaze, he looks away. “Either do the fucking job that we hired you for, or I will get someone else to do it.”

The chambering of a new round catches Doc’s attention. Turning, he makes direct eye contact with Cahir then the barrel of the gun Cahir has pointed at him. He returns my gaze, his face drained of all color.

“Are you threatening me?” He asks shakily, the fear coating his entire being.

“Only if I have to,” I answer honestly. Doc doesn’t answer for several long moments, his eyes jumping from me to Elodie and back, then looking at Cahir and the gun. His resolve hardens, the only affirmation we get is a single nod. “How long do I have before she wakes up?”

“You have about forty-eight hours. The blow to her head was already fairly traumatic. I believe keeping her in an induced coma for the next two days will help take the pressure off her brain,” he sniffs, his nose heavily upturned as he tries to explain himself.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Cahir laughs as he waves the gun to the side. “Get to it, doc .”

He doesn’t wait any longer before grabbing the single syringe from his coat pocket. Unscrewing the cap, he closes the nozzle into the hydration drip and pushes the white substance in. It courses through the clear pipeline. Seconds later, the saline is washed out by the midazolam. Doc watches the monitors beeping around her, the numbers remaining consistent as he finishes the syringe.

“This dose will get her started. Since we aren’t sure of her allergies, I don’t want to start a full drip. I will be back in about thirty minutes to check in with you, and see if there are any side effects.” He tells me what I should look out for, what to expect for the next coming days. After he gets through the side effects, I zone out.

I only have forty-eight hours to get everything done. Two days from now to enact how I plan to keep her and make her mine.

“If she’s good in thirty, I will officially start the drip line.” With that, he turns on his heels and tries to bypass Cahir. Cahir, being the tried and true enforcer he is, steps in Doc’s path.

“You better be coming back in thirty,” Cahir says, his voice low. “Exact.”

With an audible swallow, Doc nods. “I will set a timer.”

Cahir stares at him for another moment before stepping out of his way. “Good. See you soon, big guy.” Doc doesn’t take any more time before running out of the door.

Hael walks through the door, damn near getting run over by Doc. “What’s his deal?” He thumbs over his shoulder, eyeing Elodie on the bed. “Nevermind him. How is she?”

“Alive,” I grumble. I keep my hand holding onto hers tightly as I run the other through my hair.

“Talk to me,” Hael commands quietly, but the cogs in my brain are spinning so fucking fast I can’t grasp onto any of the thoughts. Turning my gaze back onto her, I can’t stop the words from tumbling out.

“I want to marry her.” Resolute. That’s exactly how I feel once the words are out there. “She won’t get another opportunity to run like that again. She is mine , and I will do everything in my fucking power to make sure she gets it through her thick head.”

Hael sits opposite of me, his legs crossing as he leans back. “What are you planning?”

“You want to get ordained?” More fucking word vomit. Cahir cackles from his perch on the wall, but Hael and I both see that I’m not joking. Something about the unconscious woman in front of me barely being alive isn’t a joking matter.

“Sure, I will see if Ruel can get me onto one of those pay-to-play ones,” he shrugs like it’s no big deal. “When are you planning on doing this?”

“I mean, how fast do you think you can get ordained?”

“Don’t you want to wait for her to wake up?” Cahir asks though he doesn’t sound concerned. More curious than anything.

“If I wait until she wakes, she has the option to say no,” I explain, and whatever they see on my face must show that I’m not wavering from this. “She didn’t give me the chance to say no when she took off, so here we are.”

“Why?” Hael asks, not moving from his seat. His gaze doesn’t drift either. He makes sure that we are eye to eye before continuing. “What is so pressing about keeping her connected to you that you want to rush this?”

“You were there!” The tension leaks from me as I get worked up over that night. “The way her father treated her, the shit that went down. He hasn’t come to us for the transfer, not even brought it up with Ruel.”

“I’m going to need you to spell it out for me, Henley.” Hael and I sit in silence as he waits for me. Nothing about this moment is easy for me. The thoughts of her getting hurt are something that constantly linger, a daily anxiety that will put me into an early grave if I can’t get it under control.

“She has no semblance of self-protection, doesn’t understand the dangers of our world.”

“That’s not it,” Cahir speaks up, and I move my glare from Hael to him. “I’m sure that’s a factor, but not it .”

Red-hot anger threatens to course through me at the thought of something happening to Elodie.

“You weren’t there to see it,” I scoff, too many emotions bubbling up inside of me. Gently planting a soft kiss on Elodie’s hand, I stand to pace. “The way her father treated her, I wouldn’t be shocked if he was involved in the skin trades.”

“Quit speaking in fucking tongues,” Cahir snaps.

“Before we went to the house, DuClaire asked my opinion on arranged marriages, I didn’t really give him an answer. All I know is that Ruel did some work and knew that he was built with an empire around him. Or, so I thought. Elodie was supposed to be married off to him , then something happens and here she is? Elodie is bunny, we don’t know when she was going to supposedly be married, but that’s not a coincidence. I can’t…” my voice breaks, the stupid emotions of what could have happened well in my chest and force their way up my throat.

“You’re scared,” Hael says softly, the realization dawning on him. “Everything that happened, the shit that’s gone down, her damn near being kidnapped…you’re terrified of losing the one person who has been able to look at you without flinching.”

“That’s a little harsh,” Cahir murmurs as his eyes bounce between me and Hael.

“I’m right, and he knows it.” Hael doesn’t look at Cahir, only keeping me in his line of sight. “Is this really what you want to do? If it is, I’m here for you. When Elodie wakes, she is going to be pissed, to say the least.”

“I’m sure.” Staring at Hael, he realizes I’m resolute in my disposition. “I don’t think I have ever been more sure than anything in my fucking life.”

After staring into my fucking soul, he claps his hands and stands. “I guess I better get started on getting ordained.” He turns on his heel and walks out the door. Cahir stands and stares at where Hael just left before busting out laughing.

“That shit was way too fucking serious,” he laughs, but I can’t stop staring at Elodie. “What do you need from me?”

“I need you to stay with her. If she ends up waking up, I don’t want her to be alone. Plus, someone needs to keep an eye out if she has an allergic reaction. I have some shit I need to take care of shit before she wakes up.”

He nods as I lean down and kiss her forehead softly, the bright purple bruise hiding in her hairline cementing my decisions. Everything I do is for her, and I am not changing that now. So, as I turn on my heel to leave the room, I hold no regrets.