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Chapter Ten

Irene

B eeping and pounding are the two things I notice when I wake up. There’s a shrill beep that echoes every few seconds, and the pounding is inside my head.

“Morning, sunshine,” a male says with far too much enthusiasm and far too loud. He must see the grimace on my face because he tones it down. “It seems your being here has spurred the ‘everything happens in three’s ordeal.”

“W-what?” I croak, my eyes puffy with crust and throat drier than the Sahara Desert.

The guy sits forward, his elbows landing on his knees as he reaches for a cup.

I’m mildly disappointed when I see ice chips instead of water.

Even more disappointing is that I have no idea who this guy is, and he’s not one of the three that have been trailing me the last few days.

“You have been asleep for about a day and a half. Your body needs plenty of time to recharge,” he announces as if that isn’t a bomb to drop.

“What?” I parrot myself, blinking back the sleep and making my brain process everything. “Day and a half…happens in threes?” I crunch more ice, not really going anywhere in my processing.

“Yeah, with Nero-”

“I thought I heard talking,” a pretty female in pink scrubs sidles up next to me, shooting the strange male a scathing look.

Upon further inspection, I realize he’s wearing the Blood Reapers MC cut.

Bare minimum, I know I’m safe. “Glad to see you are awake. Hawk here was supposed to let me know, but it’s whatever.

Anyway, we don’t want to move you too fast, but Doc recommended that we get you up and moving sooner rather than later.

It will help pump the blood back through your system.

” She motions to the IV line in my arm that has a maroon tinge to it.

I shake my head, still not comprehending how the fuck I ended up here. “What exactly happened?” I ask, my brain failing to provide any details. “Last thing I remember is hearing a gunshot, then…nothing.”

“Yeah, it seems like the entire event was pretty traumatic. Thankfully, the three guys who brought you in were able to get you here when they did. It’s sad to hear about what happened to Nero, though.” Her voice trails off as if she’s reminiscing.

Bolting upright, my brain wavers inside my head as Hawk shoots to help. “Where is he? Where are they? What is going on?” Breathing seems to be a struggle as my airway feels like it’s locking shut.

The nurse takes a step back, and I’m pretty sure I’m not a sight for sore eyes.

“Easy there, spitfire, the nurse said you needed to move, not that you needed to run.”

“I want to see them now!” I snap, thoughts swirling rapidly around my head as I try to nail them down one by one.

I have to know that they are safe, that they are okay, that they are in one fucking piece.

If I lost the chance… I take a deep breath, doing my best to tame the fire stoking inside of me.

“I want to see my men now.” I shove his hands off of me and slowly work my way to the door.

My head continues to swim as blood rushes to new places, but as long as I don’t pass out, I will be fine.

Before I can touch the door handle, it’s slammed open, I’m hoisted into a pair of arms and their head lands in the crook of my neck.

Stiffening, I get a whiff of their powerful scent–pine and peppermint–and I immediately relax.

My arms wrap around him on their own accord as he carries me out of the room.

“What is happening?” I ask, my voice muffled by his scruff.

Globe sets me against the counter in the main area and steps back.

My ass is fucking cold, which means that I’m definitely nude under this stupid gown, but right now, I don’t care.

He shakes his head, and I swear there’s moisture in his eyes.

Large hands cup my cheeks as he leans down and plants his lips against mine.

Not waiting for me to respond, he licks the seam of my lips then bites down on my bottom one.

With a slight yelp, I open up for him, and he doesn’t hold back.

He kisses me like his next breath is from my lungs.

Fused together and not backing down, one of his hands tangles in my hair, and he keeps me locked in place.

A throat clearing has us pulling apart, but neither of us acknowledges them.

“You are mine. Ours. There’s no going back, and I swear if you try to fucking run, all three of us will give chase. Am I clear?”

Everything inside of me wants to bite back, tell him he can’t own me, that my body isn’t for sale. Yet the other, more dark-romance-obsessed side, is telling me that this man will lay down his own life to save mine. Fuck, if it makes me want to-

The person clears their throat again. This time, I blush. It doesn’t take me long to realize the state of us. My bare ass and vagina are plastered to this counter—thank goodness for medical cleanliness–and Globe is devouring me like it’s his last night on earth.

“I see you are awake, dear,” Doc says with a smirk.

“I believe I told McKenna to take you on a short walk, not allow you to conduct a porno in my office.” The blush I had moments ago?

Yeah, the heat creeping from my chest takes the cake.

He points to the IV line in my arm and shakes his head.

“Thankfully Hawk didn’t allow that thing to rip out of your arm, though I do think someone might want to relieve him of his… duty.”

It’s Globe’s turn to blush, but instead of blushing, he grows a giant fucking grin.

“Thanks for watching over my girl, man. Can you let Shark know that I’m here with her?” Hawk nods, giving Globe a slap on the back before walking the other way with his phone out.

Doc looks back toward me with a single eyebrow raised. “How about you get back into the bed so we can go over everything, then we can create a plan of care so you can go see Nero.”

My brows furrow, and I open my mouth to ask what Doc means. Instead, Globe scoops me up again and marches us back to the room. He looks slightly scolded though, which I’m assuming is because of the IV thing.

Doc walks in a moment later and excuses the nurse, McKenna. He settles on one of the rolling stools and grabs the chart at the end of the bed.

“Want the good news first or the bad?” I glance at Globe, who shakes his head.

“I guess let’s go bad,” I say, though it sounds more like a question.

“Bad news is that you suffered a graze to your anterior circumflex humeral artery,” Doc reads off, and I swear he just spoke a different language.

He must sense this, or my face must show it because he continues.

“The bullet nicked your artery, which isn’t good.

We were able to cauterize it and stop it, but you lost a lot of blood.

Your hemoglobin was just a hair under eight, which can be deadly.

You have been out for three days without induction because it was apparently what your body needed.

” My brain skitters to a halt. I swear I was just told that it was only a day and a half…

“And the good news?”I balk and hope that he gives me actual good news.

“The good news is that as long as your blood results come back above twelve. We can discharge you so you can go with Globe.”

“What was this that I heard about things happening in threes? From what Hawk said, I started it?” I ask, but both of them seem to just eye one another.

After another moment, Globe sighs. “There was a bit of a…mishap on a run that we did recently.” I wait for him to continue, but he doesn’t. Instead, McKenna happily storms into the room and provides Doc with a slew of paperwork, which I assume has my results mixed in there somewhere.

He hums and haws over the words, his brows raising slightly before dropping back down. He signs something on the form and then gives it back to McKenna.

“Your results are excellent, and that means you can go. McKenna will grab the rest of the stuff necessary to get you out of here. It seems your companion has a lot to talk about.” He nods at Globe with an odd look in his eye before turning on his heel and walking out of the room.

I gape at his receding figure, the door shutting behind him softly while I level Globe with a glare.

“Talk.” My tone is commanding, not giving him any room to breathe. He grabs my hands, his shoulders dropping slightly as his eyebrows pinch. His hands are clammy on my own, their grip slightly tighter than I’m used to.

Well, I’m really not used to any personal touch, outside of giving the kids at the agency a hug or two. Other than that, I’m not a touchy individual.

He inhales sharply, shaking his head. “After your…accident, Matteo, Nero, and I wanted to let off some steam. You were worse for wear, and none of us could handle watching you on the verge of death. Or at least, that’s what it felt like.

The three of us took a different route from the group because we were running behind, and we got intercepted by some cops.

Nothing crazy, it was definitely our fault for driving stupid.

I honestly don’t know what happened, but Matteo and I arrived at the meeting spot, Nero didn’t. ”

“Oh God-” I start, my hands yanking from Globes to cover my mouth in shock. He can’t be dead, there’s no way-

“I tracked him back a few miles where we found his bike crashed and his body at the bottom of the ditch.”

Tears form behind my eyes, my body suddenly shaking with the fear of his next words.

“He didn’t-” I don’t hear the rest before a sob breaks loose. He cuddles me into him, shushing me as I let the events wash over me. From my own nearly dying to hearing that…

“How?” I choke and lean back, watching his face.

“He was sideswiped. The guys are working on pulling external footage to figure out what actually happened. Shark is working with them to get everything together while I take care of you and Nero.”

Burning rage echoes inside of me. The iced-out organ in my chest threatens to thaw and set aflame the world around us. He was taken from me before I even had a chance to make things right, before I was able to learn about who he is. I never got the chance…

“Whatever you all have planned, I want in.”