Page 41 of Satan's Naughty List
“If you need to talk,” Appa starts, hesitation clear in his tone. With a shake of my head, I let it go. The van jerks around the road, probably sliding on ice as we go. Peeking from the window, there’s heavy snowfall coming from the sky. Sides of the roads that were previously slushed with dirt are now starting to turn white again. The road crew will have a fun time trying to get the salt layed out for the traffic tomorrow.
“We’re here.” Jumping out of the van, I don’t wait for them. They’re plenty capable enough to get the shit sorted. It’s like my own personal race to get down to the medical wing. He can’t be alone, he needs to know I’m here. She does too. They both need me, and to know that I’m not going anywhere.
Unfortunately, I’m stopped before I can even open the damn doors.
“Doc asked me to stave you off,” Hudson says, stepping in front of the doors. A low growl releases from deep within my stomach, one that I didn’t even realize I was capable of making.
“Move,” I rumble. If it wasn’t Widower’s husband and co-prez, I would have shoulder-checked him on my way through. I may not be the biggest guy, but my husband is lying on his fucking death bed for all I know.
Deep fucking breath.
“Go help the guys,” he orders with a jerked nod. It takes everything in me to swallow the growl. Turning on my heel, I fume and push myself to keep going. If I stop for even a second, I’ll throw myself through that door to get to them.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Isweartoallabove…my body feels like I got run over by a ten ton truck.Again.
Trying, and failing, to open my eyes, I listen to the noises around me. They’re all a little overwhelming. A pitch of white noise is shrouding the background while people talk. There’s an incessant beeping that seems to be getting harsher. Closer and closer, louder and louder, I can’t seem to escape the chaos in my brain. My throat aches with the need to simply scream in frustration. It feels as though weights are placed on my arms and legs, stopping me from even making a single movement.
Large lumps are stuck in my throat as I attempt to swallow past them. Except with each pass, there’s a hint of smokiness pluming in my mouth. It’s not like when you eat smoked meat. No, this is a burning sensation that over-stimulates your senses.
So much so, that my body finally takes notice we’re alive and throws us into a celebratory coughing fit.
“She’s fine,” someone calls, causing a lot of commotion to seize as my lungs feel like they’re going to give out. If I opened my eyes right this moment, I could guarantee there’s a layer of dust on the sheets from how much I’m releasing.
“Come on, pretty girl. Breathe,” a rumbling voice demands. The way my body responds to him is unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. Sucking in deep lungfuls of air, my brain finally clears. “That’s a good girl.” Goosebumps break out across my skin at the praise, a wracked shiver pinging down my spine.
My jaw finally seems to slacken from its tight confines, opening slowly to try and tell them to kick rocks.
Nothing seems to come out even as I force it, only garbled air. The bed is slowly pushed up into a sitting position, my eyes still tightly sealed against my will.
“Open those pretty eyes for me,” another melodic voice lilts. Like fucking magic, the muscles loosen and allow me to slowly blink.
“Shit,” I raspily hiss. The bright lights around us are on full blast, staring right down onto my wounded body. The melodic voice curses slightly, and the heat from the lights lessens as they’re turned down.
“Try again.” And I do. This time, they’re softer. Two brazen men stand on either side of my bed. They’re both too handsome for their own good. The bearded male brings a cup and straw to my face, letting me take slow sips of water. He pulls away slowly, his movements leisurely.
Brows furrowed in confusion, I flit between the two men.
“Who are you?” I ask, my voice feeling like fucking sandpaper in my throat. It’s as if they’re both shocked to the core, Doc also appearing confused.
My shoulders start shaking before the rest of me. A laugh bursts from my lips, the freedom in my soul seemingly carrying into this new chapter.
They saved me. Just like I knew they would.
Did I have any doubts? Only for a few moments, before I realized that Techy and Nomad both pinky swore that they’d keep me safe. They even sealed it with a knuckle kiss.
“Oh, you little,” Nomad growls playfully, narrowing his beautiful blues on me. Turning to Techy, his gray eyes are also filled with a mix of humor and irritation. I don’t think I could forget them even if I tried.
“I’m glad to see you feeling better,” Doc says, standing at the foot of the bed. I chuff a mirthless laugh.
“That’s a stretch. I feel like I’m grandma from that one song. The one who got slammed by Santa with his reindeer?” I cackle, the smokiness not quite clearing from my throat.
“Tis’ the season,” she nods with a sweet smile. Turning to gaze out the window, there’s significant amounts of snow falling to the ground. A thick layer sits on the window sill while the rest of it falls. “You were out a couple days, nothing drastic. It’s completely normal for smoke inhalation. I need to run a few tests, keep you for a couple extra days for observation. Then, if all is clear, you’ll be free to go.” An uncontrolled groan leaves me at the thought of staying in the hospital. Last time I was in the hospital, I was told my leg was all sorts of fucked up.
Looking down, there’s no fixator. There’s a few pieces of white bandage over where the holes were but nothing else.
“It was removed before you got here,” she informs me, nodding once. Taking a moment to wrack my brain, nothing pops up as to when it was removed.
