Page 43 of Reckless

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

On the edge of consciousness, Jazz’s first impression was the feeling of safety. Though full awareness hadn’t kicked in yet, she somehow knew that she no longer needed to be afraid.

Soft, feminine whispers around her brought her closer to the surface. She took in a shallow breath, working toward coherency. That’s when she felt it. Pain was everywhere…even though it was on the outer edge—more like a distant threat—she recognized that something bad had happened. That something was causing her to hurt. Her mind was still too foggy to comprehend details. Waking up seemed suddenly imperative. Where was she? Why were people whispering?

“There she is.” The soft whisper made her smile. She recognized Serena’s low, quiet tone, almost lyrical in its sweetness.

“Yes, she’s definitely waking up.”

Her smile grew wider. That husky, feminine voice was none other than Eve’s.

Two of her closest friends were with her. She really was safe.

“She’s smiling.”

Aw, she’d know that gruff, masculine voice anywhere. Gideon was also here. Even though she was ready to open her eyes, she waited for the voice she wanted to hear the most. He had to be here. No way would he not be close by when she woke up.

She pushed aside for now the questions about why she’d been unconscious and why she was hurting. Having the reassurance that her friends were close by was enough. Knowing Xavier was here, too, would be the ultimate reassurance. But why hadn’t she heard him?

Unable to wait any longer, Jazz forced her eyes open. Though her vision was slightly blurry, she made out the faces of some of her favorite people. Serena stood on one side. Eve was on the other. Gideon was at the end of the bed.

She shied away from the knowledge that she was in a bed—most likely a hospital bed. She’d think about that later.

There was no one else in the room, and the surge of disappointment caused her mouth to tremble. Why wasn’t Xavier here?

“Jazz?” Serena said softly.

She tried to speak and realized her mouth was so dry, she couldn’t get past a raspy groan. A glass of water with a bent straw appeared before her, and she took a short sip, thinking that nothing had ever tasted sweeter than the deliciously cool, clean water.

Swallowing down the liquid, she tried again. “Where’s Xavier?”

Eve and Serena exchanged a look, and fear flooded her body, increasing the pain she’d refused to acknowledge. Her voice trembling, she whispered, “Is he okay?”

“He’s fine,” Gideon said. “He and Ash had to leave for a few hours. They’ll both be back soon.”

Serena punched in something on her phone as she said, “He told us to call as soon as you woke up.” Holding the phone to Jazz’s ear, she said, “Here he is.”

“Serena?” Xavier said.

Just hearing his voice calmed her. “Hey, it’s me,” Jazz whispered.

“Jazz…baby. It’s so good to hear your voice again. How are you feeling?”

“A little woozy.”

“Are you hurting anywhere? If so, they can give you?—”

“No.” The last thing she wanted was to be drugged and miss whatever was going on. “I’m okay. Where are you? Where’s Ash?”

“We’re trying to get some answers for you. Hold on. Ash wants to talk to you.”

Despite herself, Jazz tensed. She respected Ash so much, and she knew she’d screwed up by going off grid. Just removing the tracker in her arm was grounds for dismissal, not to mention all the other things she’d done to violate protocol.

“Jazz, thank God you’re okay,” Ash said. “How are you feeling?”

“Not too bad, considering. I’m sorry, Ash. I shouldn’t have?—”

“Don’t worry about that now. We’ll talk when you’re better.”

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