Page 5 of Don't Let Go

At least he wasn't completely repulsed by my involuntary gawking at him. Not that he had a damn thing to worry about, he was so ruggedly built and…

Shit, what am I doing?I rubbed a hand over my face before staring at myself in the mirror.

What the fuck am I doing?

I’d had quite a few injuries when I woke up in that clinic, head pounding, vaguely nauseated, and really out of it. The last thing I’d expected was the three of them hovering over me, varying degrees of relief on their faces.

“Fallon?”

Blurring. Heat. Light. Cold.

The world seemed to drop and nausea swept through me. Then the world darkened again.

“You’re safe.” The softness of that voice, the absence of the clipped tones to his British accent washed over me. “The others are on their way.”

Darkness.

Light.

Splintering.

“Gentlemen, yelling will not wake her up faster. I would caution you against increasing her stress until we’ve gotten a coherent answer from her.” The almost lyrical voice scolded in such a firm tone. It was kind of magical. Not that I’d heard any yelling.

The darkness swallowed me again.

“Hey, Fallon.” Locke? Locke was here. “I know you don’t necessarily like us using that name, but I think it’s pretty. Patch is a badass, but Fallon—she’s something special too.” A chair wheel squeaked against the floor. “Fuck, sorry. We’re splitting up time with you. You’re never left alone. I promise. No one is going to get to you here. You’re safe.”

The stress on that last word stirred something inside of me. Safe. Safety, like time, was relative. An illusion. An all too brief respite.

Even if I kind of wanted to believe him.

A hand flexed over mine, the gentlest stroke of fingers slotting with mine, until they were interlocked. It was like he reached into the darkened pool and dragged me toward the surface.

“It’s okay, Sugar Bear. You take as long as you need. The fact you can sleep with all this beeping is impressive.”

McQuade.

“Doctor said you needed time. No stressing that sexy fucking brain of yours. So, pick one thing and just focus on that.” Silence lingered, but not absence. I wasn’t alone in the dark.

They were all here.

McQuade.

Locke.

Remy.

I squeezed the hand holding mine.

“Hello, luv. There you are. That’s it. Hold on to me.”

Blink.

Brightness.

Darkness.

Cold.

---