Page 49 of Savage Escape

“Where’s here?” Caden halted her progress to the window and cursed herself for being so obvious.

“Reid, go and wake him up.” He jerked his chin towards the blond who’d taken a seat on the bed, rubbing his neck.

“No, stay where you are,” Caden growled at him and then turned her irritation back on Jackson. “Take me to him.”

“You shouldn’t be walking around in your condition. You should be sitting down and telling me what you’re allergic to so I can start fixing you!” More indignant and loud now, Reid stomped his foot and motioned to the bed rather violently.

“All of you. Over by the door. Now.” There was no reason they should listen to her. She no longer had any kind of leverage.They could rush her and get the needle out of her hand in less than thirty seconds, but they obeyed.

As soon as she was sure they were all out of lunging range, she stooped, keeping her eyes on the men, gripped the first weapon that hit her palm, and stood upright again.

It was one of Jackson’s knives. Ugh.

She didn’t want to do close-quarters combat again. Caden tucked the thing into the waistband of her sweats and stooped one more time. This time, she palmed a handgun.

“You don’t need a weapon,” Jackson growled, still angling the damaged side of his face away.

“Lead the way.” Caden motioned for them to exit first and all but hobbled out behind them.

They were in a house. There was carpet under her bare feet; there were even vacuum cleaner tracks. Pictures on the walls like some kind of sitcom family. Which meant the baking bread she’d smelled earlier was real. Oh god, maybe they would let her eat some. The thought made her mouth water and her eyes go blurry with tears.

They stopped at the door on the left side and waited till she caught up.

“Inside.” She had to swallow the excess saliva in her mouth before she could properly speak.

They obeyed again, all scowling, though for different reasons. Reid seemed to have no self-preservation instincts. His only concern was for her. Holden didn’t like that she had a weapon and was telling him what to do. And it seemed Jackson was pissed that she hadn’t jumped out the window.

The room was small and cozy but still had that sterile, hospital-clean smell. Closet on the right wall, two man-sized windows on the furthest wall, and a big bed pushed against the left wall.

And there he was. Bare chest heaving up and down. His eyes were open, a bit glazed, like he was drugged, and blinking up at her with that big stupid grin.

Shirtless and smiling and alive.

Wow, she really liked that combination.

“Caden!” he slurred and wobbled to his feet but kept on smiling. “You look so pretty!”

Caden watched through blurry eyes as he came right towards her. Delirious giggles bubbled out of her throat and echoed around the room. He was so ridiculous. He was alive. He was smiling at her.

“No, no Nathan, don’t get up.” Reid’s voice sounded from somewhere behind her, but she couldn’t give two shits about them now. “Just because you can’t feel the pain right now doesn’t mean that you’re not doing damage to your leg. Dammit, Nathan! Listen to me. I’m a doctor! Don’t just yank out your IV!”

The relief at seeing him alive and kicking made her go boneless and weak-kneed. But that was okay because Nathan and his furnace of a body had caught her before she face-planted and was all but dragging her back towards the bed he’d just vacated.

“Don’t lift her! Your shoulder is not magically going to re-stitch itself! Don’t do the thing that I am specifically telling you not to do!”

“These your brothers, Nathan?” Caden didn’t know what she was saying. She was too caught up in the fact that Nathan was alive and squashing her to his body like she was a missing limb.

“Yeah... Jackson,” he slurred and blinked slowly, like a big cat. “Jackson, put it in my ass.”

“What?” That got her attention. “He did what?”

Caden wiped the treacherous tears off her cheeks and looked over Nathan’s shoulder towards his brothers. More had appeared now, and most of them were guffawing and outrightlaughing. She recognized one as the ass-hat she’d had to dislocate her arm for. Jackson was scowling.

“Tracker.” Nathan put his face in her hair. “He put a tracker in my butt cheek. Don’t cry, Caden... you’re safe now.”

Caden couldn’t concentrate enough to follow that statement. They finally reached the bed and Nathan toppled them onto it. Earning an outraged shriek from Reid.

“Are. You. Hearing. The. Words. That. I. Am. Speaking?! Stop stressing your wounds, you idiots! I refuse to re-stitch anything! You can both just suffer!”

---