Page 36 of The King

“All of us.”Eden chuckled. “Every damn one of us. Why do you think we’ve been pushing to accept this big, sexy Cat forever and three days?”

Ignoring the Empress Eagle and Max's chuckle, Ettie nodded to Nurse Bheers, who was still standing with Sergeant Reeves waiting for orders. "Yes, Nurse. Doctors from those facilities will be arriving momentarily. They will assess each patient, prepare them for transport, and make sure they arrive safely at their destination. If you have any questions…”

Touched by the Magic of one she knew as well as she knew herself, Ettie looked up to find Claire walking towards them with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye. Dressed in scrubs, with her long, red curls in a ponytail, the Phoenix winked as she and her Mate stopped beside Nurse Bheer and the sergeant.

“…please feel free to speak to either Dr. O’Reilly.”

Turning towards Claire and Rory, the nurse and sergeant made quick introductions and then excused themselves to get to work. Waiting until both were directing their respective teams, Ettie begrudgingly let go of Max's hand for the first time since running into him.

Hugging her cousin, she beamed, “Damn, it’s good to see you.”

Loosening her hug and stepping back, Claire winked, “It’s good to see you too. I was worried sick.”

“Are the others here?”

No, but they will be,” the Phoenix explained. “You know how I feel about too many people underfoot until I know the score and get the lay of the land.”

“I do,” Ettie agreed. “But I bet they’re all pissed that you left them at home, especially Gabby.”

“Yeah, well, she’s happy now that they’re on the way.”

Accepting a hug from Claire’s Mate, the minute her hand touched the Guardsman’s arm, a flash of the blind Dragon appeared in her mind, and she yelped, “Holy crap! I almost forgot, has anyone seen a blind Dragon around here?”

"A blind Dragon?" Max inquired, his hand again finding hers when she stepped out of Rory's hug. "You saw a blind Dragon?"

"Okay, what do you know that I don't?" She questioned. "I can see it in your eyes and hear it in your voice; you're not surprised there's a blind Dragon, just that he's here."

“That is true,” her Mate freely admitted. “I am aware of a Guardsman who was robbed of his sight, but I had no clue he was here. We need to inform Heath and Maggie, then I will tell you everything I know.”

“Okay,” she agreed. “And while you’re gettin’ them up to speed, let them know that he was strung up like one of the accused during the Witch Trials – like hanging from the ceiling by silver chains. The dude was freed, but he was in bad shape. Pandora had been using him for a punching bag, a pin cushion, and pretty much anything and everything based on his wounds. When I tried to help, he smacked my hands away, yelled at me in Gaelic, and ran like the Hounds of Hell were after him.”

“I hear ya’, Girlie.”Maggie Mae’s sweet, Texas drawl entered her mind.“Max opened your connection to Heath and me. First of all, I am so glad to hear your voice. You scared me to death.”

“I’m sorry about that,”Ettie apologized.“Yours is the only phone number I know by heart.”

“Aww, you are so forgiven. I’m just glad we gotcha back,”the She-Wolf cooed.

“Me, too.”

“Good, now stay that way,”Maggie chuckled before adding,“And we’ve seen that poor Dragon before.”

“Sure have,”Heath agreed."I just talked to Dad. He's gonna holler at my brothers and Grandpa. They’ll all be out here with the Thorntree Timberwolves in just a bit. We'll all look till we find him.”

“Oh, by the way,” Ettie snickered aloud, looking at Max. “Where is here? Are we still in Mexico?”

“Yes, we are,mi amor,” he chuckled, pulling her close, letting go of her hand, and putting his arm around her shoulder. Kissing her atop the head, he mentally added, “But not for long.”

10

THREE DAYS LATER

"Seriously, Dude, you brought like a whole army. I didn't even get to talk to all of them. Kyran and Caitlyn came all that way. Kyra and Royce had just arrived. I even saw Calysta and Maddox coming through that stupid emergency escape tunnel. Gabby was still in flight. And you just carried me away, telling everybody I had to be checked out by the doctor." Looking up as she finished pouring iced coffee into a glass, his gorgeous Mate leveled her gaze and pretended to be irritated. "You do remember who my dad is, right?"

“I do,mi luz.”

“Then you know that I won’t ever need a doctor.”

“Yes, I do,” the King agreed, trying hard not to smile even though he was the happiest he’d ever been in his long life. “And I also know that everyone there also knew it and were well aware that I simply wanted to be alone with my Mate.”

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