Page 75 of Haunted

Those were the names of the people who took Keaton in after his father went to prison. I remember them from when he told me the story. But what in the world were they doing here? And where the hellwashere?

Blinking my eyes open, the world began to come into focus, starting with the gorgeous man smiling down at me.

“There she is.” He leaned down to kiss my lips.

“Hey,” I croaked.

“How are you feeling?” I inhaled, preparing to answer, then winced when I felt a twinge on my right side. “He didn’t hit anything vital, but you lost a good amount of blood before we were able to fly you here.”

“Fly?”

“In a helicopter, baby.”

“Dammit,” I huffed. “My first helicopter ride and I was unconscious.”

“I’ll take you on another one someday.” He chuckled, positioning himself on the bed next to me.

“Where are we?”

“Cabell Huntington. It was the closest trauma center.” Lanie stepped away from the wall she was leaning against. Looking around the room, I noticed everyone was here, all of Keaton’s team plus a few extras. Everyone except Koen and Jade.

Seeing the question written on my face, Noah answered, “She’s fine, but her brother showed up here raising holy hell, so Koen took them both home. She said to tell you she’d come by to see you in the morning.”

“I’m Heather, by the way.” A gorgeous, curvy blondecame forward. “Since no one seems in a rush to start the introductions.”

“Jesus, woman.” A man, probably in his fifties, tucked her into his side. “And I’m Jasper. We were hoping to meet you under different conditions, but when Keaton called, we knew he needed us here.”

“It’s nice to meet you both.”

A knock sounded on the door; however, the person didn’t wait for permission to enter before they did. When he strutted into the room I knew why.

“Miss Graves, we meet again.” Dr. Stallworth maneuvered around the crowd of people gathered at my bedside.

“You know this tool?” Lanie asked.

“Unfortunately,” I muttered under my breath.

“I see you’re herethistime for a knife wound instead of your diabetes,” he continued, oblivious to the daggers being thrown his way from my friends. “Since you don’t have the funds to pay for an extended hospital stay, I’ll see what I can do about getting you discharged immediately.”

“What the fuck?” Keaton growled.

“If you’d excuse me, sir. I need to examine my patient.”

“No, you don’t.” Keaton stood, towering over him by a few inches. “What you need to do is get her a new doctor before I find a reason to put your arrogant ass in handcuffs.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You know? Handcuffs? Not the fun, fuzzy kind either,” Noah added, moving to the opposite side of my bed in a protective stance.

“What’s your name?” Waverly, who’d been observing from the small couch in the corner, spoke up.

“Dr. Richard Stallworth.”

“Well,Dick. You’ve landed yourself in quite a pickle here, so let me give you the rundown.” She rose, pulling herbadge from her purse. “I’m Resident Agent in Charge Waverly Mitchell of the FBI. To my left, is my second-in-command, Special Agent Duncan Palmer. Besides the two of us, in this room there are three more federal agents, as well as the CEO of Renshaw International, and one seriously pissed-off momma bear who’d love to have a go at you. The woman lying in that bed is one of us, so by waltzing your sorry ass in here and treating her like garbage, you’ve insulted a group of people who could make you disappear inside of a black site prison without blinking an eye.”

I was almost certain she was joking…almost, until I took in the faces of everyone else. No one was laughing, in fact, Lanie wasn’t the only one I saw with a hand on their weapon.

“I’ll get someone else.” He turned, heading for the door.

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