Page 76 of Rogue Voice

“The FBI, the DEA, and Interpol will take care of it, Bea. Not you,” Rogue said, squeezing her hand gently. “Not unless you want to.”

She shook her head quickly. “I don’t want to.”

Thorne’s expression grew rigid. It was clear even to her that his pain levels were increasing.

“Can we call someone for you, Thorne?” she asked.

“Get her the fuck out of here, Rogue. And don’t leave her alone.”

The words seemed to exhaust him, and he closed his eyes.

“I swear I won’t, Thorne,” Rogue promised.

“Can we come back tomorrow to see you?” Thorne’s eye had already closed again, but he grunted something.

“That means he might not be here tomorrow, Bea,” Rogue said, chuckling. He sounded more relaxed now than before they’d walked in. “Come on, let me take you home, honey.”

Home.Such a foreign concept. She had no home. She hadn’t had a home in many, many years. But of course, she knew what he meant. And she knew also that she would go anywhere with Rogue. Anywhere he went, she would follow, if he let her.

They limped down the corridor together, towards the exit. It had only been Agent Rahmer there earlier, but now there were several faces she recognized. Her eyes fell on Griffin first, as he paced the hallway in an uncharacteristically nervous fashion. Slate sat on one of the plastic chairs, his back ramrod straight. Beside him, Dark sat on a hospital-issued wheelchair. A white bandage covered his head, but his eyes were alert.

Bea rushed towards him. “Dark!” She kneeled in front of him and grabbed his hand.

“You’re okay?” she asked fearfully.

“I’m good,” Dark said, his lips pressed together. “I’m sorry I let him get you, Bea.” He shot her an agonized look.

“What? No. I’m the one who’s sorry.”

Dark leaned forward in his chair and pulled her up easily, all but shoving her back into Rogue’s arms.

“Are you both okay?” Slate asked.

“We just saw Thorne,” Rogue said quickly. “He was conscious. The bastard thinks he will be home tomorrow.”

A tall, thin doctor cleared his throat behind them. He must have followed them out, but Bea hadn’t even noticed him until now.

“That may be a bit premature,” he said. “I’ve been told by Mr. Thorne that I could speak with all of you,” he continued. “That you’re his family.”

Dark nodded, wheeling himself forward. “We are. How is he doing, doctor?”

“A full list of injuries would take too long, but whoever hit him knew what he was doing. Mr. Thorne has a broken eye socket, broken ribs, and internal bleeding that we’re still working on getting under control.”

Bea shrunk in on herself, remembering how he’d taunted Cruz, in an attempt to keep Cruz’s attention away from her. She bit her lip to stop herself from whimpering, but then Rogue was there, his arms around her.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. He’s going to be okay.”

The doctor nodded. “I expect him to make a full recovery,” he agreed, “ifhe does everything we tell him to do.”

“He will,” Dark said. “We’ll make sure of it.”

“Mr. Thorne has already stated he wishes to be released. That won’t happen until we’re sure his internal bleeding is under control, but, when it does, he can’t go home alone. And he certainly can’t travel.”

“He’ll be with us,” Dark said. “We’ll take care of him until he’s fit to travel.”

And Bea knew they would. These men, who weren’t family but who behaved more like family than her own family ever had, took care of one another.

Rogue

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