Page 14 of Dr Feel Good
He appeared to be in his 30s, with a manicured beard, thick dark hair, almond-shaped dark blue eyes framed by thick lashes, and sun-kissed skin that hinted at an outdoorsy lifestyle. Put simply, he was one fine ass specimen.
Fuckity fuck fuck fuck. I was alone and injured andhewas a strange motherfucker. Fine fuckheads were fucking psychopaths, too.
It was rare that I felt real fear. Even when those three bitches found us, shit kicked off too quickly for me to be terrified. Then, I’d been armed. Not that it did much good. Now, though, I was in a fucking pickle, injured and unarmed with an unfamiliar man staring at me.
I searched the room for a weapon, but the furnishings were sparse, and the nightstand next to me, as well as the fireplace mantle, was almost empty. I frowned.
“You’re awake,” he said, his voice deep and smooth. His lips tilted into a smile. “I saw you stirring and thought you might open your eyes.” He held up a bottle of water that I hadn’t noticed. “Figured you’d be thirsty.”
“You figured right,” I replied, trying to keep my voice light to mask my grief and wariness. I didn’t accept the bottle, so he sauntered to the nightstand and set it down. “I take it you’re my hero?”
Something about him was vaguely familiar, and I assumed that meant the recesses of my mind remembered his presence.
He lifted a perfectly arched brow. “You mean the one who saved you?”
What the fuck else could I mean?
“Well, duh,” I said, a more polite version of my internal dialogue.
He grunted.
My voice sounded raspier than normal, and my throat ached each time I spoke. I eyed the water, desperate for a drink. The seal on the bottle wasn’t cracked, so it was safe to drink.
I reached for it, but it was a little too far away. When I leaned toward it, I cried out.
“Here,” he said gruffly, his voice washing over me. I swore I’d heard him in my dreams. He quickly twisted off the cap and held it out to me. “Do you need me to hold it, or can you handle it?”
“I think I can handle it,” I murmured, snatching the bottle from him. Within seconds, it was empty. I handed it back to him. “Thank you. I needed that.”
“I’m sure you did. You’ve been out for three days. You had an extremely high fever at one point.” He nodded to my bandaged hand. “I removed the IV a couple of hours ago. I was out of supplies.”
My eyes widened. Hearing he’d given me an IV shocked the shit out of me, but I thought I’d been out for only hours.
“Three days?” I echoed. All the fucking lost time. By now, the Scorpions had probably hit the Bastards, and the Femmes had gotten to my club members.
Gritting my teeth and desperate to act, I forced myself to sit up. Sweat immediately began beading on my brow, and I panted. Still, I tried to swing my legs over the side of the bed, but I couldn’t because my thigh felt too heavy. Not to mention my shoulder and arm. It would’ve been better if those motherfuckers fell off as useless and painful as they were.
Growling, I fell back against my pillow and looked at the stranger. He’d been watching me, not moving to help me and not commenting to either encourage me or dissuade me.
“Please,” I croaked. “I need to go.”
“You’ve been through a traumatic experience, and–”
“I know what the fuck happened!” I snapped, ignoring the offense rising on his face. I didn’t give a fuck. His outrage didn’t move me one little bit. “I need to get back to Kansas City.”
“We all need to be somewhere. For you,now, that’s here in this bed.”
“I appreciate your help. Truly. And I’m sorry if I’m coming across as an ungrateful cunt, but…” Fendi’s dead body rose in my head. Lake and Juno alone with only Bob the Biter. Warrior. Reese. Louisiana. All family and friends, people I loved. I might be too late to save some of them. I was still needed, though. I’d call Duchess and tell her what happened. She’d call Jameson and instruct me on our best course of action. I couldn’t explain any of this to the stranger. Not the dire situation or my urgency. “Help me and I’ll pay you–”
His glare halted me faster than the palm he raised, signaling I stop talking. I was still delirious. Otherwise, I wouldn’t recognize Warrior’s cues that made me instantly obey, in the man in front of me.
I pinched my cheek. “Ow!”
Shit. Maybe I wasn’t delirious.
“We’re snowed in,” the man said in a tone that brooked no argument, “so you aren’t going anywhere. We’re stuck here for the next week, at the very least. Moreover, you aren’t fit to travel, unless it’s to a hospital.”
Fuck.
