Page 92 of Glass Rose
I twist in his arms until I’m facing him, my nose inches from his. His eyes remain closed, but a smile plays at the corners of his lips. This man saved me, even jumping into the cold, full of Infected, water to do it. My man. I reach out, tracing his jawline with my fingertips, rough stubble scraping my fingertips.
His voice is rough with sleep. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I whisper back. “How did I get here?”
“You don’t remember?”
I shake my head. “Last thing I recall is Vivian shoving a pill down my throat.”
“Sedative. For sleep.” His thumb brushes over my cheek. “You were practically catatonic from the cold, but wouldn’t stop asking about John. So I brought you to him.”
“Is he?—”
“He’s fine. Surgery went well. He’s resting.” Gavin’s arm shifts, his palm sliding down my back. “You passed out on the exam table. Looked uncomfortable.”
“So you brought me back to your bed?”
“You don’t like it?”
“It’s… comfortable.”
Something flashes in his eyes. “Say it’s not and see what happens.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Maybe.” His eyes soften. “How do you feel?”
“Like I jumped off a bridge and nearly drowned… Gabriel?—”
“Can’t touch us here. He doesn’t even know this place exists.” His lips touch my forehead, lingering there. “You should rest more.”
“I’ve been sleeping for—How long was I asleep?”
“Eighteen hours, give or take.” His hand glides up my spine, fingers tangling in my hair. “Your body needed it.”
“Eighteen—” I sit up too fast, the room spinning briefly. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Because you almost died.”
His words trigger a flicker, a memory surging through the fog in my brain. The bridge. The fall. The runner.
The runner that stopped.
He had me pinned, forearm jammed under his chin as his teeth snapped inches from my face.
“There was something…” I grab Gavin’s wrist. “On the bridge. The infected—the runner—it froze.”
His brow furrows. “What do you mean, froze?”
“I mean, it fucking stopped. Mid-attack.” My fingers dig into his skin. “It had me. I couldn’t hold it back anymore, and then… it just seized up.”
“Maybe you hit something vital.”
“No.” I shake my head violently, trying to remember. “I hadn’t stabbed it yet. It was like… like it was fighting itself. I—“ No. That’s… “I screamed at it to stay still.”
His whole body tenses against mine. “Wait. You told it to stop, and it… did?”
“I didn’t tell it to stop. I begged it to stay still so I could stab it properly.” I laugh, but it comes out hysterical, edging on manic. “And it fucking listened.”
