Page 16 of Red Queen (Red Thorns Crew 3)

I giggled. “I suppose you have a point.”

He grinned. “Good. Now, lie down. I’m going to lie down with you for a while.”

“I don’t want to fall asleep yet, though.”

“You need your rest. I’ll be here while you fall asleep. Okay?”

I was too tired to put up a fight. So I simply did as he asked. I lay down in bed, scooting over so he had enough room to get in there with me. It was a squeeze, though. My Max was a brute of a human being. But once I felt that strong arm of his slink around my waist, all was right with the world. I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath. And when I didn’t start coughing, I wiggled around until I faced him.

“Sleep, gorgeous.”

I scooted closer to him. “There. Perfect.”

I drew in his scent and focused on his steady breat

hing, ignoring the lingering scent of chlorine and trying to rest as my mind raced.

5

Max

THUMP!

The banging of the door closing caught my ear and my eyes popped open. I couldn’t move, though. Something had me pinned to the bed. My eyes stared up at the popcorn ceiling of the hospital room as footsteps sounded around me. And even though my entire body wanted to move and shield Dani from the threat, my muscles simply lay there and ached.

“Ugh. Fuck.”

The footsteps grew closer as whispering started. I didn’t recognize the voices, but one of them was definitely female. Were the nurses in the room? They were usually quieter than that. And when I felt something shift against my chest, I groaned.

“Dani?”

She yawned. “Max. Morning.”

“And a good morning to you, too.”

The male voice was curt. Edgy. It had sharp razors around the edge of his words, and I heard Dani gasp. She pushed herself away from my body and my muscles screamed out for mercy. I didn’t let out a sound, though. Because as she came into focus, I saw recognition fly across her face.

“Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?”

My blood ran cold. My heart stopped in my chest. I groaned as I turned my head, facing the two fuzzy people standing at the end of the bed. I squinted to get my eyes to adjust. I felt Dani shuffling beside me, trying to prop herself up. I moved and tried to help her as I pulled her against me, fighting through my own pain as my eyes struggled to focus.

“Whenever you’re ready,” the man said.

I cleared my throat and brought my hands to my eyes. I dug the heels of my palms in before I let out a yelp. Holy shit, that hurt. Why the hell did that hurt so much?

Dani lowered her voice. “Your eyes look better, but they’re still bruised. Be careful.”

I nodded. “Thanks.”

Her mother spoke. “Dani, please tell me you’re all right. My gosh, what in the world happened to you?”

Dani sighed. “Hold on, Mom. Just--Max?”

I nodded. “I’m getting up. Give me a second. My legs don’t want to start.”

She giggled. “We need coffee.”

I grinned. “Lots of it. I’m going to go find a way to track some down.”

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