Page 10 of Harbor (The Wanderers 3)

Chapter 9

The next time Maya awoke, she didn’t panic nearly as much. She did, however, gasp softly when she realized someone was sitting next to her. Someone she hadn’t met yet. All she could see was the top of his head because he was asleep, his forehead against the mattress next to her. He had a full head of dark hair, darker than Dario’s.

His hand was on top of hers, which surprised her too. His skin tone was also darker than Dario’s, but not as dark as Keanu’s. He had to be the third man they’d mentioned, the one she had yet to meet.

She eased her hand out from under his but didn’t manage to do so without waking him.

He bolted upright, eyes wide, meeting her gaze. A slow smile spread across his face. The three men were extremely different in a lot of ways, but they all had an easy, kind smile. “Hey there,” he whispered.

She swallowed, blinking at him.

“I’m Advic,” he informed her.

She nodded. How was she supposed to respond? Nice to meet you? She couldn’t be sure these men didn’t intend her harm. Nor was she willing to share her own name yet.

Advic watched her lick her dry lips and then grabbed the cup of water next to her and held the straw up to her mouth.

She drank eagerly, finding herself exhausted when she was finished. Panting. She was also shaking. Probably because she needed to eat. The IV had only managed to do so much for her. She could hardly hold her head up from lack of energy.

“Keanu is fixing you some broth. You’ll need to start with something mild and work your way up to solid foods. Your system is going to be shocked if you do too much too fast.”

She nodded again. She had yet to say a word to this new man. She didn’t know what to make of this situation still, and she didn’t want to give away anything about herself if she could avoid it.

The urge to pee suddenly made her shift her weight. She glanced around the room, hoping to see an attached bathroom. “I need to use the restroom,” she informed him.

He reached for her hand—the one with the IV on the back of it—and stroked her skin. “It just feels like you do. You have a catheter.”

She closed her eyes and lowered her gaze. How humiliating.

“I can take it out if you want, but you’re not going to be able to stand up yet anyway, so one of us would have to bring you a bedpan every time you need to pee, so…”

She cringed and stared at the ceiling. She realized she was wearing a hospital gown and probably nothing else, which meant probably all three of these men had seen her naked. She had yet to see a woman in this facility. “Are there any women working here?” she asked the ceiling.

“No. Not right now. We’ve had a few women in the past, but they’ve moved on. It’s just me, Dario, and Keanu. We don’t even have any other patients right now. We did last week. A woman delivered a baby here, but she’s gone home.”

Home… Where on earth would someone call home? Maya didn’t ask.

“You’re awake.” The voice entering the room belonged to Keanu.

The rich scent of broth filled her senses. Her stomach growled.

Advic stood and leaned over her. “I’m going to help you sit upright so I can feed you. In the old days, these mechanical beds would automatically lift, but this one broke over a year ago, so we’ll have to use pillows.”

Maya tried to push to sitting, but she didn’t have the strength, which infuriated her to no end. Even the act of leaning forward so Advic could prop her up was exhausting and left her winded.

Fuck. She hated being helpless. She hated every bit of this situation. Why couldn’t she have died on the side of the road?

She shook the thought away. Apparently, it hadn’t been her time to die, and if she was lucky, these men would do nothing to harm her. In a perfect world, they would help her get stronger and take her someplace where she could return to The Wanderers without revealing their identity to these medical professionals.

She’d been through worse. She could survive this. It would take time to gain her strength back, but she would persevere.

Keanu was holding the steaming bowl of broth. He had an odd grin on his face as he watched Advic fuss over Maya, and she was pretty sure he was close to laughing as he handed Advic the bowl and spoon.

Maya glanced back and forth between the men, suddenly realizing Advic had a thing for her. It made no sense since until a minute ago, he hadn’t met her. She’d been nothing but an unconscious pile of withering human flesh for the past week. He couldn’t be attracted to her.

She reached for the bowl. “I can do it.”

Advic frowned and held it out of her reach. “You don’t have the energy to lift the spoon, let alone the bowl. Let me help you. When you’re stronger, you can take over.”

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