Page 54 of Nanny for the Wolf Daddy

“Let’s get out of here,” Nevel said, shoving clothes into his brother’s hands.

Nox quickly dressed, then climbed into the front seat of the car. Before he knew what was happening, Nevel had ripped him from the front, demanding he sit in the back seat with Kelli.

“Nevel …”

“Let me do this,” Nevel bellowed. “She needs your body heat, and you’re exhausted. Let me drive to the hospital.”

Nox was impressed and heartened by his brother’s loving demands and agreed to take orders from someone other than himself for the first time in his life. He slid into the back, delicately lifting Kelli’s head, and placed it on his lap.

“Hold on tight,” Nevel said.

His brother blasted the engine and rammed forward into the darkness like there was no tomorrow. Nox was thankful that the rain had stopped, but there were hardly any streetlights or signs for them to follow. He didn’t question how his brother knew the way. He had a keen sense of direction that Nox had never been able to master.

He rubbed his hands on Kelli’s skin, moving his palms quickly over the parts of her that were most essential. He hated the sight of her body being so limp as he rubbed up and down, her eyes closed to the world. He hoped and prayed more than he ever had in his life that her unconsciousness wouldn’t be forever. He would do anything to see those stunning, deep ocean pools again.

When they arrived at the hospital, Nox launched out of the back seat, carrying Kelli in his arms. He walked into the ER and hollered for anyone to help him.

A handful of nurses ran up to him, and he explained that she had been caught in the storm and had likely injured her foot. There was no time to explain any further, so he let them take her after placing her on a gurney.

Nox held onto her hand until he couldn’t follow anymore. He felt her fingers slip away from him, one by one, wishing that he could kiss her lips, feel her warmth, and hear her laugh one final time.

Her eyes fluttered open for a second before she was carted away and passed the swinging doors. She peered at Nox as he stood there, watching her being raced down the corridor.

Somehow, even in her dire state, her eyes glimmered at him with hope. He could’ve sworn the ends of her lips turned upward into a little smile that made his heart sing.

Everything around him stood still. The rush of the emergency room, the calls of doctors and nurses, and family members moving around with desperate hearts. He saw his life, both with and without her, flash before him like some mystical vision, and his own limbs began to weaken.

“Whoa, whoa!”

Nevel caught his brother before he hit the floor, pulling him up from beneath his armpits. When they locked eyes, Nox clapped a hand on his brother’s cheek.

He hadn’t realized how truly frightened he had been when Nevel was gone.

“My brother,” Nox said, voice trembling.

They embraced in the hallway, releasing weeks of trauma and grief.

THIRTY-EIGHT

KELLI

Kelli was barely conscious as the hospital lights flickered overhead. She knew she had been picked up by Nevel and had seen Nox briefly as the rain pelted her exhausted body, but beyond that, everything was blank.

Kelli awoke a few hours later to the repetitive sound of the heart rate monitor and the irritation of the lights that pulled her from the depths. She blinked her eyes open a few times before the memories came back, flooding like a broken dam.

“Nox,” she muttered.

It took a while to feel the grip on her hand, the one which felt like it could do more but held her ever so gently. When her eyes were able to stay open completely, fluttering to adjust, she saw that it was the love of her life sitting there.

“You came …” she said.

With bags under his eyes like dark as bruises, he smiled and stroked her hand, which he held desperately.

“Of course I did,” he said softly. “I can’t be anything or go anywhere without you.”

Kelli gazed around the room, which was small and dark other than a side table lamp that glowed sweetly in the corner. She expected Nevel and Elise to be there, and the realization that they weren’t made her heart jump a little.

“Nevel? Elise?”

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