Page 33 of Caged By the Ruthless Thief

“No, they used a tranquilizer gun on you, dropped your ass to the ground. They had to bandage you up.”

“Rebandage?”

“No, bandage. You fell to your knees when they hit you with the second shot of tranquilizer and sliced open your left knee on the edge of the bed frame.”

He’s right, the only part of me that wasn’t hurting is now hurting. I can’t see it because, unlike when Holter straps me to the bed, it’s like the straps are my blanket.

“If you’re awake, I can see about getting those straps off.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“It’s not fucking fine. You’re not an animal.”

“Yes, but I act like one.”

“Holter says you don’t have episodes when your mate is here.”

I close my eyes and try to remember her scent. It’s hard. It’s been too long. And it’s been days, not weeks or years or a lifetime. I’m a fool. We’re both fools. “When am I going to get out of here?”

“Yes. That’s what the staff wants to know too. Castor’s arranging it.”

“Good.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“No, you need to stay here, where they can take care of you.”

He laughs. “You can’t see yourself, but trust me when I say if you can leave, then I’m ready to go back out into the field.”

I manage to turn my head far enough to look at him. When the shark attacked him, it caused nerve damage. Nerve damage. The doctors said they wouldn’t be able to fix it. “How’s your fluke?”

“Don’t know. I haven’t been able to shift into a fluke. But it’s fine. It will come back. Until then, I can do that human kicking thing.”

Holter was right, Alder is tough. The things that have happened to him in his life—Mom dying, their other mates, too—and still Alder was there for us. He’s stronger than me.

That’s when I remember what I was thinking about before I was put under the first time. It’s not Annabelle who isn’t going to be able to live without us; it’s me who isn’t going to be able to live without her. No amount of positive thinking is going to change me into Alder. He’s lived more of his life without his mermaid than with her. But not me. I’m not as strong. We’re going to have to get her back. “Holter around?”

“They sent him home after the episode. There’s a Glyden guard on the door, though. Not sure if it’s for the staff’s protection or ours. Both, I suppose.”

I twist enough to get a good look at dad. He looks a lot better. The wires are off his head, and the color is back in his cheeks. “You look good.”

He laughs. “Thanks. You look like shit. But it’s the best-looking shit I’ve seen for a long damn time.”

I have to smile when he says it.

“When you do that, it reminds me of your mother.”

Usually there’s no faster way to get me in a bad mood than to bring up my mother. But today it makes my smile wider.

* * *

There’sa lot of noise in the hall when I wake again. The door swings open, and two gurneys are pushed into the room, followed by a Glyden doctor, Pertusio. “You two are going home. Well, not exactly home, but to Glyden. Where prying eyes aren’t around.”

I read between the lines. Where we won’t be causing issues for the hospital anymore. Fine with me.

“I’m not riding on one of those,” Dad says gruffly.

“Fine,” Pertusio says. He inclines his head at the nurse’s aide and they’re gone, back with a wheelchair a few moments later.

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