Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 167(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
The guy grunted, then scrubbed a hand over his face as if he was weary. “You’ve been out for almost two days. Stitches started the IV and put in the catheter because he thought it would be better to do it while you slept. He said you’d probably go through some withdrawal and that the longer you could sleep, the less you’d suffer. You also needed to hydrate, so he did it with the IV.”
“Yeah,” I said, forgetting my ire. “My belly’s cramping and I’m nauseous.”
“I’ll get Stitches.”
“Wait!” I reached out and grabbed his wrist. He looked down at my hand before slowly covering it with his own large hand. His skin was warm and as I looked up at him, I could see something in his face. To me, it looked like… awe? But why? I lowered my gaze, tugging my hand, but he didn’t let me go. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I just wanted to know who you are.” I frowned, trying to remember. “I feel like I know you.”
He shrugged. “I carried you out.”
“Morgue.” I said the name absently. His name came to me like a distant memory. “Because you’ve put more people in the morgue than all of your friends combined.” Again, it just came to me. “You got me away and fought off the men following us.”
“I helped, yeah.”
“You made me feel safe.”
Morgue sat up straighter, his chest going out like he was proud of himself. Like making me feel safe was some kind of an accomplishment. “Good. You trust me?”
I thought about it. Did I? The only thing I knew about this guy was he was a killer, but he’d taken care of me when I was in a really bad way. I nodded slowly. “Yeah. I do.”
“I’ll be back. Stitches needs to look you over and decide what to do next.”
He patted my hand before releasing me and standing to leave the room. He opened the door but stopped and turned back to me. “Do you want something? Something other than water to drink? Something to eat?”
I looked down at myself. I was dressed in a man’s oversized shirt and nothing else. I cringed, though I figured it was probably Stitches who’d undressed, washed, and redressed me. My hair felt grimy, so he’d only hit the high spots. But there was no denying both men had taken care of my needs as best they could. Hopefully while preserving my dignity, but really, beggars couldn’t be choosers. “Well, I’d really like a shower and some clean clothes. Tell whoever lent me his shirt that I appreciate it.”
“Mine.” Was all he said. OK. We were back to one-word sentences.
“Thank you, Morgue. For everything.”
He just grunted, then left. My chest tightened the second the door shut behind him. I wasn’t ready to be on my own, and this guy felt safe. Maybe it was how he’d carried me out of hell, how he’d protected me when we were being chased. Or maybe it was because Morgue was a known killer, freakishly huge, and he was fixated on protecting me. Whatever it was, the thought of him leaving and not returning was about to cause a panic attack. I took a breath and closed my eyes, trying to center myself. I was developing an unhealthy attachment to a man I didn’t know. I wasn’t even trying to fight it that hard.
Once I was alone, I lifted the covers and looked down at myself. My legs were covered in bruises, as were my arms. Pulling up my shirt, I saw that my torso hadn’t been spared. I raised my hand to examine my face and head only to wince. My cheek was swollen, and there were at least two knots on my head. I thought I had a split lip but couldn’t tell if it was from where someone had hit me or dehydration.
There was a soft knock at the door, and I automatically answered. “Come in.” As the door opened, I recognized the man entering. Morgue was right on his heels.
“I remember you too,” I said. I thought I trusted both these men, but I still felt at a pretty big disadvantage. I was practically naked, alone with two men I didn’t know, and one of them, at least, had seen and touched my naked body while I was unconscious.
He gave me a kind smile. “I’m sorry about the medical stuff, but you and most of the other women were in a pretty bad way.”
“You could have taken me to a hospital.”
He nodded. “Yeah. But it took us a few hours to get to Texas. Most of you were still unconscious, but no one was in imminent danger. Some of those girls aren’t from the States and we thought, since I could treat you, we’d take care of you until you were able to decide for yourselves.”