Chapter 15
Lily could not stay in her seat, no matter what Chef Marshall threatened her with. After the third time she’d popped up and began to pace back and forth across the back of the classroom, he gave up and allowed her to move.
As she did, her body began to hurt like someone had beat on her. She cried out when a spot in her shoulder and another in her leg began to burn with pain.
Falling to her knees, she began to cry because she knew the pain was not hers but was Sailor’s. She was feeling it through the mating bond that was slowly growing between them.
When Poppy’s Daddy, Diego, appeared in the doorway, his hands and shirt covered with blood, Lily raced to him.
“He needs you,” the shifter said, stepping back to allow her out of the classroom.
“Where?”
“I’ll take you to him.” He held out a hand, and she did not hesitate before laying hers on it. She allowed him to set the pace though she really wanted to race to Sailor’s side.
Entering a set of double doors, Diego pulled her to a stop and said roughly, “You’ll have to stay quiet and allow Kevin to do his job, no matter what it might be.
Hold Sailor’s hand and talk softly to him.
Tell him you’re there and assure him that he’ll be okay.
He might need to take some of your blood, but we’ll deal with that when the time comes. ”
Lily nodded but didn’t say a word. Her mouth was too dry to try to talk. When he finally released her, she pushed through the double doors and raced down the hall. The door at the end was closed, so she hesitated a moment before pushing it open just enough to slip through.
Once inside, she inched her way around the edge of the room until she could see Sailor’s face.
It was lax, and his entire body was limp on the table.
She let out a gasp when she realized he was unconscious.
Kevin and Sullivan were working with an intensity she’d only seen on medical shows when the patient was dying.
The beeping of a machine sounded too loud and too fast to her ears, but at least it proved Papa was alive.
“Don’t just stand there, girl. Get over here and talk to your Daddy. He needs to hear your voice in order to find the strength to fight.”
Moving as fast as she dared, Lily approached the table and reached for his hand. Leaning down so her lips were an inch from Sailor’s ear, she whispered, “I’m here, Papa. Your little flower is here. I’m safe.”
Sailor took a deep breath, and as he released it on a long sigh, the beeping began to slow.
“Finally,” the black-haired man who had been guarding the door to the classroom earlier said, though his hands never stopped what they were doing.
“Is he going to be all right?” Lily asked, half afraid of the answer.
“As long as he behaves himself and doesn’t go falling over any more cliffs, he should be just fine. Your assignment and challenge for the next three days will be to keep him in bed, resting so his body can fully recover even after his wounds have healed.”
Lily frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Sailor’s injuries will heal completely in the next twenty-four hours.
But it will take at least three days before the blood he lost will be back to normal levels.
In that time, he needs to rest and eat lots of red meat if you can get it in him.
As his mate, you’re the one person he’ll listen to even if you are a Little girl.
We’re depending on you to keep him quiet so he will fully recover.
Can you be Big Lily for the next three days? ”
She nodded. “I can do that.”
“Good girl. We’ll all be around to help and will just be a phone call away, but you’ll ultimately be in charge of his care.”
Lily nodded again, though she was feeling a bit overwhelmed. Changing the subject, she asked, “Do you know what happened?”
The answer came from Sailor instead of one of the other men in the room.
“Man came out of nowhere, sneaking through the woods. I chased him in order to trip the alarm. He shot me, and then my beast took over fully. I’m not exactly sure what happened until Sullivan and the others found us at the base of that cliff. What happened to him?”
“He didn’t survive the trip down the mountain,” Kevin answered gently. “Kodiak and his team are trying to figure out who he is, which might explain the whats and whys of his being here.”
Lily took a deep breath as the many scenarios flashed through her brain. Was the intruder someone sent to spy on her? On the institute? Someone else?
Leaning over Sailor’s bed, she kissed him. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, okay?”
He looked tired as he nodded. “When you get back, we’ll head back to the apartment.”
“Not for at least a couple more hours. I want you healed before you go anywhere and then not without help,” Kevin said in a tone that told Lily he would not take any arguing from her or Sailor.
She nodded her understanding while her mate grumbled on the table and tried to sit up but found himself gasping with continued pain as he collapsed back on the table.
Lily kissed his hand before laying it on the table and walking from the room. Kodiak was coming out of a room down the hall, looking angry, but as soon as he saw her, his expression smoothed out. “How’s the patient?”
“Getting better,” she answered. “But Kevin wants him in bed for the next three days.”
Kodiak nodded. “Blood takes time to regenerate. I’ll send some rope to your apartment for when you need to tie him down. Do you need something, little miss?”
“I was going to use the restroom,” she said, stepping closer to the door they were standing in front of.
“And I have to go up and fill Lonergan in on what we’ve figured out so far,” Kodiak said, turning and heading to the double doors that lead to the lobby.
Once he was through the door and out of sight, Lily made her way to the entrance he’d just come out of. She needed to see the man who’d died to make sure it wasn’t someone she knew. Someone from her office. Someone who had come to Bratburg because of her.
Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Lily opened the door and stepped inside. The exam table in the corner was covered with a sheet. Moving quickly, she crossed to it, pulled the sheet back, and stared into the man’s face.
She sighed deeply when she did not recognize it.
Taking a second glance, she paused as he looked vaguely familiar, but she could not say exactly where she knew him from.
Pulling the sheet back over his head, she turned to leave, needing to be gone before she was discovered.
Then she needed to find a phone that she could talk on without interruption.
She made it across the room, but the door opened before she could make good on her escape.
“Lily? What the fuck are you doing in here?”
When Lily didn’t return after a few minutes, Sailor began to worry.
Yelling from beyond the door, which he could hear but not understand, had him gritting his teeth as he carefully sat up and shifted his body so his legs hung off the table.
He took shallow breaths until the pain settled, and the blackness around his vision eased back.
He slowly slid forward until his feet hit the floor. He leaned over the table as his knees buckled. It took another few breaths and some superstrength determination for him to straighten his legs and then push up from the table to a standing position.
As he turned to cross the room, the door swung open and Kodiak walked in with one big hand wrapped around Lily’s upper arm. His mate looked pale and sad and guilty all at the same time.
“What the fuck?” Sailor asked.
“I found her in the room where the intruder’s body is,” Kodiak stated as he pushed toward the straight-back chair in the corner. “When I asked her what she was doing in there, she refused to answer. Maybe she’ll talk to you.”
He swayed on his feet, drawing Lily’s attention. She popped up from the chair and hurried to his side. “Papa! You need to lie back down. You’re not healed enough to be on your feet. And you’re naked.”
“I’m fine,” he ground out as she helped him back to the table where he gratefully rolled onto the metal structure.
“You’re not fine. You almost fell down, and that would not be good,” Lily fussed as she pulled the lightweight cotton blanket up to cover his body.
Sailor closed his eyes, focused on breathing and not passing out from standing up before he was ready. Maybe Kevin had something about him lying here for a couple hours.
When Kodiak cleared his throat to remind them he was still in the room, Sailor looked at the man and nodded his understanding. He would find out what was going on, one way or another.
When Lily tried to back away from the table, he grabbed her hand and pulled her back so he could feel her warmth. “Why were you looking at the dead man, little flower? Does this have something to do with the secrets you won’t tell me?”