Chapter Two
SHE FELT PAIN. Sharp, deep pain, but she couldn’t narrow down the origin.
Kelsie flexed her fingers, feeling something soft and warm beneath her hands.
With each passing second, the discomfort narrowed, and her brain came online. Her eyelids fluttered. Why were they so heavy? She used every ounce of strength she could muster to peel them open and blinked against the harsh white light.
A square television hung in the corner of the room. The walls were white, with a large dry-erase board hanging directly in front of her bed.
She’d been here before.
The hospital. You’re in the hospital.
How?
The pain had localized, centering on her left forearm. Kelsie lifted it to find thick bandages.
Oh, God.
She let her arm drop and flop back to the bed, gasping when pain rippled through her skin. The recent past came rushing back with profound force.
“Why?”
Kelsie gasped, whipping her head to the right.
“Ty…”
Oh my God. He was there, next to her bed, looking handsome, fierce, worried, and furious all at the same time. Equal parts shame and safety flooded her, making the words die in her throat.
He was there.
And he knew.
He knew.
“Just tell me why?” Agony tinged the question as though her attempt at ending her life somehow pained him.
She supposed, on some level, it made sense. He’d gone out of his way to help rescue her, held her in his arms as she trembled and shut down. This must come across as a betrayal. He’d given her a second chance at life, and she’d spit in its face.
“I didn’t really want to die,” she whispered as hot tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. They caused his face to wobble, but she didn’t miss his quick flinch before he schooled his features. “I promise. Um, it felt like I was in a trance. I did one arm...” She lifted her left arm. “But the pain shocked me back to reality, and I panicked. I was a mess, but I ran to my neighbor’s house. She’s a nurse. I didn’t want to die. I don’t want to die.”
He didn’t so much as blink. “You still didn’t answer my question.”
How was it possible that she felt good for the first time in months? All it took was being in his presence for the unrelenting fear and worry to melt away. It was why she’d left the first time around. Whatever feelings she’d developed in the five minutes she’d known this man was wildly inappropriate. Staying anywhere near him could put his life and everyone he loved in danger, not to mention she risked developing an unhealthy attachment.
She couldn”t afford a crutch.
But even the distance couldn’t stop her brain from thinking of him dozens of times every day.
God, she was pathetic.
“Things got… bad.”
His jaw ticked. She could sense his mounting frustration as though it were a physical presence in the room with them. But he didn’t call her on it. Instead, he seemed to shore up an epic amount of patience and asked, “Because you aren’t healing from the trauma you endured?”
Oh, if only that horrific week of her life was the only demon chasing her.
If you don’t come back on your own by your birthday, I will send someone to bring you back. You need to get on board with the plan.
She shivered. Her birthday was in a few weeks, and she’d rather die than fulfill that command.
She cringed at her own poor analogy.
“Yes.”
His eyes narrowed, and for a second, she feared he’d call her on her semi-bullshit, but the door opened, and a woman dressed in eggplant purple scrubs bustled in. “Well, hello there, honey. It is good to see you awake and alert.” She veered straight for the computer, setting down a bag of clear liquid before she clacked away on the keyboard. “I’m Miranda, and I’ll be the nurse taking care of you until around seven thirty tonight. Are you having any pain right now?”
She stopped typing as she waited for an answer.
“Just a little.” Kelsie tore her gaze from Ty. She could feel the heat of his stare as she focused on the nurse, who happened to be a beautiful woman, even in baggy scrubs. She had shiny auburn hair tied back in a neat bun and a flawless face of tasteful makeup. If she had to guess, Kelsie would put her somewhere in her mid-thirties. No ring circled her left ring finger.
“Scale of one to ten?” Miranda asked. “One being practically no pain and ten being the worst you could imagine.”
“Um, I don’t know. Maybe a four.” Her wrist chose that moment to throb as though calling her out for downplaying the discomfort.
“Okay.” The nurse entered the information into the computer. “When I’m done switching your IV bag, I can grab you some pain medication. Does that work?”
“Sure.”
“All righty.” Miranda finished up at the computer, grabbed the IV bag, and set about exchanging it with the nearly empty one hanging on the pole. As she worked, her gaze flicked to Tyler at least five times.
To keep from firing off a snarky comment about pictures lasting longer, Kelsie bit her lower lip.
“So, you must have some friends in high places,” the nurse said, aiming a flirty smile at Ty.
He shifted in the chair, arching an eyebrow. “How’s that?”
“I heard a rumor that security removed a man very much fitting your description from this very room yesterday. And now here you are again with explicit permission suddenly in her chart, allowing you to stay even though she’s barely woken up.”
“Your point?”
The nurse pursed her glossy lips. “Someone pulled some strings for you.”
Kelsie frowned. Security chased him out of her room? Why? And how was he allowed access to her today if she hadn’t granted permission? Not that she minded. If anyone were going to visit, she’d want it to be him. She didn’t want the hungry gleam in Little Miss Nurse’s gaze as she batted her false eyelashes at Ty, though. She could do without that.
Ty grinned. “What can I say? I’m persuasive.” He winked, and Miranda giggled a tinkly laugh, making her sound as though she only possessed two functioning brain cells.
A twist in her lower belly had Kelsie’s frown deepening. What kind of nurse flirted with a man right in front of her patient? How unprofessional. For all Miranda knew, Tyler could be her—
“So, how are you two connected? Are you Kelsie’s uncle?” Miranda’s grin grew seductive as she probed for information.
Uncle? Is she freaking kidding me?
“Looks like you’re done there,” Kelsie said with a bite, tipping her chin toward the IV bag Miranda was still fiddling with.
One of Miranda’s shapely eyebrows rose. “So, it’s like that?” she muttered.
Kelsie was positive the question wasn’t meant for her ears, but she caught it anyway. She narrowed her eyes and tried to will the nurse away with a scowl. She was the patient, so didn’t she have the right to refuse someone coming into her room? Nurse Miranda was about two seconds from landing on that list.
After pushing a few buttons on the IV’s control panel, Miranda grinned again. “You’re right, I’m all finished.”
Her false friendly cheer grated on Kelsie’s raw nerves, as did the way she practically drooled over Ty. The annoyance was almost enough to prompt her to request a male nurse, and that would be an epic disaster. But it spoke to how bothersome she found Miranda if she was willing to endure severe panic attacks instead of watching her RN slobber over Ty.
“Great. I’ll push the call button if I need anything.” Ugh, she was acting like a bitch, something she typically tried very hard to avoid, but after what she’d gone through in the past few days, her tolerance for irritants was at its lowest.
“See that you do.” Miranda smirked, then strutted toward the door. As she passed Tyler, she leaned down and whispered ridiculously loud while staring straight at Kelsie, “Don’t leave before I have a chance to give you my number.”
Ty grunted in response, but it sounded way too much like an agreement for Kelsie’s liking.
“Slut,” she muttered as the door shut behind Miranda.
“You say something?” His smug grin added salt to the wound.
“No.” Pouting was for children but keeping a small one from forming was impossible. As she fought to act like the adult she was, she ran her fingers through the soft, fuzzy blanket covering her lower half. “Where did this come from? There’s no way the hospital provided this blanket. Did Brenna bring it?” How sweet of her.
Chuckling, Ty shook his head. “No. The one they’d given you was shit. The blanket equivalent of one-ply toilet paper. Thought you’d like something more comfortable.” He shrugged as though the gift meant nothing like he’d have done it for anyone, and maybe he would have. The intense connection she felt with the man didn’t mean she knew anything about him. Nor did it mean he felt the same.
He came to see you.
He got kicked out by security and wormed his way back in.
“Thank you,” she said, throat thick. “Um...” She cleared her throat. “What was that nurse talking about? Security dragging you out?”
He cocked his head. “You tell me your secrets, and I’ll tell you mine.”
Her heart sank. A mixture of conflicting feelings fought for dominance—anxiety, sadness, hope, and desperation to have someone on her side all vied for the winning emotion. How amazing would it be to have someone to confide in, someone in her corner who had her back and could carry some of her burdens? If that person were a strong, capable man like Tyler, she might be able to breathe with ease for once.
It’d been so long since she took a breath that wasn’t tinged with the nauseating taste of fear and dread. She longed to purge her soul and vomit out her secrets. No one knew. She had not told one single person in the entire world. For years, she’d been alone, living a silent nightmare.
Lonely as it was, she’d made her choices and stood by them.
Until that night a couple months ago when the craving for human connection won.
One slip, one mistake, changed everything. She caved, giving in to loneliness and accepting a date that would forever alter the course of her life.
“Why?”
Tyler frowned. “Why what?”
“Why do you care? Why do you want me to tell you? What does it matter to you if you never see me again? I’m nothing to you, Ty. Just some girl your club helped. You don’t know me at all. Why are you here, wasting your time?” She felt the fingers of hysteria curling around her, trying to tear her apart. “Why does it matter to you if I…” She stared down at her bandages. “Live?” she finished with a whisper.
A loud screech rang out as Ty scooted the chair closer to her bed. He grasped her chin and forced her to connect with his dark gaze. The urge to shut her eyes rode her hard, but she fought it.
“I don’t know,” he said, his face in a stern pinch. The severe expression didn’t detract from his attractiveness at all. Instead, it made him hotter.
For the past two months, she’d been terrified of being near men—any men, all men. But there was Tyler, touching her, and she didn’t feel an ounce of fear. They were alone, and he was bigger, stronger, and capable of hurting her without much effort, and instead of panicking, she wanted more. She wanted to ask him to climb in beside her and wrap those tattooed arms around her. She remembered how strong they were and how comforting they felt when he’d held her the last time.
The only time.
Progress? Or was Ty special?
She knew the answer but refused to admit it.
Electricity crackled between them like a live wire, popping and sparking. It gave her life.
It gave her hope for something beyond constant misery.
Ty felt it, too, but he didn’t lean into it as she did.
He released her chin as though she’d burned him. “Does it matter? Don’t look too deep into it. You’re important to Brenna and Lock, which means you’re important to my club. I’m the club’s VP.”
Kelsie, you’re a fool.
“Right. Of course. That makes sense.” And it did. She was an obligation to him. She lowered her gaze as a flush of shame heated her cheeks. Did she owe him an explanation? No, but he was there, and she trusted him more than most, even knowing he viewed visiting her as a task on his to-do list. “Um, things have been… hard lately. I had a lot going on before the kidnapping, and those problems didn’t magically go away when I was rescued.”
They got incrementally worse.
He scoffed. “Bad enough to…” He shifted back in the chair, scrubbing a hand down his face with a near growl.
She looked up again. “Bad enough to cause me to panic. In that panic, I didn’t see another way out. It was—”
“Stupid.”
“Excuse me.” She sat straight up in the bed. “How dare y—”
“It. Was. Stupid. You could have… should have reached out. Harper fucking offered you help. She offered you a safe place to stay. And you fucking ran away, choosing a shitty situation over people who could fucking help you.” He slammed a hand down on the arm of the chair. “Stupid.”
She was stupid, all right, but not for the reasons he accused. Her stupidity stemmed from seeing a connection where none existed.
Schooling her features, she said, “I’m tired. The medicines are kicking my ass. I’m going to take a nap.” Then she turned her head and shut her eyes. Who knew if he’d be there when she woke? If she were smart, she’d order him to leave and not come back, but as he’d pointed out, she didn’t always make wise choices.
He didn’t get up or leave. He sat in that chair, watching her back while she stared at the blank wall.
Luckily, pleading fatigue hadn’t been a lie. They had given her a host of pain medication and something to calm her raging nerves, and the combination exhausted her. Her fib about a nap became real within minutes, and sleep pulled her under.
If the hypnotizing sound of his steady breathing combined with the safety of his presence allowed her to slip into oblivion without fear, no one had to know.