Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Giles groaned as he came awake. His head throbbed and there was something on his face. He reached for it, but his arm jerked to a halt. He was tethered to something. What was happening? He finally forced his eyes open, or at least the right one. The left one was covered.
He wasn’t lying flat. He was propped up on several pillows, in a bed that wasn’t his, and Ash stood looking down at him. That couldn’t be good.
He held up his left hand as high as it would go. “Why?”
“I’m sorry about that. We had to restrain you so you wouldn’t rub your face in your sleep.”
He tried to reach up with his other hand, but Ash stopped him. “You have bandages on your face right now.”
Bandages. He was injured. The man with a knife. “Christina!” He tried to sit up, but Ash pushed him back.
“She’s safe, Giles. Relax.”
“I tried to get him away from her. I ran.”
Ash nodded. “You did well. She’s fine.”
“Why isn’t she here?”
“Because there’s something I wanted to discuss without her present.” Ash’s brow furrowed and muscles twitched across his face, as if he might cry. “I’m so sorry, Giles.” He paused, and there were definitely tears welling in his eyes. “We couldn’t save your eye.”
“What do you mean?” He tried to reach for his face, but Ash held firm.
“I mean”—he gave Giles’ hand a tight squeeze—“it’s gone.”
He needed to feel it for himself, but he couldn’t get either of his hands free. “Let me go!”
A tear trickled down Ash’s face as he shook his head, but he didn’t release him. “I’m so sorry.”
“It can’t be gone.” Giles thrashed, trying desperately to pull out of Ash’s grasp.
“Stop. You’re going to hurt yourself.”
“This isn’t real,” he said desperately. “This is only a nightmare. I just need to wake up.”
But he couldn’t make it happen, and Ash looked at him with so much sadness, two more tears sliding down his cheeks.
“It has to be a dream. You don’t cry.”
Ash laughed through his tears. “Don’t tell anyone.”
Tears started down the right side of his own face. Ash’s joke made him realize it wasn’t a dream. “It’s gone? Not just blind, but… gone?”
“I’m sorry, Giles. I would have done anything to save it if there was even the smallest chance.”
It couldn’t be real. It just couldn’t be. He was wrong. Somehow Ash was wrong. “I need to feel it. I’ll be gentle.”
Ash shook his head. “You won’t be able to feel anything but bandages right now.”
He still didn’t want to believe it. But why would Ash lie about something so horrific?
He wouldn’t.
Ash wiped the tears from not only his own face, but from Giles’ too.
“If you’d let me go I could do that myself, you know.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone either.”
“Does Christina know?”
“It would seem so. I hadn’t meant to tell her yet, but she must not have been as asleep as I thought she was when the doctor and I were talking.”
“How does she feel about it?” Repulsed, surely.
Ash sighed. “Guilty. But in order for you to understand why, you need to know something else. The man who attacked you was sent by her father.”
“Her father?” he growled. “I should have had Allister kill the bastard.” The man was a menace. “That doesn’t make it her fault.” He paused, not wanting to ask his next question. “Will she want to see me? Now that I’m…” No longer whole.
Ash finally smiled. “She’s hardly left your side in two days. Been sleeping in the chair over there.” He gestured with a nod. “I do need to give another warning before she comes in, though. She has an injury on her face.”
“Did he get her too?”
“No. Not like that. She went to confront her father, and he struck her before Brennan could intervene.”
Fury burned through him. “I will kill the man myself. He will never hurt her again.”
“I know you’re angry. So am I. Nearly uncontrollably so. But he’s still her father, and I’ve given her my word that we will spare his life, at least for now.”
“You may have, but I didn’t.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, you just need to concentrate on healing. If I let go of your arm to go find Christina, are you going to behave yourself? Or do I need to tie this arm back down as well?”
“I’ll behave. I just want to see her.”
He needed to know she was alright, and a part of him wanted to see her reaction to the state of him. Would she be disgusted by him, knowing he was missing an eye?
When Ash left, and Giles was no longer being held down, he wasn’t sure he was actually brave enough to feel his face.
The door opened and Christina rushed to his side. She gripped his hand nearly as hard as Ash had. “You’re awake.”
The right side of her face was red and swollen, and there was a shadow beneath her eye. A jumble of emotions went to battle inside him. The victor seemed to be anger at the man who had hurt her. But he was so relieved she was with him, and safe. Unfortunately, she was also on the verge of tears.
He moved to the far edge of the small bed. “Come here, sweetheart. Lie down with me.”
After a moment’s hesitation, she squeezed herself beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her to hold her close. With her fingertip, she traced the stripes of the pajamas over his chest.
“I’m sorry for everything that has happened, Giles.”
“Stop that. None of this is your fault.”
“What do you mean? All of it is my fault.”
“Are you arguing with me?” He slipped his fingers into her hair and held her firmly. “I may be maimed, and restrained, but I am still your husband.”
She was gentle as she claimed his lips, but she hummed softly. “I’ve missed that,” she whispered before returning to his mouth.
The door opened, and quickly closed again. Christina gasped and tried to pull away, but he didn’t let go. “Let me kiss your cheek first.”
She turned and he pressed gentle, loving kisses against her cheek, wishing he could take on her pain.
“Now you may let them in.”
She righted herself and her clothes and hurried to the door.
“I’m sorry to interrupt a private moment,” his cousin said as he stepped into the room.
Giles rolled his eyes… eye. “It was only a kiss, Michael. What are you doing here?”
Christina gave some murmured excuse and left them alone. Probably embarrassed. Michael came around the bed and let out a long sigh when he looked at Giles.
“You should be with Belle.”
“She’s being well looked after.”
“As am I.”
“You’re more than just my heir, Giles. You’ve grown to be like a brother to me. I needed to come down and look you in the…”
Giles raised a brow and watched as the color drained from Michael’s face. Giles chuckled. “That’s going to be an ongoing problem, isn’t it?”
It was a sign of just how concerned Michael was that he didn’t laugh. But Giles didn’t know how else to cope. He was missing an eye. That wasn’t an injury that was going to heal with time.
“Will I still be able to be a partner?”
“Of course you will.”
“Are you sure? I won’t be able to keep nearly as good of an eye on the place.”
“Stop it, Giles. None of this is funny.”
It wasn’t funny. But it also wasn’t easy to know whether or not he could still do the job. “Have you discussed it with the others?”
“There’s nothing to discuss.” Michael’s words were sharp and clipped. “And that doesn’t matter. Right now, you need only concentrate on resting.”
“How can I?” he shouted. “He took my eye, Michael. How can I be sure anything will be the same after that?”
Michael looked gutted, like he might even cry too.
The door opened and although he didn’t want more company, he was glad for the interruption.
He couldn’t cope with seeing grief from Michael over his injury.
Gwen entered with a smile and a tray, and behind her, his mother.
What in God’s name was she doing here? The last thing he needed was his mother here, fretting.
“I’ve brought you something to eat,” Gwen said. “You must be hungry.”
He was hungry, but this was all too much.
“Here, I’ll help him,” Michael said, reaching for the tray.
“I don’t need help eating,” Giles said indignantly. “I’ve lost an eye. I’m not an invalid.”
“Give us a moment, please,” his mother said, quietly.
Michael and Gwen left without a word.
Giles groaned as she approached the bed. “Not you, too. I love you, Mother, but I don’t need one more person here feeling sorry for me. I need you to go home. I need everyone to just go home.”
“You do need me, because I’m the only one who can say this. I won’t be hurt when you lash out at me the way the others will be.”
“I don’t need a lecture. I need to be left in peace with my food.”
She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, and his body trembled with the effort of keeping his emotions under control.
“I can’t imagine what a shock this has been for you, Giles. You were attacked, right outside of your own club. And with your wife beside you. You’ve lost an eye. That’s no mere paper cut. Your soul can only be in utter turmoil, and I haven’t even mentioned the physical pain you must be enduring.”
“I don’t need you to recapitulate the events. I was there.”
“Pride is a stubborn thing, Giles. And I know how stubborn you can be. Don’t let it prevent you from accepting the support you need.
And even more importantly, don’t allow it to spread the pain you’re feeling to the people who love you.
Michael, Ash, Christina, every one of them would gladly take your place over watching you suffer.
Try to imagine yourself in their shoes, and allow them to help you. To them, it is an honor, not a burden.”
He took a breath, and tried to do as she said. The thought of Michael or Ash, or God forbid, Christina, in his place, was absolutely heartbreaking. And how would he feel if they sent him away?
“I’ll try to do better.” He nodded. “Thank you, Mother. I might not be any good at showing it, but I do appreciate you.”
“I won’t be staying. You have more than enough people already hovering, and I’ll only be in the way. But I needed to see that you were safe.” She lifted his hand and kissed the back of it. “I needed to see my boy.”
“Who told you?”
“All of them.”