Chapter Twenty #2
I sat up straight as an unsettling feeling slithered along my spine. “Why?”
“She’s in L.A.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“She got herself into a predicament.”
“Words, Flint! Out with it!”
“She was stranded on a beach with second-degree burns and someone stole her prosthetic leg. I’m calling you because she sounded scared.”
“Fuck! Are you serious?” I was halfway to my room to throw the rest of my shit into my bag before he answered.
My bag was basically full because I already knew I was going to get my girl and make it right.
I just didn’t think it would be in a rush to a hospital.
Life was good at packing a solid fuck-you punch to the gut when least expected.
“Sadly, yes.”
“Why the hell did she call you instead of me?”
“Because her cellphone battery was about dead and she’s smart … well, I think. I’m reserving judgment on that until I hear the full details of her predicament. I’m guessing she knew if she called you, you’d ask too many questions and ultimately have to call yours truly to do what I do best.”
Fix. That’s what he did. I couldn’t even refute anything he said because it was the truth.
“Where is she now?”
“Hospital.”
“Get me the first flight out then text me the hospital and room number.”
“Check your phone. I already texted you the information and your flight leaves in ninety minutes so get your ass going.”
“Flint?”
He chuckled. “We’ll hug it out later. For now … you’re welcome.”
My heart rode in my throat the entire way to L.A. Loving a woman the way I loved Lake was so fucking painful. She made me feel everything.
A car waited for me at LAX; I didn’t expect anything less of Flint.
The driver knew where to go without instruction.
I didn’t wait for the vehicle to come to a complete stop before I hopped out and ran to the hospital entrance, then past the desk, ignoring the nurses telling me to stop and some bullshit about not being allowed down that hall that led to Lake.
324 … 325 … 326
With my heart pounding, I took a calming breath before opening the door to her room. A nurse stood next to her bed, tapping the screen of an iPad. She looked back at me and smiled.
“Are you family?”
At least that’s what I think she said. I couldn’t think, so I just nodded. Lake opened her eyes, a slight grimace tugged at her red, swollen, blistered face.
“Monaghan,” she said with a gravelly voice.
“I’ll give you two some privacy. Get some rest and you’ll get to go home tomorrow.” The nurse smiled as she walked past me.
“Let me guess, you just happened to be in the neighborhood.”
I shook my head, sitting on the edge of her bed. “Not even close.”
“A shame. I could have used your assistance when I had the equivalent of an amputee blowing a tire. Only someone stole mine.”
“What kind of bottom-of-the-earth lowlife scum takes an amputee’s leg at the beach?”
She laughed, but it didn’t hide her grimace. “Exactly! Thaddeus is going to kill me. They’re probably holding it hostage and by morning I’ll receive a ransom notice.”
The humor fizzled and reality set in.
“Lake, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for what I said. I’m sorry I wasn’t here. I’m sorry for everything.”
“Don’t.” She rested her hand on mine. “Don’t apologize for your feelings. You’re human.”
“Yes, humans have feelings, but inconsiderate bastards unleash them on the one person they love most, and that’s just messed up.”
She held her arms out in front of her; the surface of her red skin was bubbled with tiny blisters. “I fell asleep in the sun with like SPF 2 on my skin, and I woke up a lobster missing a leg. That’s messed up.”
I leaned in until my lips hovered over hers.
My hands itched to touch her, but I didn’t want to hurt her.
“Lake,” I whispered. “Let me be sorry. Let me be scared that something so much worse could have happened to you today. Let me have all the emotions that come with loving you. Let me love you. Okay?”
“K,” she whispered.
I feathered my lips over hers.
“The sun,” she said.
I sat back.
“It felt so amazing. The sand. The ocean, just a few steps away from me. I really struggled with my self-image right after my accident. I didn’t think I’d ever lie on a beach again.
” She shook her head. “But I didn’t care what anyone thought of me or my leg stuck in the sand next to me.
If there’s a God, I’m certain he never meant to take the ocean, the beach …
the sun away from me. And sleep … God, it’s been so long since I woke up with drool down my face. ”
I chuckled.
“I know, gross, but I slept, Cage. I really slept. I didn’t crash into my normal wall of exhaustion.
I drifted into peace. So while I’ll probably end up with skin cancer in a few years, I don’t regret it.
When the blisters heal and the burn fades, I’ll still have the memory of beautiful, serene sleep. ”
“I know you’re always awake when I fall asleep, and you’ve said you have trouble sleeping and even some nightmares, but I had no idea just how bad it is for you.”
She shrugged. “To explain it to you, I’d have to share my past, and my past can’t be completely separated from yours—from Jillian Knight—so that’s why you don’t know.”
Total bastard. How could I claim to love her and not really know her?
“It’s late. You should sleep and I’m guessing they’ll add something pretty awesome to your IV to help. Tomorrow we’ll go to your hotel and you’ll tell me your story—everything. Then we’ll fly to Tahoe for the holiday with your family.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Don’t cry.”
She blinked them away. “I’m not.”
I smiled as one escaped down her cheek.
“We’re flying to San Francisco before Tahoe. I need to see a guy about a leg.”
I kissed the top of her head. “Sleep, baby. Dream of me and know that I love you in a way that feels so much bigger than four little letters.”