Fallen Melody: Fallen: Book 1

by Layna Snow

  Rolling the creature over, Cay noticed the long white robe hiding the petite body. It was large, shapeless and covered what could be injuries. There had to be injuries. Nothing less than agony could cause a person to make that sound.

  Reaching down, he felt along the pale, delicate neck until he could feel a pulse. It was a slight fluttering, like a butterfly wing. The feeling, as weak as it was, caused a huge cascade of relief to flow through Caleb’s entire body. Shit, that could have been bad! He could feel tension slipping away. The woman—who was little more than a girl, she was so small—was alive. Blessedly alive. It can still be bad. Have to get her back.

  Caleb knew that he shouldn’t move the body. Hell, anyone who had seen a medical show knew that moving someone could exacerbate spine damage. But he also knew that he had to act fast. If he left to find help, he might not be able to find the girl again. No, he needed to get her some medical attention right away.

  Without a second thought, Caleb reached down and lifted the slight weight in his arms, listening closely for any sign of distress. He didn’t want to cause her any more pain, not if he could help it. But the girl never made a damn sound. She didn’t move or gasp. She didn’t even moan in pain. No, she was almost unnaturally still.

  Caleb looked around for anything that she may have left behind, and found nothing. There was no purse, or flashlight. There weren’t any hiking supplies. Fuck, what was she doing out here? It was a thought he pushed back for later, but already it irked him. Something about this wasn’t right, wasn’t normal.

  Without time to figure it out, Caleb set back out, heading towards the Veterinary hospital. Seth was a doctor. Sure, he wasn’t a human doctor but he knew enough to figure out what the hell was wrong. He could do something while they waited for an ambulance. The closest hospital was too far away for people to visit all the time, and so many people just went to see Seth. He was smart. He could have gone to med school, but he didn’t. He wasn’t personable enough to be a doctor. Besides, Seth wouldn’t do anything that Caleb couldn’t help out with. They didn’t work that way.

  Finally, and thankfully without any problems, Caleb emerged from the trees. He moved quickly through the gate. Caleb was ecstatic that he had been in too much of a rush to shut the gate earlier. It saved him from having to stop. Small miracle, that. But the little things added up.

  He strode around the building before approaching the door. He pressed the handicapped button with his elbow, thanking whatever had pushed them into the decision to install the thing. This made the heavy cost of the convenience worth it.

  He carried his small charge into the building. And fuck, she still never moved.

  ***

  Seth stood up to stretch. His back hurt a little from sitting in the same position for so long. His shoulders ached a little from not being used after his last workout. His fingers cramped from typing—something he hardly ever did, and not for long periods at a time. These were every day, comfortable feelings. They showed him that he had been working hard, getting things done. There was a satisfaction in the way his back cracked as he stretched his long arms over his head.

  Yes, this was a day of accomplishments. The building was basically complete—there were only small things that would be taken care of later. There would be a large client list, as soon as people received the email notifying them of their appointment hours. Yes, everything was on track.

  And to think this almost didn’t happen. He almost gave up this dream in order to make Lucy happy. He would have ruined his future, ruined his everything. He was now very happy that he made the decision that he had.

  Now everything would be perfect, if there wasn’t some niggling feeling in the back of his head telling him to take notice. That feeling usually came before a major realization. The last one reminded him of his doctor’s appointment in the city, two hours away. He just happened to remember it three hours too late.

  Seth sighed at the memory, and looked at the clock. He hoped it would jog something. Something he should pay attention to.

  It was then that he remembered. Cay. He had been outside looking around. That was... well it couldn’t have been two hours ago. Something must have detained him. Or maybe he did decide to go to the bar after all. Caleb must have known that Seth wouldn’t have even noticed.

  That happened more and more now. He just felt so tired. He seemed to be always working. Seth wasn’t always like this. He used to be a fun-loving kid who skipped school to hang out at the park. But then his mother—the person who worked so hard just to keep them in the tiny apartment—died. It was a blessing in disguise. He was 9 when he moved in with Cecilia, the kindly old woman who raised him and Caleb. She pushed him into school. She saw the potential in his active mind. And then ten years later she died. And Seth continued to work hard—harder if he was honest—to make a life for himself and his foster brother.

  There was only that one brief time when he thought about giving up on the dream. But he soon found that the absence of such dreams can leave nightmares.

  The bell attached to the front door jingled, signalling an arrival and pulling Seth out of his mind again. The clinic wasn’t opened, at least not this late in the afternoon. That left few possibilities. Maybe it was a neighbour, or an emergency. Either way, he knew that he had to deal with it. Caleb was supposed to handle these matters, but he wasn’t here. How annoying.

  That thought pushed Seth out of the office and into the light pink hallway that would take him to the front of the building. He only made it half way before Cay rounded the corner. One look at the younger man’s face and Seth could tell that there was something wrong. Caleb didn’t get panicked. He was calm, easy going. He never rushed, his voice never quivered with fear like it did now, “Fuck, thank God, man. We need to get her to an operating room. They are stocked I think. Fuck. Hurry!”

  Seth did as he was told, quickly noting the white and red package that his best friend held so delicately. He pushed the door open, holding it for Caleb. He watched while Caleb deposited his burden before stepping up to the table to see what caused so much alarm.

  A woman. An injured woman.

  Her face was white, unnatural even for someone of her obviously pale skin tone. Her lips were even pale, bloodless and dry. Her face was fine boned, beautiful. Her body was mostly covered by a white robe, however red blood seeped into the pure coloured fabric. It looked almost macabre. This broken red-headed doll, soiled with her own blood, unmoving and silent.

  Seth got to work. He needed to act quickly before she lost anymore blood. He needed to find the damage and fix it. He turned to Caleb for a second, and upon seeing the blood soaking his shirt he raised an eyebrow in question. Without missing a beat, the Cay shook his head. No, none of the blood was his.

  “Tell me,” Seth ordered, his voice going low, flat, resigned. It was a phrase that he used often when they were teenagers, always in the same tone of voice. A phrase that was usually followed by a fantastical story of rambunctiousness and trouble—always involving Cay.

  Seth kept his mind on the task, pulling the girl’s thin arms from the large flowing sleeves. He then motioned his brother over to help remove the gown.

  “Fuck, Seth. I didn’t do this to her. I wasn’t even involved. I was outside, heard a scream and ran to help her. She was about half an hour out. Took longer getting back without jarring her. She’s still alive. Checked as I sat her down. Damn, forgot the piece of wood out there. Whatever. “

  Seth nodded, tuning out the parts he didn’t need to hear. Caleb wasn’t involved in this. And he had no idea what her injuries were. Seth waited, letting his friend move the robe up to her waist before lifting her gently from the table. Seth held her head up while pulling the material from around and under her. It took some manoeuvring to avoid hurting her further, but they managed.

  “Chick’s got a great body.” Caleb muttered before cursing again. Seth didn’t care about the girl’s body. He needed to know about her wounds. Caleb repositioned her in hi
s arms, moving her onto her front before placing her back down on the cold metal surface. It was then that Seth understood why his friend swore. He felt like swearing too.

  There were two long, ragged gashes along the girl’s back. It looked like something slashed her, or tore at her. Seth couldn’t be completely sure. The wound was angry, red and still trickling a little blood. Bones were exposed, and muscle was broken. The wounds were parallel, starting between her shoulder blades, bracketing her spine. They ended at the small of her back, a few inches above her hips. They were deep, and horrible. Not something that he could fix on his own.

  “Get the IV started. We need to rehydrate her. I don’t have blood, we will have to wait for an ambulance. Oh. You should probably call the hospital as well.” Seth muttered, moving into the next operating room for some much needed supplies. They had worked like this before, like a well-oiled machine. Seth quickly went through a list of supplies in his mind. They would need gauze and bandages to apply to the wound. They needed to stop the bleeding and stave off infection. Seth turned back to grab some disinfectant before moving back into the room. There he stopped, frozen and speechless as he stared at the girl laid prone on the table. The wound was almost closed, still red and swollen but no longer bleeding, no longer deep.

  Seth moved closer and leaned in to get a better look at her back. The muscles had mended, looking untouched. And before his very eyes, the skin started to knit back together, leaving behind a thin scar where a gaping wound once was.

  2

  After securing the IV and disposing of the sanitary gloves, Caleb went to clean up. The blood on his shirt was starting to dry. It was itchy as hell, irritating, and smelled really gross.

  Caleb went into his office, and was glad that he had an onsite bathroom. The room also had some extra clothing—because, you never know what will happen in a vet clinic. He quickly stripped his shirt and turned on the sink taps. He’d have to wait for a shower until later. Right now he needed to hurry in case Seth needed him to assist. He turned, looking at the mirror and saw the mess of his torso. It didn’t seem bad before, at least not compared to the girl’s injuries, but there were quite a few enflamed cuts and scrapes. Not to mention all the blood that coated his skin. It must have come from the girl, because he sure as hell didn’t bleed this much.

  The red looked so vibrant against his skin. It was fascinating, in a sick car crash kind of way. It was blotched and streaked across his wide chest and abs. Fuck, it looks like I killed her.

  Caleb shook his head, before wetting a cloth and wiping his chest down. The cold water was bracing, but felt good against the sting of the cuts. He rinsed the cloth out a few times before he got all the blood off. Looking around his sink area, it looked like he had murdered someone, and he secretly hoped that the cops would have no reason to process this room. Hey, it happened all the time on TV. It could happen, Caleb assured himself with a snort. He’d have to clean this up later. He didn’t have time now.

  He then took out some antibiotic ointment from the first aid kit and slapped some on the cuts. He had braced against the burn—if you can ever be prepared. “Fuck that’s like torture,” he muttered to himself. “Should have gotten the gentle stuff.” Next time he wouldn’t care about proving his masculinity to the damn check-out girl. She was a brunette anyways, and he was partial to redheads. Since when, idiot?

  He knew that that tiny voice in his head, which Seth called his conscience was right. He had never particularly cared who he bedded before. But now he had seen that delicate girl with hair like silk and he started waxing poetic. Nice one, loverboy.

  Caleb turned back to his closet and retrieved a new shirt. Blue this time. His fucking favourite colour. Not that it really mattered, but he found that he always felt best on days that he wore blue. And he needed all the help he could get to contend with this fucked up day.

  But right now, he needed to get back into to operating room to see what could be done for his little patient. He knew that he should also call the hospital in Barrie, since Seth will be too preoccupied with fixing their patient up.

  Caleb left his pristine office, while pulling the soft cotton shirt over his head, and grabbed his cell phone on his way back to room that held the girl. Just before entering, a gruff curse word rang out. And Caleb knew that something had to be horribly wrong.

  Seth never swore. Never. Okay, so he might have sworn once or twice since they were younger but not since Cecilia washed his mouth out with soap. After that they had both learned their lesson. Besides, they didn’t want to hurt the lady who gave them everything.

  So, something had to be disastrous if Seth swore now. Caleb almost didn’t want to find out.

  Shit, shit, shit, shit. The chorus echoed in his head. This wasn’t good. “No, it’s fucking horrible,” he muttered to himself as he pushed through the door. And stopped dead.

  The table was empty. There wasn’t anything on it but a little smeared blood to show that there was ever an injured woman. Even the IV line and saline bag were gone.

  Beside the large metal operating table was a pile of surgical equipment. There were bandages and antiseptic wipes.

  Not right, not right.

  Seth would never leave sterile equipment on the floor. And he wouldn’t have moved the girl without help. He was fucking smarter than that.

  A slight movement alerted him to the fact that he wasn’t alone in the room. Seth stood, blocking the corner. His arms were out in front of him, his feet braced apart. He looked to be confronting something, or someone. It fucking couldn’t be the broken girl from the woods. She had been out cold, bleeding and close to death. There was a higher possibility of a wild tiger loose than there was of that girl being up and about. Yeah, and lions and bears too.

  “Caleb, I don’t know if this is a joke or a trick. But you better stop this girl from freaking out. I need to check her back.” Seth moved away, giving up now that reinforcements had arrived. He pulled the IV pole with him, the needle dangling from the tube. If Caleb had to guess, he’d say that the girl ripped the IV out. Seth wouldn’t have removed it. Hell, he’d keep the IV in as long as possible. Predictable anal bastard that he was. And now Caleb needed to get her to trust them enough to receive help.

  This was always Caleb’s role, along with vet tech—the job he actually trained for. But he never thought to charm a hurt woman away from a fucking corner.

  As Seth moved back, Caleb could finally tell what he was dealing with. The girl was sitting in the corner, with her back against the wall. Her pale hair was falling around her terrified face. She had her legs pulled up, hugged to her body as if that would protect her.

  She looked like a scared animal, beautiful and frightened. Fuck, he had to get her to calm down enough for them to help her. He hadn’t managed to call the hospital so there weren’t any reinforcements coming.

  Caleb lowered himself to the ground, kneeling so that he was closer to her level. He hunched his shoulders to try to make his large build appear smaller, less threatening. Yeah, like that’s a fucking possibility. He was too big and strong to appear completely helpless. He’d have to work his charm.

  “It’s alright, Kitten. We aren’t going to hurt you. You were in the woods and in pain. I found you and took you here. This is a hospital....well an animal hospital, but hell, same difference.” Caleb crooned as he moved forward a little at a time, on his knees. Now he was about five feet from her. Just a little closer, cute-stuff “We need to get a look at your back. Come on, Kitten.”

  She didn’t seem to really understand what he was saying. She wouldn’t even concentrate on him, just peered over his shoulder with unfocused eyes. He continued to inch his way closer to her, though he wasn’t sure what he would do once he fucking reached her. If she was an animal, he’d pet her until she adjusted to him.

  Well, he wasn’t opposed to petting her, now. Which just seemed fucking wrong. Sure, she was beautiful. Her hair was a lovely shade that reminded him of a sunset. Her face was elegan
t and perfect, with fine bone structure and porcelain skin. He couldn’t see her eyes enough to determine a colour, but he was sure even that would be damn lovely.

  But it was her body that appealed to him the most. He could still feel her slender, but curvy body in his arms. Her breasts were small, but so was the rest of her. They were plump and high. They’d feel great in his hands. Fuck, his palms tingled just thinking about it.

  She had a small waist, with slightly rounded hips. And shit. Her legs weren’t fully closed, revealing the strawberry curls covering her mound. He wanted, more than anything, to pull her legs open the rest of the way.

  And how damn perverted was that?

  He wasn’t even sure how old she was. And she was frightened, hurt—possibly even bleeding to death. And he was thinking about fucking her. Obviously he was more depraved than he imagined.

  Right now, he needed to focus on the problem at hand. It wouldn’t do anyone any fucking good to sit there drooling while she slowly keeled over.

  “Okay. So you don’t know me. I’m Caleb, and the boring workaholic behind me is Seth. Can you tell us your name?” He asked. The lull only punctuated the desperation of the situation. When Cay realized that she wasn’t going to answer. He tried another tactic. “You must be tired, hungry and cold. I have plenty of body heat to lend you. Your back must hurt too. Come here. We will fix you right up. You don’t even have to talk. I can talk enough for both of us. Come on, Kitten. Let me help you.”

  Caleb made sure to keep his voice gentle and even. He didn’t want to scare the girl more. Fuck, that wouldn’t serve his purpose. No. He wanted to her move towards him. To let him comfort her and help her. He wanted to be the one she trusted. And if his protective instincts would ever calm the hell down, he could allow Seth to fix her damn back.