by Sarah Fine
“Inside,” she whispered. “Get inside.”
He carried her up the steps, through the door, and back to his apartment. She felt so light and fragile in his arms. His shirt was now soaked with her blood. She wouldn’t last long if he couldn’t stop the bleeding. All his questions and confusion evaporated in the face of this one essential task: keep Cacy alive.
He had no intention of letting her down again.
Still cradling her in his arms, he slid through the door of his bedroom.
And jerked to a stop.
From between the bars over his sealed bedroom window, a pair of glowing red eyes looked back at him. Eli was struck by a powerful sense of déjà vu.
“What is it?” Cacy asked quietly, her voice a little steadier than it had been just seconds ago. She turned her head toward the window and tensed. “Oh God.” Cacy looked even paler now.
The eyes disappeared.
“Was that what I heard shrieking outside?” Eli asked.
Cacy shook her head, and her eyelids fluttered closed. “But it was probably looking for someone who lives in this building.”
Eli walked cautiously to his bed and laid her on top of the sheets. He leaned over and peeked out the window, but the streets were empty. “Cacy, I live in this building.”
A shadow of anxiety flickered in her eyes. “We . . . have to . . . get back.” Her words came in gasping, halting syllables.
He held out her pendant. “Using this?”
Her eyes went wide, full of questions, but she nodded. With trembling fingers, she reached up to take it from him, but she couldn’t seem to get a good grip on it. Eli sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her waist, letting her lean against him. He held the pendant, and she swiped her thumb across its raven etching. It immediately turned to a warm, pulsing ring.
“Help me open it,” she whispered.
He did as she asked, pulling the ring wide, opening up a window to the colorful world he’d left a few minutes earlier. She guided the ring over their heads, and he helped her slide it over their legs. Warm, humid air hit his skin. Cacy’s head lolled on his shoulder, and he supported it carefully as he laid her down to examine her. She’d finally passed out. He was surprised she’d been able to stay conscious and lucid for so long.
The gaping wound at her pale throat looked slightly smaller than it had a minute ago. And, oddly, it had stopped bleeding. Faint blue veins stood out on her closed eyelids. But she had lost a lot of blood. He grabbed her wrist and felt for her pulse, sagging with relief as he found it, strong and steady, beneath his fingers. He fished his first-aid kit from his rucksack.
Moving quickly, he pressed an autostaunch over her neck wound and pulled her arm into his lap. Her sleeve was too tight for him to push it up and get access to the vein. Wincing, hoping she wouldn’t get upset when she found out, he unzipped the front of her uniform and peeled the blood-soaked material from her body. God, she wasn’t wearing a bra. All he needed. Focusing attention on her now-bare arm, he injected her with self-perpetuating saline and a vial of plasma to rehydrate her.
Anxious about the wound on her throat, Eli carefully removed the autostaunch bandage to check it once more. He froze. The deep gash was almost completely closed.
“You are not a normal woman,” he said softly, brushing his fingers across her chin, which now showed no signs of its earlier collision with the pavement. Still shaking his head, he went to the bathroom to get a few enzymatic cloths. He stripped off his bloody shirt and wiped himself down, already looking forward to a shower tonight at the station.
With a few more cloths in his hands, he returned to his bedroom. He spent a few seconds in the doorway, staring at the woman on his bed. Her torso was streaked with blood, and there were smudges of it on her cheeks, but she was still the loveliest thing he’d ever seen. As briskly as he could, he cleaned her off. Her skin was warm and temptingly smooth beneath his hands. Eli ran his fingers over the skin of her shoulder blade, where he’d expected to find a horrible, deep bruise from where she’d been hit with the bolt-bullet, but all he saw was pale, creamy flesh. She had an intricate tattoo of a raven on her back, identical to the raven etched on her pendant. And now he could read the words below the raven’s feet: Fatum Nos Vocat.
He’d have to ask Cacy what it meant. It was only one of a million questions he had for her, including what the hell kind of world her pendant contained and why it seemed familiar to him. But right now, he was just relieved. She would live.
He reached into his bag and pulled out a T-shirt. He pushed her head through the neck and threaded her arms through the short sleeves, then laid her back on the sheets.
He lowered his head over her nose and smiled as the soft warmth of her exhalations tickled the side of his face. Her breathing was rhythmic and deep. She sighed and turned over, her breasts resting against his arm, her jet-black hair spreading across his pillow, her spicy scent making him dizzy. Her full lips parted. Her cheeks were flushed. She was sleeping. Maybe dreaming. In his bed. Wearing one of his shirts.
He shifted uncomfortably and tugged at the waistband of his pants. Cacy had sent him from emergency triage mode to raging erection in two minutes flat. He got up, stripped down to his boxer briefs, and grabbed a pillow from the bed before allowing himself one final glance at her face. He went out into the living room and collapsed onto the couch, mentally cataloging first-aid supplies in alphabetical order to get his mind off the woman sleeping in his bed. He hadn’t gotten past chemical defib solution before his exhaustion got the better of him.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Cacy’s eyes flew open. Without moving, she took in her surroundings. Blank walls. A barred window. A thin sheet covering her body. She looked down. She was wearing an oversized T-shirt. She pulled the fabric to her face and inhaled its clean, masculine scent.
Eli.
This was his apartment. He’d cleaned her up and taken care of her. She closed her eyes as the previous evening’s events came crashing back. Her father had been standing right outside this building, waiting for his children to find him and guide him to the Afterlife. And a Ker had been peeking in Eli’s bedroom window like a freaking Peeping Tom. What was going on? This couldn’t be a coincidence, but now it was too late to ask her father what it meant.
Cacy sat up and slid herself out of bed, snatching her Scope from the windowsill. She could get a new chain to replace the one the Shade had torn from her neck, but the Scope itself was irreplaceable. Somehow, Eli had used it last night. That wasn’t supposed to be possible for humans who didn’t bear the Mark of the Ferry, but there was no other way to explain how he’d found her in the Veil. But thankfully, he had, because if Dec hadn’t—
Her cell phone buzzed at her hip. She pulled it from her belt and nearly cried with relief when she saw her brother’s number.
“Dec.”
“Oh, thank God,” Dec gasped into the phone. “Your throat looked so bad.”
“It healed up on its own. I’m fine.”
“I came back to get you, and you were gone. How did you get back?”
She bit her lip. “I . . . um . . . found my Scope. It was in my pocket the whole time.” She hated to lie, but she didn’t know what was going on yet, and she didn’t want to get Eli into any trouble. It would be much easier if Eli didn’t know anything about the Ferrys . . . and if the Ferrys didn’t know anything about what he’d done.
Dec was silent for a few moments before saying, “Well. That’s great, then. Obviously, I got mine back, but the motherfucking Shades nearly tore my arm clean off, so Trevor’s here, making sure it heals up straight.” His wound must have been much worse than hers.
“Hey, Cace,” Trevor called. “No worries. I’m taking good care of him.”
Now it was Cacy’s turn to be silent.
“Don’t be like that,” Dec whispered sharply.
She c
ould hear the strain in her brother’s voice, so she relented. “Tell him thanks. Are you really okay?”
“I’ll be good as new in a few hours. I’ll see you at the station at shift change.”
Cacy ran a hand over the now-smooth skin of her neck. “Have you talked about funeral plans with the others?”
Dec cleared his throat. “I talked with Aislin a few minutes ago, to fill her in on the situation. She said she had it under control. She’ll . . . um . . . be glad you found your Scope.”
“You mean she went on and on about what a screwup I am.”
“Cacy . . . I know it must have been hard for you, being the one to find Father. Having to take him to the hospital.”
Cacy’s cheeks burned. “Eli was the one who took charge. I was useless.”
“Yeah, well, you’re going to have to look out for Eli tonight. Len called me.”
His tone of voice made Cacy’s stomach hurt. “What did that little worm do this time?”
“He called to tell me he thought it might be better if I transferred Eli to Mattapan.”
Mattapan had the highest paramedic casualty rate of all the EMS stations in the city. “And you’re not going to do that,” she said.
“No, I’m not. But Len said the guys are talking. They think he’s incompetent. That he could have done something more to save Father.”
Cacy shot up from the bed, sending the sheets sliding to the floor. “What? You should have seen him last night, Dec! The guy’s a fucking badass. He’s smart and decisive and—”
Dec chuckled. “I guess you don’t mind having a desert-dwelling refugee as a partner after all.”
Cacy sank back down. “You should have seen him with Father. He . . . didn’t give up. He wouldn’t let me give up.”
“You saw that he was Marked, didn’t you? You knew he was going to die.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “I needed to know.”
“Damn, Cacy.”
“I’m all right. I just don’t want anyone to give Eli shit for this. He did an amazing job, and he deserves better.”
“I’m sure it’ll all get sorted out,” Dec said. She heard him inhale sharply, then Trevor murmuring an apology in the background.
“Go. Focus on getting better. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
Cacy tucked her phone back into her pocket and looked down at herself. Her bloody uniform hung from her hips. Eli had just taken off the top part, but he’d steered clear of anything below the belt. She smiled. He probably thought she would have been embarrassed if he undressed her all the way. Even though he had an undeniably sexy edge to him, Eli seemed like the wholesome type. She pushed the formfitting fabric down her legs, wondering what he’d been thinking as he undressed her.
“Get a grip,” she whispered. “He probably thought you were bleeding to death.” She tucked the Scope into the pocket of the T-shirt and frowned as she considered all the things Eli had seen last night. Way too much, actually, and not because he’d practically seen her naked. He’d been in the Veil. He’d seen a Ker, even though he couldn’t possibly know what it actually was. He’d witnessed her heal supernaturally fast. He must be utterly freaked-out.
She opened the door to his bedroom and walked into the living room. He lay on the couch, looking pretty unfreaked. He was sound asleep, one arm folded over his face, one hand resting on his chest, which was rising and falling with each slow, deep breath. Cacy tiptoed over to him, her eyes sliding down his chest to the narrow trail of hair that started below his belly button and dipped into the waist of his boxer briefs. Oh. Her fingers twitched with temptation. Getting involved with him would be violating her strict no-guys policy, but after what she’d been through in the last twenty-four hours, she needed some serious distraction. And, staring at the generous bulge in his briefs, she was willing to bet he would do the trick.
A door behind her creaked open, and Cacy whirled around so fast she nearly fell backward onto Eli. A tall woman with dark-blonde hair emerged from the bedroom across the hall. “Hi there,” the woman said quietly, her eyes dipping to Eli’s body and back up to Cacy. “What are you doing in my apartment?”
“I’m . . . um . . . Eli’s partner.” And who are you?
The woman frowned, a thin line creasing the space between her big green eyes. “Oh. Okay. That was fast.” She tilted her head. “Then why is he sleeping on the couch? Did you get into a fight already?”
Cacy looked down at Eli’s half-naked body and let out a high-pitched giggle before clapping her hand over her mouth. “No, no, his paramedic partner. I’m Cacy Ferry.”
“Ferry?” The woman’s mouth opened, like she was completely at a loss. “Um, I mean, I’m Galena. I’m Eli’s sister.” She offered her hand.
Cacy shook it as she stared at Galena’s face. She had such beautiful, sad eyes, just like Eli’s, only dark where his were bright. “Welcome to Boston.”
Galena grinned. “I can’t tell you how happy we are to be here. Coffee?”
Cacy looked down at Eli again, but he seemed to be out cold. “Sure. Thanks.”
Galena padded into the tiny kitchen and pulled a box of coffee pellets from the counter. She dropped one into a cup and pulled a jug of water from the counter. She held it up and shook it back and forth, the water sloshing heavily. “We’ve got running water from two to four p.m. every day. I love this town!” she crowed as she filled the cup then popped it into the microwave.
“So,” she said, looking at Cacy through her lashes. “Eli called me early this morning.”
Cacy stared at her. “Okay.”
Galena fiddled with the bottom of her shirt. “He told me you lost your dad. I’m so sorry. He felt awful about it.” She looked like she was about to cry.
“Thanks.” There was no way Cacy wanted to talk about it. “Eli did the best he could, and he was really there for me.”
“That was all he wanted. He was worried about you.”
“Yeah?” Again, Cacy’s eyes were drawn to the gorgeous male sleeping on the couch. He’d been the only person to comfort her last night. Her brothers had tried, but their grief had been fresh, just like hers. And Eli was solace and distraction wrapped up in one.
When she turned back to Galena, the woman was watching her with a knowing look. Cacy’s gaze dropped to the floor. She didn’t want to know what Galena saw, and really didn’t want to know how many women she’d looked at that way. Eli was entirely edible, so of course there had been others. And it was only a matter of time before he started hooking up with women here. And that was fine. Totally fine. Cacy had no claim to him, as long as he showed up to work and did his job.
Galena offered Cacy a cup of steaming coffee. “Eli doesn’t date that much these days. He works too hard.” Galena put her own cup in the microwave. “And he worries too much. He needs to have some fun.”
Cacy took a sip from her cup and tried not to wince at the bitter, stale brew. “I could use some fun myself.”
Which sounded pretty dirty, even though she hadn’t meant it that way. Her eyes drifted back to Eli’s abs, to the thick muscles of his biceps. Well, maybe she had. Just a little.
“Just don’t hurt him,” Galena said. “Don’t hurt my brother. He’s been hurt enough.”
Cacy tore her eyes away from Eli to look at Galena, somewhat shocked at the woman’s sudden, harsh tone. “Galena, I have no intention of doing anything with your brother except working. We’re colleagues.”
She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than anyone else, but Galena simply smiled and retrieved her coffee cup from the microwave. “I have to get ready for work. Long day ahead of me.”
“What do you do?”
“I spend the day surrounded by disease,” Galena said brightly. “Nice meeting you, Cacy. I’m glad we got to talk.”
With that, Galena walked into h
er room and shut the door behind her. Cacy stared at the place where she’d been, replaying what had just happened as she finished her coffee.
A pair of large hands closed over her shoulders, startling her. Coughing and spluttering, she barely managed to set her cup down on the counter without spilling it. She turned around and stared up into a pair of vivid-green eyes.
“Sorry,” he said. “And good morning.”
“You didn’t sleep very long,” she said hoarsely, inhaling the heady scent of his bare skin.
One corner of his mouth curled upward. “Neither did you.”
“Yeah, but I’m—”
“You’re what?” He took a step closer, the warmth of him making her sweat. She turned around to rinse her cup in the sink . . . and remembered they had no running water until later this afternoon. She reached for an enzymatic cloth.
By the time she’d composed herself enough to give him a joking answer, Eli was gone. Cacy had just finished cleaning out her cup when he emerged from his room, wearing jeans and a T-shirt. She felt a flash of disappointment. Eli smiled at her as his eyes did a quick slide down her body. She followed his gaze and was abruptly reminded that she wasn’t wearing any pants.
“I’m sure Galena will let you borrow something,” he said, brushing past her and reaching into a cardboard box for a chipped mug.
“Thanks. I guess I should get going.” Or stay and let you distract me.
He set the mug on the counter. “Can we talk first?”
Shit. Cacy took a few steps back. Pants or not, it was tempting to take off running, just to avoid that piercing gaze of his. “Eli, I’m kind of tired . . .” A lie. But a necessary one.
“Please. You have to know how weird last night was.” He moved a little closer and reached out. She held her breath as his fingers skimmed over her neck. “You should have died last night. But now it looks like it never happened.”
She leaned away from his touch. “Maybe it didn’t.”
