by Faith Gibson
“Is it magic?” she asked.
“Not really, no. When my family meets the one person who means everything to them, they are able to communicate nonverbally.” His explanation was vague, but until he was able to tell her about the Gargoyles, it would have to be enough.
Rocky slid her hand closer to Sin’s but still didn’t grasp his fingers. “Why did you want to bite me?”
Oh, fuck. Rocky had heard him talking to the doctor. “Because you smell so delicious. I want to sink my teeth in and taste your essence.”
“That’s kinda gross.” Rocky slid her hand closer until their fingers were touching. Sin couldn’t take it any longer. He carefully lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. “What happens now?” she asked.
“You continue to recover. Your body has been through a traumatic ordeal, and the doctor is still trying to get all the drugs out of your bloodstream.”
“I don’t do drugs anymore.”
“No, and it is why he wants to keep you here until he knows he has all of the poison out of your system. Once your blood is clean, you can return home.”
“Where’s home?”
“Wherever you want it to be.” If she needed time, he’d give it to her, but he would stay close by, watching over her.
“You scare me,” she whispered. If he hadn’t been a shifter, he’d not have heard the truth of her words.
Sin placed his fist over his heart and said, “I vow to you, Raquel Taryn Cartwright, on everything good and holy, I will never harm you as long as we both shall live. I promise to honor, cherish, and protect you for all the days of my life.” Sin bowed his head and willed the tears to stay at the back of his eyes. He’d waited so long to say those words to someone, and Rocky had no idea the depth of the pledge he’d just made to her. Even if she never agreed to be his mate, he would remain true to her as long as she lived.
“How long have I been out of it?” Rocky asked, changing the subject.
“Twenty-seven hours, thirteen minutes, give or take a few seconds.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because that is how long I’ve been agonizing over you being hurt. But I can promise it will never happen again.”
“You can’t promise that,” Rocky stated harshly. She tried to pull her hand away, but Sin tightened his grip enough to keep their fingers entwined.
“I can. The ones responsible for this,” he motioned to her in the bed, “have been captured. We have their confessions on tape, and they will never see the light of day again.” Sin was assuming Finley had Blake stashed away. He’d still not heard from the Goyle and was starting to get worried. He needed to call him again but didn’t want to do it in front of Rocky.
“Will you be okay for a minute? I need to check on something.”
Rocky nodded. “Yes, I’m not going anywhere.” She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Sin stared at his mate, committing every detail of her beautiful face to memory. He sent up another prayer asking the gods to heal the damage that had been inflicted. If they would heal her wounds, he’d help heal her heart. Sin nodded at the nurse on duty and headed to the private waiting room to call Finley.
“Sin…” Fin growled out as he answered.
“Finley what…”
“I lost him, Sin. Stansbury. He was gone by the time I got back to the club, and now I can’t find him. The fucking rookie cop who was supposed to secure the club answered a domestic dispute call instead. I’ve got Landon tracking Stansbury’s car, but so far he hasn’t been able to locate it. We’ve been searching for him all fucking afternoon!”
“I have to get back to Rocky. Find him,” Sinclair seethed. He ran a hand through his hair and stalked back to Rocky’s room. He wouldn’t leave her side until the bastard was caught. As he neared the door, a man’s voice came from inside his mate’s room. No. No. No! He pushed open the door and froze. Stansbury stood over Rocky with a syringe in his hand, ready to plunge it into her neck. Without thinking, Sinclair phased and lunged at the human before he could accomplish what he’d come to do.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Rocky closed her eyes, finding peace in the words Sin had spoken to her. Their time together was coming back to her in bits and pieces. Dinner at his home. Her breakdown in the garden where she told him the truth of her past. Sin carrying her upstairs where he made love to her. The tender way he held her while she fell asleep. The way he asked if she would give them a chance at a future together. And his promise? It was beautifully similar to a wedding vow. The door opened, and Rocky smiled, ready to see the man who had brought joy to her life after so many years of grief. Instead of Sin’s handsome face, one she never wanted to see again appeared in her room. Rocky’s biggest fear was coming back to haunt her.
Blake looked like hell. Like he’d run a thousand miles with rabid dogs on his tail. His eyes were wild, and he was coming for her. “I told you, Raquel, I always get what I want. If I can’t have you, no one can.” Blake lunged at her with a syringe. There was nothing she could do to fend him off. Nowhere she could hide. She was stuck in a bed, and she was going to die. Rocky closed her eyes and thought of Sinclair and the future they could have had together.
The needle never touched her skin. Instead, a heavy body fell over her legs, and Rocky’s eyes shot open. Something had Blake’s arms twisted away from Rocky, holding the syringe in a… holy shit! Were those claws? An inhuman growl came from whatever had pulled Blake off Rocky’s body. The thing not only had claws, but fangs were inches away from Blake’s ear. “You’ll never hurt her or anyone else again,” it told Blake. The thing turned his head toward Rocky, and she gasped. That wasn’t a thing; it was Sinclair. His eyes were completely black. His chest was heaving, but the longer he stared at her, the calmer he became. His eyes returned to normal, and his fangs and claws disappeared.
She must have been given some powerful drugs in her IV. Rocky’s imagination wasn’t good enough to conjure up the kind of beast that just saved her from certain death. “Thank you,” her hallucinating self told Sinclair.
“I told you, Raquel, I would never let anything or anyone ever hurt you again.” Dream Sin pulled Blake’s body off her bed and shoved him hard into the wall. With one hand holding Blake, Sin pulled his phone out of his pocket with the other and called someone. “I’ve got him. Rocky’s hospital room. That’s a good fucking question; now get your ass over here and get the bastard.” Sin disconnected the phone and returned it to his pocket. Blake tried to move but Sin twisted his arm higher. “If you so much as make one more twitch, I’ll break your neck right here.”
Sin kept a grip on Blake as he turned to her. “I need you to call the nurse, baby. Can you do that?”
Rocky stared at him. He looked like Sin. He spoke like Sin. Damn good drugs she was on. “Sure.” She’d play along, and maybe when she woke up, she would find her room back to normal. Rocky found the button for the nurse. Less than a minute later, the nurse entered her room and gasped at the sight in front of her. Was the nurse on good drugs too?
“What is going on in here?”
“Go get Dr. Mercato. Now,” Sinclair demanded.
The nurse didn’t hesitate to obey, and Rocky could understand why. Sin’s voice echoed around the room. She bet people two floors down were searching for the doctor. Rocky wanted to open her eyes. Even though her dream had turned out good in the end, she still didn’t like how it started with Blake coming at her. She wanted the calm, quiet hospital room back before she had drifted off. The door opened, and her doctor rushed in. As soon as his eyes met with Sin’s captor, his whole demeanor changed.
“Do you want to tell me how in the fuck this cretin managed to get up here? Nobody was supposed to know she was even here,” Sin growled.
“I don’t know, but I vow to you, Sinclair, on my honor, I will find out and make things right.”
“Finley is on his way to get this fucker. I want him secured until then.”
“I’ll take care of it personally.” The doct
or took over holding Blake’s arms behind his back. Before he left the room, Dr. Mercato turned to Rocky, and said, “I have failed you.” His eyes were haunted, but he quickly blinked away the hurt and returned his attention to the man in his arms. “Move,” he commanded, pushing Blake toward the door. Wow. Dream doctor was hot when he went all alpha.
Sin closed the door behind them and stood there with his back to Rocky. He stayed still so long she began to get worried. Worried something was wrong with him. “Sin?” He looked at her over his shoulder, but he didn’t make a move toward her.
“Sin, please come over here.”
“You saw that,” he muttered.
“Sure, I did. It was pretty impressive, too, the way you jumped on him right before he plunged the needle in my neck. You’re my hero.”
Sin frowned at her. Rocky held out her hand, and Sin eased his way to the bed. Instead of taking her hand, he shoved his hands in his pockets. Rocky followed the action, and she had to admit, dream Sin filled out his jeans really well. She remembered Sin’s naked body doing delicious things to her. His muscular, fit body. She was a little jealous of his jeans. She’d love to have him sliding his long, thick cock inside her wet…
“Rocky,” Sin growled. He didn’t hide the fact he had to adjust his hard-on behind his zipper. Huh. Dream Sin wanted her. Maybe when she woke up, real Sin would want her, too. Rocky licked her lips. Her breath had to be rank from being unconscious for so long, but this wasn’t real, and she wanted a kiss. Hopefully her dream breath would be nice and minty.
Rocky crooked her finger at Sin, silently asking him to come to her. He took a step forward, but the door burst open, and Finley practically ran in. “Rocky! Oh, thank the gods.”
“Way to ruin a dream,” she pouted. Both men stared at her as though she’d lost her mind. Maybe she had.
Sin did close the distance then and gave her a kiss on her temple. “I will be right outside in the hall, beautiful girl. I promise I’m not going anywhere this time.” He kissed her again and motioned for Finley to leave the room. Finley glanced at her and gave her a sad smile.
Well, hell. Rocky closed her eyes. It was strange having a dream with them open; then again, hallucinations came in many forms, as she well knew. She was going to give it a while and let whatever was in her IV run its course. When Rocky woke up, hopefully things would be normal again.
“What the hell happened?” Finley asked as soon as they were in the hallway.
“That is what I’d like to know. Godsdamn human found out where she was. If I hadn’t hung up from talking to you when I did…” Sin didn’t want to think about it. “I phased, Brother. Rocky saw my fangs and claws.”
“She didn’t seem too freaked out.”
“That’s just it. I don’t think she knows what happened is real. She has some pretty bad shit running through her veins. John isn’t certain of the side effects.”
“You mean she might not be right in the head?”
“That is harsh, but yes. There were so many drugs mixed together, it should have killed her. If they hadn’t been able to inject Banyan’s blood in her when they did, she would not have made it.”
“What are you going to do?”
“All I can do. I am going to give her time to get better while loving her and giving her the life she deserves. Gods forbid she doesn’t recover completely, I will be right there by her side making sure the life she has is full.”
“Are you still going to mate with her?”
“I won’t risk biting her if she isn’t one hundred percent healed. I am not going to take advantage of her, but she is my mate, and I’ve already made my vow to her.”
Finley clapped him on the shoulder and squeezed. “I’m sorry I failed you, Brother. I should have gone with Banyan instead of sparring. Somehow, I’ll make it up to you both. You have my word.”
Sin knew how he was going to get Finley to make it up to him, but they had more pressing things to worry about at the moment. “Go find John and get that bastard far away from here. I want the three of them tied up in the same room, and I want someone watching them around the clock.” Sin told Finley his plan for the three of them, but he wouldn’t carry it out yet. Not until Rocky was out of the hospital.
Vivian made her way to where they were standing. “I want to see my girl,” she said.
“She’s resting. Vivian, Blake Stansbury managed to get into her room, but I stopped him before he could hurt her. Rocky is going to need you to help get her through these next few days. Can I count on you?”
“Of course. He didn’t…”
“No. Like I said, I got to him first. Rocky’s location was supposed to be a secret. We are trying to find out how he knew where to look.”
“Oh, God.” Vivian put her hand over her mouth. “What if he followed me?”
“When would he have followed you?” Finley asked.
“I thought I saw someone who looked like him at the red light, but he took off before I got a good look at him. Sinclair…”
“Stop. It is over now. Even if he did follow you, someone should have been guarding her door. I should have been watching her. I stepped into the waiting room to call Finley. Now, what’s done is done. Please go sit with her while Finley and I finish our discussion.”
Vivian wiped the tears rolling down her cheeks. Sin was glad Rocky had someone who cared about her as much as her best friend did. Sin had fully intended to go straight back into Rocky’s room, but he gave the women a little while alone, and he stood guard outside.
Rocky was restless. She knew she was safe, but in the back of her mind she still felt like Blake could walk through the door at any moment. The door opened, and Rocky held her breath until she saw it was Vivian. Rocky smiled, but the look on her best friend’s face quickly had her frowning. “Viv, what’s wrong?”
“If anything else happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do.”
“That was real?”
“What do you mean?” Vivian walked around the bed and sat down in the chair Banyan had been in when she woke up.
“I thought I might have been seeing things. I mean…” Rocky stopped. Her friend was already worried about her without Rocky adding to it by telling her she was seeing shit that wasn’t really there. “Never mind. I’m safe, right?”
“Yes. I told you Sinclair Stone was someone you’d want in your corner where Blake was concerned. I was right.”
“Sin… he attacked him?”
“Of course he did. You should hear him talk about you. Damn, girl. I’m almost jealous. Sin has it bad for you.”
Rocky didn’t know if it was the drugs or thinking about Sin, but she couldn’t help as the dopey grin spread across her face. “He’s… different. I think I could fall for him, if I let myself.”
“Please be careful.”
“Why? I thought you said he has it bad.”
“He does. At least he sounds like he does. It’s just… Finley told me Sin’s not the settling down type.”
“I asked him about that.”
“You did? When?” Vivian sat up straighter in her chair.
“When he asked me to give us a chance. Viv, he took me to his bedroom.”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, Rocky girl, but I’ve seen his bedroom.”
“No, you saw a bedroom. I saw the bedroom. The one upstairs he’s been saving.”
“Wow, I knew your pussy was special, but damn girl!” Vivian joked.
Rocky laughed at her best friend. “And don’t you forget it.” Rocky beamed. Sin had made her feel special. Like she deserved to be the one to see his bedroom. “Viv, I’m scared.”
“Of Sin?”
“Yes. No. I mean, I’m scared of what he makes me feel.”
“What does he make you feel?”
“Hopeful. I grew up with parents who loved each other more than life. More than even me. Don’t get me wrong; I know they loved me, but the love they had for each other was something that transcended time and death. I heard th
em. Right after… when Tommy… I heard their voices, Viv. They told me it wasn’t my time.” Rocky stopped talking when Vivian hiccupped. Her perfect make-up was rolling down her face along with the tears she was crying. “Shh, Viv. It’s okay. I’m okay. It’s just, they were perfect, and I always wanted what they had, you know? Sin makes me feel like that’s possible.”
Vivian grabbed a tissue off the stand next to Rocky’s bed and wiped her eyes. “Now I know I’m jealous. I’m so happy for you. If anyone deserves happiness, it’s you. I hope he makes you happy.”
A knock on the door interrupted their girl talk. “Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to check on my girl.” Sin did more than check in. He walked right up to the bed and sat down beside Rocky’s hip. He took her hand in his and kissed the inside of her wrist. Rocky wanted his kiss but on her lips.
“I need to brush my teeth,” she blurted.
Sin grinned at her and leaned in and kissed her lips. “I will talk to the nurse about that,” he whispered against her mouth. Rocky placed her hand on his stubbly jaw. When she noticed the bandage, she pulled back. Sin took her hand and returned it to his jaw. “I love when you touch me. It makes me feel wanted,” he admitted.
How could a man like Sin not feel wanted? Hell, every woman in California who’d ever laid eyes on him had to desire him. “When I get my strength back, I’ll make you feel wanted all day and all night,” Rocky teased. Actually, it wasn’t a tease but a promise. Whenever he was around, she couldn’t get enough of him. That was another thing that worried her. She was afraid he’d get tired of her after a while.
Vivian stood and grabbed Rocky’s other hand. Smiling down at her best friend, she said, “I’m going to head on home and let you get some rest. I love you, Rocky. I’ll check on you tomorrow.” Vivian leaned down and kissed Rocky on the forehead. “Bye, Sinclair.”
They both said goodbye, and as soon as the door was closed, Rocky asked, “Was that real?”
“Was what real?”
