“That’s right, Lex. He’s just a giant teddy bear. Now you know why I love him.”
Cap snorted at that and turned a disgusted look on Megan. His look clearly said, “Teddy bear, my ass.” Megan gave him a daring wink and with a grin, turned her gaze back to Lexie. They promptly giggled, Lexie’s turning into a groan as she held her side in misery.
“Please, don’t make me laugh, Meg. It hurts.”
“Sorry, sweetie. What can I do? Where were you going?”
“I’m thirsty.”
“I don’t know if you’re supposed to have anything yet, Lex.” She pointed to a bright orange sign above her bed that read N.P.O. and said that she couldn’t.
“Well, crap.”
After that, a barrage of people came parading through her room: Uncle Peter with Joanna in tow, Rick and Regan, and Kyle. Her eyes lit up when she saw her bodyguard, walking in under his own power. The only sign of injury was the sling on his left arm.
“Kyle, I’m so glad you’re all right.” His grimace worried her; he looked extremely ill at ease. “You are all right, aren’t you?” She glowered at the room in general, grumbling, “I’m really tired of being in the dark. I need answers, now.”
Cap and Rick looked at each other and grinned, then turned their amused looks on Peter. They happily ceded the care of this feisty little patient to her former guardian and de facto uncle.
“I’ll answer whatever questions you want, sweetheart. First, I need you to tell me what you were telling Joanna. It’s important. For us to catch the shooter, we must act as soon as possible."
“Kyle filled you in I’m sure up until he and Mara got shot.” Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my God, Mara! Is she okay? She tried to push me out of the way and took the bullets meant for me. Please tell me she’s all right.”
“Calm down, sweetheart, she’s fine and on the mend. Her injuries weren’t nearly as severe as yours were. She’s at home being seen to by her ex-husband.” Uncle Peter sat at her bedside and enveloped her hand with his own.
Then what Pete had said about Mara registered. “I never even knew she was married.”
“She was,” Joanna chimed in, “to Sean.”
Lexie grimaced at that. She’d heard the story about Sean’s wife leaving him. With barely a word, she’d drop off the grid. Lexie hadn’t connected Mara Lewis at work with Sean’s Mara. “What an awkward situation it must be for the both of them, especially Mara, having her angry ex as her caregiver while she recovers… Yikes!
Joanna and Regan nodded in sympathy, submissives stuck together, like in a sisterhood. The men all shared equally irritated frowns. She imagined they were concerned for Sean. Like the subs, the men and their fellow teammates, co-owners and fellow Doms stuck together. It was a good ole boys club, only hotter and more dangerous. Except Mara was the vulnerable one now. She may very well have done a number on Sean, and her reappearance was going to reopen the barely scabbed wounds. She’d saved Lexie’s life, surely that overshadowed any past misunderstandings and mistakes.
Lexie felt Uncle Pete’s gaze upon her. He’d been keeping a close eye on her, and noticed when she began to fade. This was the longest she had been awake since the shooting. Although she wanted to hear the rest, to figure out all the bizarre details she’d missed, to help with the ongoing investigation, she was tiring rapidly. Lexie appreciated it when Pete moved to wrap things up quickly and asked about the shooter.
“Kyle and Mara have both given statements but their descriptions of the other men were sketchy since they’d been shot. Do you remember anything?”
She nodded and proceeded to describe the old man and his nephew in detail. After that, she recounted almost word for word what had been said, giving a step-by-step account of the incident, from the car driving through the clinic lobby until she was shot and fell into a two-week black hole of nothingness.
When she was done, Pete looked at Cap. Simultaneously, they nodded and said, “Esteban Mendoza.”
“Uncle Pete?” Lexie’s speech was thick from fatigue and her eyes were getting heavy.
“Yes, sweet girl?”
“Promise Jonas will be here tonight. I really need to see him.”
“Absolutely, Lexie. Trust me, nothing would keep him away.”
***
It was two minutes before midnight when Jonas walked down the ICU hallway. Lexie’s room was at the far end, and no one said a word as he passed the nurses’ station even though it was well past visiting hours. Jeff Atworth had seen to that. He slipped into the room quietly, not wanting to do anything to disturb her rest and recovery. He’d received texts and voicemails all day about Lexie waking up, coherent, lucid and asking for him. He felt awful that he couldn’t drop everything and rush to her side, but he was working the Mendoza case with Lil T and had a promising lead in Laredo, about two hours away. Now that Lexie had confirmed that Mendoza had been involved in the shooting, as they’d suspected, he was even more determined to solve the case once and for all and remove the ever-present threat that had lingered over their heads for the past few years.
Setting his duffel quietly on the floor, he walked to her bedside and stared down at her beloved face. He could tell a difference between the comatose sleep of the first frightening week and the drug-induced haze of pain-filled delirium that had followed. Tonight, she looked at ease. As he took in every nuance of her beauty, her eyes opened, and at long last, he was staring into familiar pools of green, the mossy color stunning and unlike any shade he’d seen before.
“Sunshine,” he breathed. It came out like a heartfelt sigh. As she held up her arms to him, he moved toward her. With the utmost care, he slipped his hands beneath her, embracing her carefully, lovingly and in a grateful voice whispered, “Thank you, God.”
Easing away a bit, he stared down into the warmth of her smile. The relief he felt after the agonizing waiting and wondering was immeasurable. It felt as though a crushing weight had been lifted from his chest. Raising his hand, he traced her face with his fingertips, trying to convince himself she wasn’t a dream. His thumb swept across her full lower lip before he leaned in for a kiss.
“I knew you wouldn’t leave me. It wasn’t time.”
“That’s what Mama said in my dream, Jonas.”
“So you said, baby. Tell me about your dream.”
“It was a beautiful, comforting dream.” Wanting to touch him, her hand rose to his face, halting as it caught in the tangle of her IV tubing and telemetry wires. Frowning, she tried to get free but Jonas had to help disentangle the mess. By the time she was situated, she was winded from that tiny bit of activity.
“Twelve days, Jonas,” she sighed in disbelief. “It seems only yesterday when T barged in on us in the bedroom. I don’t remember any of it until the dream.”
He was curious about some of the incredible things she said earlier and prompted her for more. “You mentioned bits and pieces of it, but you were still delirious. It sounded like a weird fantasy.”
Her fingers stroked his chin, rasping lightly along his beard. It looked like he hadn’t shaved since before the shooting. She touched the hair at his temples where it had grown longer. It was beyond time to get it cut.
She smiled at him, her eyes twinkling. “I’ve never seen you so scruffy, Jonas. I kind of like you all wild and mussed up.”
Reflectively, he rubbed his neglected face. “The Duck Dynasty look does it for you, huh?”
“Ew… no. It’s more like a sexy scruffy badass, you know, like James Bond.”
“Like Sean Connery, James Bond?” He grinned, his blue eyes twinkling. “Baby, he’s gotta be eighty. I’m only thirty-four.”
“No more recently. You know the handsome, blonde-haired, blue-eyed James Bond.”
“Mm… I’ll have to take your word for it.”
She turned her head and kissed his palm. Even though she’d only truly been lucid since waking that morning, she missed him as if it had been weeks and weeks since she’d seen him. “I missed
you, Jonas.”
“I missed you too, love. You have no idea how much.”
He sat back, keeping his hands on her, not wanting to break contact. “Before we go any further into James Bond or dream discussions, what did the doctor say today? I missed getting the daily report.”
“You get daily reports?”
“I have been here every night and usually stay through early morning rounds, about seven o’clock or so. I was here round the clock for the first week, except when Cap and the General threatened to hose me down if I didn’t take a shower.” He huffed a soft laugh at that. “The staff didn’t like me so much at first. I was demanding, often rude and threatening a time or two. If not for Jeff, I’d have gotten the boot a long time ago.”
“Jonas, you’re teasing. I can’t imagine you acting that way.”
“I was out of my mind with worry; they were not my best moments. The guys took turns babysitting me to make sure I didn’t go eighth-degree black belt on anyone’s ass. I told them I hadn’t lost it to that extent, but I appreciated them being here all the same.”
“You have some awesome friends. I have benefited from their love for you as well.”
“Yeah, all except Sean were at my beck and call. He had his hands full with Mara. Pete told me you were filled in on all of that today.”
“I worked with her in the ER for almost a year and never knew she had ever been married. To find out it was to Sean, well… it’s surprising. She was hiding in plain sight.”
“I know. Sean is beside himself, so I’m told.”
“Did she say why?”
“Not a word.”
“Jonas… I’m not supposed to say, but since I don’t really work there… I thought for sure Joanna would have mentioned it, if she had recognized her.” She shook her head, saying as if to herself, “She looks different and there were just so many girls.”
Jonas waited, and when he realized she wasn’t planning to continue anytime soon, he prompted her. “Sunshine, clue me in here. Recognized who from where?”
“Oh! Sorry. The pain meds make me kind of wonky. When I was in high school, Joanna used to take me to a women’s shelter where we volunteered. I met Mara there, Jonas. She was running from someone and came there beaten and scared out of her mind. She was being threatened and there was some serious psychological abuse going on. She was barely eighteen.”
“Hm… I wonder if Sean knows about that. They used to be very active at The Club. Unfortunately, a lot of D/s practitioners have some kind of abuse in their past.”
“Like me.”
“Yes, after being abandoned, neglected and then abused by a shithead ex, I’m amazed you’ve turned out so well.”
“I don’t know how well. I had that freaky dream.”
“Tell me about it.”
“I think it was a near death experience, Jonas. One minute I was floating over my bed and the next my mother appeared out of a brilliant white light. It was wonderful to see her, but she told me it wasn’t my time and sent me back.”
“Thank God for that.”
“I do, every minute. After she told me to go back, that’s when I started to wake up. I remember feeling like I was smothering” Tears were pooling in her eyes when she looked at him. “I panicked.”
“Baby, please don’t cry. Just rest. We’ll talk more when you’re stronger.”
“No, it’s okay.” She took in a deep, shuddering breath before she continued. “I haven’t worked ICU, but I’m told patients often get agitated when they’re in a twilight stage of consciousness, half way between coma and waking. I guess I’m lucky I didn’t get restrained.”
Jonas didn’t answer or agree with her, just stared at her silently.
She gasped. “They tied me down?”
“They had to, baby, to keep you from hurting yourself. You fought the ventilator off and on for a day or so before you pulled out that tube, which scared the hell out of me by the way. It took four people to hold you down. You fought like a heavyweight boxer. ”
Looking at her wrists, she inspected them for bruises or chafing. She didn’t see anything. “They must have used the soft Velcro restraints, like we did with the overdoses in the ER.”
Again, silence.
“Surely they didn’t… oh, Jonas.”
“Yep, four point, full leather restraints with buckles. At any other time, I would have applauded or at least offered my assistance.”
She just gaped at him, ignoring his little joke. His hand came to her face, cupping her cheek tenderly.
“Sorry, bad joke. It was just such an awful time, it’s either joke about it or cry like a baby. I’m embarrassed that when you were coming out of the coma, I acted like an ass. Cap and Rick had to drag me out of here at one point. They didn’t let me back in until you were sedated and I was calm. I have to confess, that I released you so I could hold your hand. I couldn’t bear to see you tied down. That’s how you were able to pull out your tube that day.”
He stopped upon hearing her giggles.
“Oh, Jonas, the irony of that is just too much.” Her giggles turned into full-throated laughter, which had her holding her side in pain.
“Easy, baby. I know it’s hilarious, but don’t hurt yourself.
She regained her composure quickly because it hurt too darn much to laugh.
“A big chunk of my life is gone that I’ll never get back.” Her trembling hand crept to cover her mouth in distress. “You don’t know how troubling it is to lose track of time and memories.” How could she not remember any of this? She shook her head, incredulous.
“It was pure hell, Sunshine. Not remembering is a blessing.”
“I feel kind of violated.”
“Don’t. I made sure you had someone with you 24/7. I only let those with enough balls to stand up for you stay—mostly the guys. Regan wanted to but with her pregnancy, Rick thought it best if she didn’t. Elena—no way, not by herself—too much of a pushover. So you had Joanna and Meg, Pete, Cap and Dex. T, Rick and the rest of the guys have been working the investigation with me and checking in on you when they can.”
“Megan came by today and told me you left written instructions for my babysitters.”
“Damn straight. If I couldn’t be here, people I trusted were going to be watching out for you. I went a little nutso, believe me, I know, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
“I love how you protect me, Jonas.”
Her words were like a knife in the gut. “Yeah, well considering you’re in a hospital bed gut shot, I didn’t do such a good job with that. I wanted to be here when you woke up. I’m so sorry, Sunshine. I would have done anything to have been here for you.”
“Joanna was here and Uncle Peter, as well as Cap and Meg, even Kyle came by. He looked as guilty as you do right now.”
“We should have protected you better. That’s what we do, for Christ’s sake.”
“I’ll tell you what I told Kyle. No one can foresee the future, or predict random events such as this. This goes under the category of ‘shit happens’ and I will not listen to another word about how you or Kyle failed to protect me. It’s beginning to piss me off. Is that clear?”
His sweet little Lexie had turned into a firebrand. The slight quirk of his mouth didn’t go unnoticed. Taking exception to his amusement, she called him on it.
“You’re not laughing at me, are you Jonas? I’m serious. This was in no way your fault.”
“I wouldn’t dare. I love you, Lexie. It warms my heart to see you so full of life again.” He leaned in and kissed her gently. “The dose of piss and vinegar is good too, but I wouldn’t want to see it become a habit, however,” he teased with a wink.
“Don’t say anymore stupid things and we won’t have a problem, Sir.”
The biting words were incongruent with her innocent expression and sweet tone. Jonas was so pleased that she was out of the woods that he did laugh this time, delighted at her sass. What would he have done if he’d lost her?
> “I’ll try to keep the stupid things I say to a minimum. Until you are out of here and back in my care, I can’t make any promises though. Some of these residents infuriate me.”
“It’s a teaching hospital, Jonas. They have to learn somewhere.”
“They can learn on someone else’s woman. I had them banned.”
“You didn’t.”
His shrug was his answer.
She took his hand and squeezed weakly. He could tell her energy was fading fast.
“Sleep, baby, you need rest.”
With a yawn, she shook her head, “I’ve had twelve days of rest already—seems a tad excessive.” Resting back against the pillows, she looked at him intently. “I heard you fighting for me, dulcedo. Thank you for being my voice when I had none. Now, I’m really tired and I know you are, too.”
He leaned in and kissed her forehead, adjusting her covers as her eyes began to close.
“Would it be selfish if I asked you to stay with me?”
“Not at all, Lex. I’ll be here in the morning when you wake up.”
She was fast asleep the next second. True to his word, he stayed through the night on the reclining chair in her room. She woke once briefly and offered to scoot over. He wouldn’t hear of it. Instead, she had insisted he move the recliner alongside her bed so she could hold his hand. It seemed to relax her enough that she drifted off again, not waking until morning.
***
Across town, Sean wasn’t having nearly as much success in dealing with his patient as Jonas was. With no friends or family, Mara didn’t have anyone to turn to for help. Her choice was his house with home care services or go to a nursing home during her recovery. That seemed insane; a thirty-year-old woman shouldn’t be in a nursing home. Ordinarily, she would have gone to a rehabilitation hospital, but her crappy insurance didn’t cover it.
Unbind My Heart (Club Decadence) Page 23
