by Meg Ripley
Against medical advice, she had simply let them put an air cast on her sprained ankle, a brace on her injured knee, and a bandage on her bullet graze. There was not much they could do about the bruised ribs, but the hospital had prescribed her pain medication, which the on-site pharmacy had filled. Chelsea had stuffed that into her purse and went on her way, in spite of the encouragement of the attending doctor to stay for a few hours of observation, and warnings that she might injure herself more if she was too active.
She had managed to stay on the road in spite of the gnawing pains that seemed to come from all over her body, stopping every so often to get coffee. Chelsea hadn’t even wanted to find a hotel to stay at; she had no idea where Johan was, had no idea where she should be going, no idea if the people after her were on her trail once more. She also knew that if she stayed alone in a hotel, she wouldn’t be able to get decent sleep anyway. She would toss and turn, likely sending twinges of pain through her legs and torso every time she moved, worrying about the lack of contact with Johan, wondering what she would do with herself if she found out that Johan was dead.
Chelsea had called as many times as she had dared, using the odd phone with its singular number in the address book. Each time, for the first twelve hours of her flight from the hotel, she received a message that the person she was attempting to call was unavailable; that they had not established a voice mail, and she should call back later. Chelsea reasoned to herself that if Johan had been killed, most likely the people who’d attacked them would have gotten the phone; they would have tried to convince her to meet them somewhere. She refused to think that it was just as likely that Johan was dead, the phone left behind, nothing for her to do and no one for her to reach. Eventually, Johan would call her back.
After they had been separated for almost twenty hours, Chelsea had begun to lose hope. She made one final call to Johan as a Hail Mary, and was shocked enough to nearly trip over the hose to the gas pump as she walked back and forth as the call connected. “Where are you?” Johan had asked immediately.
“I have no idea,” Chelsea had said wryly. “I’ve been driving steadily for…I don’t even really know how long anymore. Ten hours at least.” She heard Johan sigh.
“You didn’t even stop to sleep?”
“Coffee and fear, they do a pretty good job of keeping a person awake.” Chelsea wanted—almost needed—to ask Johan how he was, if he was injured, if he had slept.
“The longer you go without sleep the more likely you are to do those assholes’ work for them by crashing into a pylon,” Johan said sharply. “Are you at a gas station or something?” Chelsea started to ask how he had guessed, but realized it was one of the few sensible places for her to be, if she was sticking to the road; she wouldn’t be calling him if she was driving on the highway at the maximum legal speed. She admitted she was. “Is anyone there with you?” Chelsea had glanced around. There was one other person, two pumps down. “Ask them what city you’re in.”
Suppressing the embarrassing feeling that she would definitely come across as a complete idiot, Chelsea followed the instruction. The woman at the other pump told her that she was in a town called Green Tree. When Chelsea passed that information to Johan, she heard him cluck his tongue against his teeth, considering. “Hold on,” he said, and Chelsea heard the sound of something rustling, movement on the other end of the line. A few moments later, Johan spoke again. “You’re about two hours west of me, unless you’ve really made good time and are in a totally different Green Tree,” she could hear him smiling. “Turn around, come east, we’ll meet at a rest stop and I’ll get you to a hotel.”
“What rest stop?” Chelsea thought longingly of the pain pills in her purse; but while she had to drive, she couldn’t let herself take the risk of having one, or even half of one. Johan gave her a highway exit number and told Chelsea to call him when she arrived; he would probably already be there, but he wanted her to confirm it before she got out of the car.
Now, finally arrived, Chelsea picked the phone up from the passenger seat, unlocked the screen, and found the only number in the contact list. She yawned as she held the phone to her ear, listening to it ring once, twice, and then stop—the call connecting. “Are you here?” Chelsea nodded before realizing that obviously, Johan couldn’t see her over the phone.
“Yeah, I’m here. I think. Exit 96B, right?”
“I’ll come to the car.”
Chelsea tilted her head back against the headrest, letting the phone slip from her fingers. She couldn’t remember ever being so exhausted in her life. Her ankle, her knee, her ribs, almost her whole body, it seemed, throbbed with pain. Chelsea wanted nothing more than to soak in a hot bath for about an hour and sleep for ten hours following that. Preferably under the influence of hospital-grade opiates.
She almost fell into a doze, and jumped when she heard the soft tapping at the window. Looking out, Chelsea saw Johan—unmistakably it was him—standing at the driver’s side door, peering in with the faintest trace of a smile curving his lips. She summoned up the strength to unlock the door and Johan opened it, quickly reaching across her to unbuckle her seatbelt before pulling her out of the seat with only a small show of effort. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her eagerly on the lips, his hands tightening on her. As he brushed against her bruised rib, Chelsea yelped, clenching her teeth as she broke the kiss. “How badly are you hurt?” Johan asked her, concern in his bright eyes.
“Bruised rib, torn ACL, sprained ankle. There’s a bullet graze somewhere that they bandaged up for me, and I accidentally cut myself while I was stabbing one of those guys to death—at least I hope he’s dead.” Chelsea sighed, smiling wryly. “What about you?” Johan shrugged.
“Bullet graze on my shoulder, a few bruises here and there, one of them got me with a knife across the leg, but it’s stitched so it’ll heal.” He kissed her lightly on the lips. “I take it you stopped at a hospital somewhere?” Chelsea nodded slowly.
“I gave them the contact for the billing, so they subjected me to every test they could justify,” she said with a sigh. Johan laughed.
“Yeah, I’d expect that.” He hugged her gently. “Come on, get everything you want out of this car. We’re abandoning it.” Chelsea was too tired to question it; with Johan’s help she got her purse and the few possessions she still had in the car with her when she’d fled the hotel. “I got your luggage out of the hotel in one piece,” Johan informed her as he led her towards yet another anonymous—yet subtly luxurious-looking—car.
“Oh, that’s great,” Chelsea said, only then realizing how much she had left behind. “Probably a huge bill.” Johan shrugged, wincing slightly.
“It’s paid for.” Chelsea nodded again, too tired and in too much pain to argue or even press the question that had been plaguing her from the beginning of their flight from her home town. “Do you want me to carry you?” Johan looked at Chelsea as she limped.
“You’re injured too,” she pointed out tartly. “I’m hurting, I’m not half-dead.”
“I hope they gave you good pain pills.”
“They did. The best. I think.” Chelsea shook her head slightly to clear it. “I haven’t been able to take them because I’ve been driving, but I want to say it’s Vicodin. I’m really thrilled.” Johan chuckled.
“I’ve got a hotel for us. In about thirty minutes you’ll be able to take one of those magical pills and drift away for a while.” Chelsea nodded, too exhausted to speak. Johan opened the passenger side door and collected everything but her purse from her, stowing it in the back seat as Chelsea gingerly climbed in and fastened her seat belt. Within a few minutes, they were driving out of the rest stop and towards their destination.
****
“Chelsea, you should get up long enough to eat something.” Chelsea groaned, burrowing deeper into the warm, soft pillows and blankets that surrounded her in protest.
“Eating is for suckers,” she proclaimed, raising her voice to be heard over the muff
ling effect of the bed linens. “Sleep is where it’s at.” She heard Johan laugh, and felt the blankets pulling away from her, felt Johan’s strong hands tugging aside the sheets, the pillows, she had cocooned herself in shortly after the Vicodin had begun to take effect. She groaned again in frustration, trying futilely to pull them back.
“If you want to take another Vicodin, you need to eat something or you’re going to puke all over the nice clean bed and I’m not cleaning it up,” Johan said firmly.
“But if I eat there will be more to puke,” Chelsea pointed out. She gave up on the idea of sleep, letting Johan pry the sheets and blankets out of her hands until she lay, fully exposed and completely naked, looking up at him. “You’re mean,” she said, sticking her tongue out as she crossed her arms over her chest. The pressure sent a jolt of pain from the site of her bruised rib and Chelsea winced.
“I let you sleep for six hours. You need to eat something, take a bath, and take another Vicodin.”
“Wait, wait,” Chelsea said, frowning. “You’re hurt too, you can’t just stay up and—what have you been doing for the past six hours?” Johan smiled.
“There was a marathon of Bones on TV,” he told her. “I took a little nap. I’m not as badly injured as you.” Johan frowned slightly. “Maybe I should have given you the gun and kept the knife for myself.”
“They would’ve just killed you,” Chelsea pointed out, shrugging. “Okay, I’ll eat, and all that other stuff. I’m feeling a little bit better anyway.” She carefully pulled herself up, grunting as pain flared up in her various injuries; she could easily believe it had been six hours—the Vicodin she had taken within minutes of arriving at the hotel was starting to wear off.
“Before you go off into painkiller mode again,” Johan said, helping her out of the bed and leading Chelsea into the living room area of their suite, “we need to discuss a few things.” The room was every bit as luxurious as the ones they had stayed in before—but the hotel was obviously more secure; Johan had apparently learned from his mistake, or the person masterminding their flight from the people pursuing Chelsea had.
“Like what?” Chelsea cinched the sash of her robe tightly around her waist and sat down slowly on the couch. She looked over the food that Johan had ordered them with real interest; the hotel had three chefs masterminding the room service menu, and Johan had apparently opted for the Asian fusion specialties. There was a selection of sushi, some noodles, a big bowl of fried rice, and other things that Chelsea couldn’t identify; but which looked absolutely mouthwatering.
“I’m fairly certain that there’s no one after us right this moment,” Johan said, beginning to serve Chelsea from the various bowls, plates, and tureens on the table. “I killed everyone who showed up at the hotel. Or—excuse me, everyone but the one you stabbed to death.” Johan gave her a quick smile. “Our benefactor is smoothing things over with the local police, but we’ll likely have to fill out some paperwork.”
“Okay, so we can stay here for a little while, I take it?” Johan shrugged.
“For a few days, maybe,” he said. “I doubt your CEO is going to just let us go after that business. He’s gotten himself in far too deeply—now not only will he face charges for embezzlement, drug running, and fraud, but also conspiracy to commit murder. He’s going to be put away for life if he can’t get rid of the evidence.”
“The evidence being me,” Chelsea said, sighing. She picked at her food, suddenly feeling as though her stomach had been coated in lead.
“Eat. You can’t have any more Vicodin until you eat.” Johan served himself and ate a few bites quickly, giving Chelsea a moment to absorb what he’d told her. “The important thing is that we need to stay ahead. You’re going to have a new identity in a few days, and then…” Johan licked his lips, setting his plate down on his lap to look at her. “You’re going to have to be okay with the idea of living with me for a few months while we wait for this to go to trial.” Chelsea put down her fork and stared at him for a moment.
“So even with a new ID, a new life…I still won’t be safe.” Johan smiled slightly, his eyes regretful.
“Not until your CEO is behind bars,” he said. Johan set his plate aside and leaned forward, brushing his lips against Chelsea’s. “So, I will be living with you until the end of the trial.”
“How do you know I’ll be safe then?” Chelsea asked, anxiety beginning to prickle and tingle through the last dregs of drug-induced euphoria.
“Very shortly thereafter, you’ll be as safe as you can possibly be. If you want me out of your life then, I’ll go peacefully.” Johan’s lips twitched in a smile.
“Onto another cute girl to protect?” Chelsea asked him, raising an eyebrow. “What if I don’t want you out of my life then?” Johan’s eyes widened slightly, his gaze trailing over her body slowly.
“I’ve got some skills,” he said, almost absently. “I could get a job somewhere.” Chelsea set her plate down, startled by the comment.
“Would you want that?” Chelsea asked. She couldn’t imagine Johan in any other lifestyle than the one he’d been leading with her over the past week or so they had been on the run. “I mean—you seem to like—whatever it is you call this job.” Johan smiled slightly, shrugging.
“It’s a good living,” Johan admitted, taking up his plate once more. “It’s exciting.” He glanced at her once more. “But then, it’s been pretty exciting with you.” Chelsea chuckled, taking another bite of her noodles.
“We’ve also been on the run.” Johan shook his head.
“Even without that. You’re an exciting, unpredictable woman. I think you could keep me guessing enough to make up for no longer being shot at or chased.” Chelsea laughed out loud, grabbing at her ribcage as the movement sent pain through her. “Finish your food, woman. We’ll dose you up with drugs and before they kick in, we’ll make love.”
“I thought I was supposed to get a shower,” Chelsea said.
“I can handle you in a shower. Remember?” Chelsea bit her bottom lip, her body beginning to heat up, her skin tingling with the first stirrings of desire. She had missed the ready opportunities for sex with Johan more than she would have thought—more than she would have admitted to herself. Chelsea picked up a piece of sushi and ate it quickly, holding her body as still as possible so as not to jar her injuries. Suddenly the desire for more sleep and more pain relief took a back seat to a few hours’ passion with Johan.
They finished the meal, and Johan gathered up the plates, platters, and everything else, trundling the cart out to the door of the suite before returning to Chelsea’s side. “Is it terrible of me that one of the things I’ve missed most while we were separated was the ability to fuck your brains out whenever we got bored?” Chelsea tried to stifle the laugh that bubbled up inside of her at the frank question, knowing it would only bring pain.
“I was just thinking,” Chelsea said, as Johan carefully moved closer to her, draping his arm around her waist to cradle her against him as he leaned in to kiss her lightly on the lips. “That I had really missed the stress relief.” Johan nibbled at her bottom lip playfully, his hands moving over her body slowly, gently caressing.
“We’ll have to be careful,” Johan murmured. “But I think we can manage to relieve your stress without hurting you worse.” Chelsea rolled her eyes, draping her arms around his broad shoulders, deepening the kiss for a long moment.
“Screw not hurting me worse,” Chelsea said as she pulled back slightly.
“Ah-ah-ah,” Johan murmured, tugging at the sash of her robe. “I am supposed to be taking care of you. I’m supposed to keep you safe and at least mostly intact.”
“Mostly?”
Johan chuckled lowly. “I already failed at ‘perfectly’ intact,” he told her. Johan lifted her carefully up off the couch, her robe falling from her shoulders and onto the floor. He carried her through the living room, past the bedroom, and into the bathroom. “It’s a good thing this room has a nice, large tub,” Joha
n remarked, settling Chelsea on the lip of the bathtub. He twisted the knobs, testing the water that came out with his fingers a few times, and then dropped the plug in the drain.
“How is this going to help?” Chelsea asked, glancing down at the water filling the tub doubtfully.
“You’ll see,” Johan said, grinning confidently. He stood, stripping out of his clothes in quick, deft movements, and for the first time since she met with him, Chelsea was able to see the extent of his injuries: the long line of stitches along his upper thigh, the bruising along his hip, his chest, his arms and legs, a few obvious marks, bandaged, that Chelsea thought were either bullet grazes or other, shallower cuts. Having a gun in his hand had prevented Johan from greater injuries, but he hadn’t come out unscathed. Johan gathered Chelsea into his arms, holding her gently. “I think we can find a way, don’t you?” He lifted her once again, climbing over the lip of the tub as it filled. Johan settled Chelsea on his lap, and she hissed—pleasure mingled with pain—as the hot water flowed around her.
Johan’s hands drifted over her body slowly, caressing and stroking. “We should order you ice packs,” he murmured, one hand slipping down between her legs. Chelsea gasped, shivering slightly as his warm fingers slid up and down along her labia, feather-light, only slightly more substantial than the water. She could feel Johan’s cock beginning to stir against her back as his other hand cupped her breast, teasing her nipple into a firm nub.
