by Honor James
“Oh Jesus H. Christ” she cried out and clung to Aiden’s hand, leaning over him as if trying to protect him even now. Yep, she was a seriously lost damn soul. “So don’t wanna die. Please don’t kill us.” She begged the Gods and the pilot, who was likely laughing his ass off at her hysteria.
Groaning, Allister shook his head. Some females were just…too strange! Thankfully they landed with barely a bump and the engines were shut down. As soon as the blades slowed enough, he opened the door and waved over the doctors and nurses. Helping them, he got his brother onto the gurney and followed after them with Lina to the doors leading into the base.
It didn’t dawn on Lina until they were inside of the facility that…“Oh hell.” She rubbed her temples, her head and eyes still killing her and ears ringing. She realized in that moment that the fucking pilot had heard every single solitary word that they had said and knew who the fuck she was. “Fuck.” She growled, loudly.
“What?” Allister asked her curiously and shook his head at her softly hissed words. “We were on a different channel,” he told her softly. “We could hear him should he have needed to tell us anything, but without switching back to the main channel he couldn’t have heard a word in there. Hell, even if Aiden had been awake he wouldn’t have been able to hear a damn thing in that beast.”
“Thank God,” she said with a sigh and really and truly felt herself relaxing. “Because I have got to tell you I was seriously freaking worried,” she admitted. “I’m so not ready for anything like that.” She wasn’t ready for a fucking father figure. Especially not when she knew that he wouldn’t want her. After all, she had been raised knowing she wasn’t worth staying for, no matter what these men said.
“That’s why I made sure to change the channel on the headsets,” he told her softly as they walked through the long corridors. “I had no idea what we might say or discuss, if anything, but it’s always better to be safe than live in regret for the rest of time.” Stopping at the doors to medical, he pulled her up and guided her up the hall a bit. Looking into the OR, they watched them wheel in Aiden. “They’ll close the curtains in a moment, so we should go. We’ll come back and check on his progress in an hour, but you need food, a hot shower, and, I’m sorry to tell you this, new clothes, because yours really don’t smell so great.”
“Yeah well I’ve been in them for thirteen days. Tell me how yours feel and look after that time,” she groused right back at him and looked down at Aiden again. “Are you sure that he’s safe here?” Damn, she should stop questioning, but she couldn’t help herself. She found herself questioning everything when it came to Aiden.
“He’s perfectly safe,” he told her and sighed when the drapes were shut. “Come on, let’s go and get you a shower and clean clothes. Then we will feed you something hot and you can crash on my sofa for a couple hours.” Taking her arm gently, he tugged very carefully. “Come on, darling, we can’t do anything for the moment.”
“Sounds good.” She took one last look at Aiden and felt as if a part of her heart was being left behind with the man. Taking in a deep breath, she nodded. “What about your, what did you call her? Your bond-mate? Won’t she be pissed to find a strange woman sleeping on your couch?”
“Jackie is at home sleeping more than likely, I’ll tell her later,” he said with a huge grin. “She’ll be fine with it. Bond-mates can’t cheat or lie.”
“Huh, seriously?” She didn’t want to talk about this, so instead she changed the topic. “Tell me about her? Your Jackie?” she asked quietly. “You love her a hell of a lot, don’t you?” It was clear in the way that the man spoke about her just how much he did love his wife.
“Of course I do.” He smiled. “She’s my world, even when she is less pleasant when I wake her in the dead of night. Course I can usually change her mind from murder and mayhem pretty quick with some patented distraction maneuvers.” Looking down at her as they walked, he nodded. “It will be all right, Lina, I promise.”
“I hope you’re right,” Lina murmured and then, “I think I like her already. I like the fact that she has you so tied into knots and she’s obviously not what you had expected in life.” At his shocked look, she grinned. “It’s obvious in the way you talk about her. She’s so not even close to what you would think that your forever love would be, is she?”
“Actually, before I met her I had no idea what I wanted, really wanted or needed in a woman,” he said honestly, taking her to the elevator. Pressing the button to take them up a level, he sighed. “She definitely rearranged all my preconceptions and beliefs though. Some good, some not so. We had a rough start to our relationship, but in the end it worked out as it was always meant to.”
“That’s good, right?” Lina asked quietly. “That you two are at least where you deserve and need to be now,” she added when he got that look on his face again and then frowned. “Wow, that’s quite the look. That’s a look that speaks of hurt.” She wanted to hug this big guy. Damn, what was wrong with her? “But it’s good now, right?” Allister nodded. “It’s very good now. It’s perfect,” he told her quietly as he walked her through a few halls to his office. Opening the door he let Talina into his office. Pointing, he guided her across the room. “Full bath is in there. I’ll call down to wardrobe and get you some new clothes. Take your time. Use whatever you need. There are spare toothbrushes, I think, in the bottom left drawer of the stand that’s holding the towels.”
“Thank you,” Lina said and moved toward the bathroom.
“Don’t worry about it. Take your time. There’s plenty of products in here, most of which the male brain cannot comprehend, but maybe they will make sense to you to use. There’s a robe on the back of the door for when you’re done to collect the clothing I’ll have brought up,” he murmured, easing the door shut. Moving to his phone he made the call to wardrobe for some clothing in a variety of sizes that might fit Lina.
Once Talina was in the bathroom Allister went to his desk and sat down with a sigh. It had been a long night. Picking up his phone, he called the house and smiled when he got voice mail. “I know you’re likely asleep, darling, but I just wanted to let you know that I’m back, not a scratch on me. I’ll tell you all about it when I get home but I didn’t want you worrying more than necessary.”
Shifting when he heard the knock, he hung up and called out, grinning at the rack wheeled in and the large container of shoes. “Thanks, Suzie, I’ll bring everything else back she doesn’t like or can’t wear.”
“I added a few jackets as well, figuring if she needs a full wardrobe overhaul she’ll likely need at least one of those as well,” their wardrobe master told him, waving a hand at the rack. “We don’t usually supply for women this small so hopefully there is a good enough selection. Underwear and bras of different sizes are in the container on the bottom next to the shoes.”
“Got it,” Allister assured her with a nod and watched her leave before turning his attention back toward the bathroom.
Getting to his feet as the door opened slowly he smiled. “Hey, we have a few options for you to choose from.” Allister indicated the rack. “Feel free to grab whatever you want, at least a couple outfits, and we’ll send the rest back down to wardrobe. I had to guess a little on measurements, so there’s some variety.”
Lina chose a few outfits and then with a flush chose some bras and panties. Choosing a pair of shoes, she went back to the bathroom and changed clothes. When she came back, she asked, “Do you think that I can get a bag or something that I can put these in so that I can keep them while I’m here?”
“Absolutely,” he told her, moving to the closet, and dug out one of the smaller, thankfully empty, duffels and handed it over. “It’s not the most fashion-forward thing, but it will do for the moment,” he said with a grin. “Grab more if you want, otherwise you will need to do online shopping.”
Lina winced. “I hate online shopping.” She hated shopping, period, but yeah. Putting the clothes she had chosen into the bag, s
he turned to grab another few outfits, underthings, socks, and shoes. “Thank you,” she murmured softly when she finally turned to look at him. “For this, thank you. It was very nice of you.” And she was clean. Her hair was the same white blonde as Talon’s, her eyes the same distinct silver as Talon’s as well. Braiding her hair, she shoved it up and under one of the hats she had chosen and looked to them. “All right, do you think that I will pass?”
“Pass what?” Allister asked softly. “You look very nice, Lina, but there’s nothing you need to pass,” he told her and frowned at the look Talina gave him. “What? It’s true, woman,” he said softly to her. “Ready to get a hot meal?” he asked Lina curiously.
“Absolutely. I’m totally starving,” Lina admitted. “Food sounds so very good. It’s been a very long two weeks.” She hadn’t eaten much at all for the last two weeks, and now that she knew that she was safe and her charge was safe, she could eat a bear.
“Then food it is. Leave the bag here for now,” he told her. “We’ll grab it before we get you and Aiden settled in,” he said and waited for her to set it aside. “Come on then.” He smiled at her.
Waving her out the door Allister followed after her. “You okay, Lina? You look upset. It’s probably my fault. Jackie says it usually is my fault because I’m a man and dense like that. So if it was I’m sorry.”
Shaking her head, she stopped in the middle of the hall and stared down at her feet. “I’m just worried about Aiden I guess. I can’t seem to stop thinking and worrying about him.”
“You were stuck with him for nearly his entire imprisonment and cared for him, Talina. It’s understandable to worry about him. But he’s going to be fine. A little rough for a time, but just fine,” Allister said, watching her closely. After a moment he tipped his head. “You love him, don’t you?”
Shaking her head, Talina started walking once more where he directed her to go.
On her heels, Allister waited. He could practically hear her mind spinning and working at it. The look on her face, in her eyes when she spoke about Aiden told him she loved him even if she didn’t fully realize and comprehend it just yet.
Lina moved as if in a fog. Love. Good Lord, could she love him? Son of a biscuit, she could! She did. Stopping in her tracks, she looked at Allister. “Oh God, I have fallen in love with him,” she stated bluntly. “We didn’t talk much, but I have. I love him.”
He just looked at her for a long time and nodded. “It doesn’t take a lot, Talina. You were closer to him than any other for that time. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”
Lina shook her head. “Right, sorry.” She wrapped her arms around her middle. “I need to see him. How much longer until I can see him?” She had sat in on numerous surgeries, but now that she needed to be able to she wasn’t allowed to. Dammit to hell and back.
Checking his watch, Allister thought about it for a moment. “About two and a half hours, give or take a few,” he said. “Eat and then you are going to lie down and sleep for the rest of the time. You need to rest so you can have the energy to worry, bustle around, and whatever women feel the need to do in situations like this.”
“I’m a doctor. I’m used to next to no sleep,” she muttered. “But a nap does sound good, only as long as you can promise me that you will come and get me as soon as he wakes up in recovery?” She would need to be there, wanted to be there.
“I will get you the instant he’s out of surgery,” he promised her. Passing her a tray, plate and utensil bundle, he pointed to the food. “Get something to eat, sit and enjoy it, and we’ll worry about the rest later. Eat.”
Collecting a tray, he began to dish up food. “My mate is all crazed about babies right now,” he said conversationally. “She’s pregnant and loving it but she doesn’t realize the odds of it being twins. All back through my lines it’s been twins with the latest being myself and Aiden.”
“You sound happy at the fact she’s pregnant,” Lina said, putting some vegetables on her plate.
“Thrilled,” he said with a grin, “mainly because she can’t get into nearly as much trouble as she would like to with the pregnancy. She’s now more or less stuck redecorating our entire house and driving me batty. Oh and then there’s the complaining about the gas that the little Dragons are giving her, non-stop bitching about it actually.”
Lina snickered. She paused in the food line and said, “You would stay with her through it all though, right?”
Looking to Lina, he frowned. “Why wouldn’t I remain with her? She’s my bond-mate and I love and adore her even when she’s completely off her pretty little rocker.”
“Because men don’t stay,” Lina shot back with a frown. “I’ve seen it time and again. Men just don’t stay.” Not just her mother, but she had seen it before when women would come to the ER with their children, no father anywhere around. This man, though…She didn’t understand it, because this man…“Wait, Dragons? Huh?” She latched onto that now. “Why would you call a baby a Dragon?”
“Heartburn, gas, unpleasant bloating,” he said as he scrambled over that slip. “Most women don’t have that as part of their everyday norm, do they?” Yeah, he was making shit up on the fly, dammit. “Men stay if they know, and with bond-mates, even when they fight they can’t stay away long or mad long.”
Lina wasn’t an idiot. There was something that he was hiding and it was pissing her off, but she shook her head. “All right.” She would let it go for now. “Is this one of the things that you are waiting for Aiden to tell me or something?”
“Yeah, it is,” he told her honestly. “I will tell you if he doesn’t wake in time, but otherwise I still would prefer to wait on him, Lina. I know it sucks to have to wait and I’m sorry.” Gods, he wished he could just tell her, show her, and get her through the shock, horror, stunned numbness, and the other four billion emotions, thoughts, and accusations that all come about.
“All right, I’m going to trust you on this. Don’t make me regret it,” Lina murmured and took her tray of food to a table, having a seat and waiting for Allister to join her.
Chapter Five
“Hey there, you,” Lina murmured as she leaned over Aiden on the moveable bed. She still didn’t get why they were moving him so soon after surgery, and not into a room either but into a large warehouse-looking place. “Open your eye and look at me, Aiden. I need to see that you know who I am, honey, please?” she asked quietly and stroked her fingers gently over his cheek as she did so.
“He’ll still be out for a while yet,” Allister told her quietly. “I need you to move for a minute while we shift him, Lina. You will be able to lay down with him if you want but we really need to move him while he’s still out cold.”
Lina nodded and took a step back while the large men moved to Aiden’s side. Again she tugged her hoodie close over her head and looked down because of Talon being there once more. “Thank you, Allister,” she murmured softly. “I think that I will lie down beside him. It will be lovely to be able to just have him to myself.” Away from Talon, a man that was making her so antsy and uptight that it wasn’t even funny.
Nodding, he helped the others move his brother with care onto the waiting thickly padded pallet on the floor. Thanking the others, he shook his head at Talon’s worried and curious look to her. “Later,” he mouthed to the man. Shutting everyone else out of the warehouse, he walked back over to Lina and waved a hand. “Pop on into bed. I’ll stick around and read while we wait for the drugs to wear off. Full bathroom’s through that door there,” he pointed. “Kitchen is right next to it and fully stocked. Run about as you want or sleep as long as you like,” he advised her honestly.
“Thank you.” She crawled up into the bed beside Aiden and continued to stroke her hand over his chest. “Thank you, Allister,” she murmured when they were alone. “For everything.” For keeping her secret, for keeping her from Talon, everything. “Do you think that he will wake soon?” she asked softly. “I just want to know he’s all right. I can’
t even hear him in my mind and that has me so worried.”
“He’ll wake soon.” He believed it. He had to. The drugs would burn off at a steady and then accelerating rate. “About an hour or so and he should start to come around,” he said to her. “Just be aware when he starts to wiggle around you may need to sit up and be next to him but not right over him. His mind will go straight into battle mode, something all of us have when we’re disoriented.”
“Yeah, and I seriously think that he would feel very bad if he hurt me by accident, so we will need to make sure that he doesn’t,” Lina said as she lay beside Aiden, her hand stroking up and down his chest, over his shoulder and back again. “I just need him to wake, to heal.”
“He is healing,” he told her quietly as he picked up his book and took a seat in the large armchair. Kicking his feet out, he crossed his ankles and smiled at her. “He’ll wake up right on his own schedule. He is firstborn, which means he thinks he’s always right.” He grinned. “Even when he’s not.” Something she’d have to learn to deal with.
Lina grinned. “Well, I’m an only child and always got my way. So he’s going to have to learn that he’s not always right, that I’m the one who’s right,” she said with a smile. “I will help ease him into that though instead of beating him over the head with it. Well, at first at least,” she added with a smile.
Bursting out laughing, he shook his head. “Good luck with that. He’s not only always right, he’s also stubborn, pig headed, thick skulled, and many other names I could give you but won’t because it’s not nearly as much fun to harass him when he’s out cold as when he’s awake.” Watching her for a moment, he nodded. She’d be just fine. He had a good feeling about her.
Leaning in closer to him, she pressed her forehead to his and said, “You and I are going to butt heads more often than not, but I think that we will be able to create a great deal of things together that we will be able to be very happy about. I have a feeling that we will have a good life together.” She hoped so at least. “But I need you to wake up first.”
