His voice is low but all business. “You need stitches. What about your arms and legs?”
I’m having a difficult time responding to his question and run it through my brain slowly. “Okay… I think.” I try to take stock of my injuries. “My head hurts.”
Moon peels my fingers from my gun and removes it from my hand. I forgot it was there. He gently squeezes my fingers. Such a small thing. When his warm hand touches mine, I realize I’m shivering. At this altitude, the temperature is somewhere in the sixties. I’m not dressed for it. There was too much on my mind to take notice until now.
“Chest, stomach?” he inquires next.
“Good.”
My neck and back are his final concern.
“Good,” I say again. My teeth start chattering and the shaking is growing worse. I’m safe, I tell myself. Moon will keep the danger away.
“I’m lifting you. If you have any sharp pains, tell me immediately.”
I like the feel of his warm breath on my face as he speaks next to my ear. “K.”
One arm goes behind my back and the other under my knees.
“Drop the phone, Madison. One of my men will pick it up.”
The phone slides through my fingers, and I lift my arms and circle his neck after he stands. “You’ll fall,” I whisper against his chest and breathe into his shirt. He’s so damn warm.
His voice remains strong and reassuring. “I’ve got you. I won’t fall.”
His scent and warmth calm me. I try to hold on tight, but my arms aren’t obeying me. We don’t speak as he carries me up the side of the mountain. At one point, he stumbles. My eyes pop open and I dig my fingernails into his back. “It’s okay, baby,” he assures me. One of his men steadies Moon, and my eyes close again. The crunch of gravel alerts me that we’ve made it to the road. I peer at the asphalt beneath Moon’s shoes before I look around. Two dark SUVs are parked on the shoulder of the road close to where I went over. I can see my tire marks in the gravel. Someone opens the back door to the first SUV and Moon slides in while holding me. He keeps moving over until my feet are inside. The door closes and the inner light goes off. It comes back on a moment later when the tailgate lifts for a few seconds. The front door opens and Gomez climbs behind the wheel. He hands Moon a blanket and Moon covers me as the engine starts its quiet purr.
“You with me, Madison?” Moon asks.
“Yea.” I’m trying not to cry.
“Who do we need to avoid?”
This question pulls me back from girly tears. Avoidance of cops is Moon’s world.
“Police.”
Gomez begins speaking. “Follow us back to the house. We’re avoiding the police, so I’ll be driving the speed limit.” This doesn’t make sense until I realize he’s on a cell phone. He makes a U-turn onto the highway. My stomach is still queasy, and I close my eyes. Within a few minutes, I thankfully doze off again.
“Madison,” Moon whispers. “We’re here. I have a doctor waiting inside. I’m handing you off to Gomez.”
I clench his shirt and burrow my head farther into his chest as other arms attempt to lift me out of Moon’s hold. Moon’s arms tighten. “It’s okay. I’ve got her,” he says as the other person backs off.
It’s awkward as Moon shifts me around. He gets us out of the car and begins firing orders at Gomez while he carries me to his front door. “I want a full report on her vehicle once it’s in the garage. Let me know immediately if the tow company runs into problems with law enforcement. Everyone needs to be on alert.”
My mind flashes to Penny’s phone call. “Penny Dandridge. Someone needs to check on her, please. She’s Harry’s wife.”
“Alex, take care of that personally,” Moon says as we enter the house and he turns to the stairs. I think we’re heading to the room I had when I was here before. That’s not the case. He walks to the far end of the hallway, through the double doors, and into what I assume is his bedroom. I peek out of my nestled safe place against his chest and see his covers pulled back and rumpled where he must have been sleeping when I called. Every light in the room is on and a man is standing a few feet from the massive bed.
“No,” I object. “I’m filthy. Don’t put me down on the sheets.” I have no idea why I care other than I would feel so much more comfortable in the other bed. The one that isn’t Moon’s.
Moon ignores me and gently lowers me onto the bed. I try to sit up. “No, lie back.” His hand goes to my chest and he presses me back. “Carlo will check you over. He’s my personal physician.”
I see Moon’s face clearly for the first time tonight. His eyes are darker than I remember—his expression savage. Something tells me he’s holding onto his temper by a thread. I don’t blame him. I need to tell him the truth about what I’ve pulled him into. He needs to know why I couldn’t call the police. My gaze travels to his shirt. It will need to be thrown away. It’s covered with my blood. I can’t seem to focus on one thing.
“Penny. Oh, God, Penny. You need to find her.”
“Shh, baby. Alex is checking on your friend.”
That’s right. I remember now. “I need to tell you things.” My gaze returns to Moon’s. “Bad things.”
I hold onto his gaze. I’m safe. Penny will be safe. They can’t get me here. “We’ll talk after Carlo examines you,” he assures me.
Moon steps back and a middle-aged man with compassionate brown eyes bends over me. I try to look around him to Moon. The man smiles and I forget about Moon. The doctor’s hair is mostly gray and his smile is genuine.
“Miss Kinlock, I’m Dr. Santos. Please call me Carlo.” He begins explaining what he needs to do. I’m only half following. The sound of his voice is putting me to sleep. He performs each part of his exam and repeats what and why he’s doing what he’s doing. He shines a light in my eyes and I close them. “I need you to look into the light, Miss Kinlock.” His voice is soft and coaxing.
I squint trying to do what he says. I want to please him. It’s an odd sensation because I’m not fond of doctors. I put up with their curt bedside manner through multiple surgeries on my shoulder. I’ve had enough of doctors to last me a lifetime. He puts the light down and has me roll to my side facing away from him. He places his fingers on the base of my skull and manipulates the vertebrae down my back.
“Tell me if anything hurts while I do this.”
Everything hurts now, though not enough to mention it. He has me roll to my back again and wiggle my toes. Then he starts at my fingers and travels over my wrist and up my arm. I am holding it together until he manipulates my shoulder and I wince rather loudly.
“I’m cutting your shirt off, Miss Kinlock. I hope it’s not one you are overly fond of.” I close my eyes as the scissors slice through the material and my shirt is pulled away. “You’ve had surgery on this shoulder. On a scale of one to ten, how bad is the pain now?”
I’ve played this game too many times to count. “Seven,” I say through gritted teeth. “It will be okay, though.”
“Allow me to be the judge of that, Miss Kinlock.” There’s an edge to his voice now.
“Call me Mak.” I suck in a sharp breath because he starts doing the mean doctor thing and rotates my shoulder. When he’s finished torturing me, he gives the same diagnosis I already knew, “It’s not dislocated.” I humph out a short laugh before he continues. “When I’m done examining you, I’ll give you something for general pain. You need stitches on your forehead and that will require a local. Are you allergic to anything?”
“No,” I tell him. I’m having trouble keeping my eyes open, so close them while Dr. Santos finishes his examination. He has checked most of my joints and muscles, and I’m thankful that no more clothes are cut off. He cleans my face with a soft, warm cloth. I remain still. It feels soothing until he cleans the area of the wound. I tense but suffer through it.
“Breathe, Miss Kinlock.” I open my eyes and he smiles again. “I need to lower your pants and have you roll to the side for two injections.”
&
nbsp; “What are they?”
“An antibiotic and something for pain. It’s just a muscle relaxant that will make you groggy. I’ll also inject a local before I thoroughly clean the wound on your forehead and stitch it.”
His hands go to the waistband of my BDUs, and I protest. It’s stupid, really. The man already cut off my shirt.
“I’ll help, Carlo. Move back for a moment,” Moon says.
Moon bends over me. “We need to take the pants completely off, Madison. You can have a warm bath after Carlo finishes. I’ll pull the sheet up and cover you after the shots.”
“You’re always taking off my pants,” I tease, forgetting that the doctor is in the room.
“It’s one of my favorite things to do, baby,” Moon teases back. The doctor clears his throat, and I’m reminded we aren’t alone. Not that I should have any thoughts like that right now. I’ll put it down to my head injury. Moon unsnaps my pants and unzips them. He’s good at it, which shouldn’t surprise me. I lift a bit so he can pull them over my ass. I can’t seem to remember what panties I pulled on before running out of my apartment. I glance down and see yellow. My bra is black. Great, a bumblebee. Just what I don’t want when a man undresses me.
Moon stops pulling down my pants and removes my shoes and socks before pulling the BDUs completely off. He slides the sheet up to my thighs and moves back. I don’t even get a pat on the ass for cooperating.
“Roll a bit and I’ll make this quick,” Dr. Santos orders. I do as he says and feel two slight stings in succession. After the shots are administered, he pulls the sheet up and over my chest.
“This next part won’t be as fun. I’ll wait about ten minutes for the muscle relaxer to work. Then I’ll inject the local.”
“I’m good. Go ahead and do it,” I request. I really need that bath.
He says something in Spanish to Moon, who replies in Spanish. The doctor walks away for a moment while Moon remains a few feet from the bed, keeping his gaze steady on me.
When Dr. Santos injects the local, it hurts like a bitch. Thankfully, I feel nothing while he cleans and stitches the wound. He gives me his complete diagnosis and instructions while he expertly ties and clips each suture. “Your nose bled, though it is not broken. Facial bruising has formed and will get worse before it gets better. Ice will help. Your shoulder worries me because there may be damage I cannot see. If it gives you additional trouble, call me. I see no outward signs of internal bleeding but again, call me if you have more than the expected aches and pains. You are a lucky woman, Miss Kinlock, and do not speak while I am stitching your lovely face,” he chides. “I’m using small sutures to minimalize the scaring.”
I do exactly as the doctor orders.
“Finished,” he says as he stands up from the bed. He talks to Moon in rapid Spanish. The muscle relaxer is doing its job, making me too tired to be annoyed that I can’t decipher what they’re saying.
I doze off momentarily, and Moon’s soft voice wakes me. “Do you want that bath or would you rather sleep?”
I look around the room and don’t see the doctor or anyone else. My arms and legs feel like lead. “Bath, please.”
The corners of Moon’s mouth quirk before he speaks. “The good news is that the bathtub is large with jets. The bad news is that you aren’t getting in without me.”
Oh, joy. I can’t for the life of me remember why that should be bad news.
Chapter Fourteen
MOON IS SITTING ON the side of the bed where Dr. Santos was seated. His fingers slide across my cheek. The caress feels wonderful on the lower half of my face but the upper half is numb. “Before you answer, you aren’t up for anything more than a bath. You’re on heavy drugs, and I won’t take advantage nor will I allow you to drown. I can stand over you and watch or you can sit in my lap and rest while your muscles get some much needed attention.”
Moon watching me in the bath naked seems worse than resting against his body. I’m too drugged and I’m too worn out to think beyond this. “You can be my floaty,” I tell him and giggle. Drugs are such a wonderful invention.
Even with my head swirling, I refuse to be carried. Moon protests and tries to lift me, but I bat his hands away. He gives in with a shake of his head. He’s accustomed to getting his way, and I have a feeling he’s not sure how to handle me. We slowly manage our way to the bathroom, which has a separate door for the toilet area. I use the bathroom while he adjusts the water in the tub. My head is fuzzy, but I’m able to enter the main section of the bathroom and reach the triple sinks without falling. Sadly, I can’t concentrate enough to fully absorb the luxury of the room. Moon watches me closely. I hold onto the sink and look at myself in the mirror. A bruised and swollen bumblebee gazes back. My hair is a mess too and it needs to be washed to get it to cooperate.
Moon walks behind me and places his hand on my back. It makes me nervous until I glance down to the side and see his bare feet. It’s like seeing him in a T-shirt and jeans. It doesn’t match the crime boss persona that he wears so well. His hand slides away as he steps back and whips his shirt over his head. Like a teenage girl, I close my eyes. I wobble slightly and Moon’s warm fingers clasp my arm to steady me.
“Turn around,” he says gently. I open my eyes and he assists me as I turn. He’s standing so close that I feel the heat of his body, though he isn’t touching me. His hands go to the button of his pants, and I grip the counter and close my eyes again. The sound of the water filling the tub is loud. It doesn’t stop me from hearing Moon’s pants hit the floor. His arms close around me, but he doesn’t pull me into him. He unhooks my bra and peels it down my arms and discards it. My panties are pushed down too.
I’m in no condition for anything besides a long soak in his bathtub. This doesn’t mean that I don’t think about all the naughty things I wish he could do to me. He steers me to the tub and I’m forced to open my eyes again so I can navigate getting in. Moon isn’t what you would classify as lean, though there isn’t an ounce of fat on him. He’s ripped with powerfully thick muscles that are perfectly sculpted. He steps down into the tub before helping me in. I’m standing in front of him as we slide into the water. I release a long sigh as the warm water covers me. I’m seated stiffly between Moon’s legs and trying to remove the sight of his bare flesh from my muddled brain.
“We need to alleviate your aches and pains so you can sleep.” His thick voice rumbles against my ear while he turns on the jets. I groan. “Too much?” he asks.
“No, so good.”
I’m too groggy and high to fight leaning back against him. He places his arms around me and his fingers spread out over the tops of my thighs. My head rests in the space between his shoulder and chin. We’re a perfect fit.
The bubbles from the jets tickle my skin while Moon holds me. It finally sinks in that someone tried to kill me. Because of Moon, they didn’t succeed. There’s no holding back my tears. Moon’s arms tighten.
“Tell me what’s going on, baby.” His voice is so soft that I would swear he actually cares. Why are the two of us connected in this strange situation? The police are the good guys and Moon is on the opposite side of the law. He’s a criminal, I tell myself silently. And he’s the one who saved you, my heart cries back. My defenses have been ripped away by the accident or maybe the drugs. Hell, the combination of the entire week has done that.
“In order to keep you safe, you need to tell me what’s going on, Madison.” His voice is still soft, but a hint of command has entered his tone.
“No one can keep me safe from this.” The words come out on a sob. I’ve pulled him into a mess and he deserves the truth. “Tell me something about yourself… something good.” I’m grasping at anything that will make this bearable. There’s this part of me that needs to see Moon as more than a bad man. I don’t want to think about the guns and drugs and body count that I know he’s responsible for. I need to see his human side. The man who drove two hours in the middle of the night to rescue a woman he barely knows.
I want to be more than a hot body and a pretty face. Well, at least a pretty face when I’m not bruised up.
My thoughts are ridiculous, really. I’ve seen pictures of Moon with beautiful, classy women who I don’t compare to. Somehow, I caught his attention and he’s willing to risk a lot for me. So why am I so reluctant to tell him that I’m embroiled in a mess of criminals who happen to be cops?
“I had a baby brother.” These simple words still my racing thoughts. “His name was Chase.” He hesitates before continuing. “My mom would say, ‘Chase the moon,’ and she’d tickle him. I was five when he was born. I felt so important because my aunt took me to the hospital to wait for his birth. I was so excited and could barely sit still. There were complications and he suffered brain damage, though I didn’t understand this until I was older. I knew something was wrong when my father woke me late in the night and asked if I wanted to meet my new brother. I’d finally fallen asleep on the plastic chairs in the waiting room. Chase was connected to machines and in an incubator. While I studied him, my father whispered something to my aunt and she began crying.” Moon stops talking and I know he’s reliving his introduction to his brother. I remain still and wait for him to continue.
“Chase was special. His innocent smiles lit up a room. And when he laughed… everyone stopped what they were doing to listen. Everything about him was good—absolutely pure. This fucked up world never touched him. Chase lived until shortly after his third birthday.” Moon’s fingers dig into my skin slightly, and he must realize it because he loosens his hold before I mention it. “I would give up everything I own to have him back. I loved him—still love him.” It’s a moment before he continues. “My mother. She was never the same after he died. His death was so fucking hard.” Moon moves slightly and his next words breathe into my ear. “Chase is my good, baby. The only good I can give you.”
I feel Moon’s heart beating against my back. It’s more than that, though. I feel his heart beating inside of me. He doesn’t hide behind walls and pretend to be someone he’s not. A
Heat: An Alpha Male Criminal Romance (A Hotter Than Hell Novel Book 1) Page 9
