by C. M. Steele
She cringed and then said, “You made the news two days after we found you. It’s not good. Everyone thinks you’re dead.”
So the boat thing was real. Shit. I closed my eyes for a minute as I tried to pull my thoughts together. I had a million questions, but first I needed to know how safe we were. “Everyone? You haven’t told anyone?”
Nervously she bit her bottom lip. “No. We didn’t think you’d be safe if we did.”
“God, I could kiss you right now.” Her blush deepened, causing my length to grow. Fuck, I had no damn manners, it seemed, even though I felt my body ache. I wanted to kiss my angel. Maybe she wasn’t available to kiss. “You said ‘we.’ Please tell me you’re not married.”
“I’m not. My father pulled you out of the water.” My audible sigh of relief and smile gave away my intent.
I took her hand in mine and brought it to my lips, kissing it gently. “I owe him my life. And you…I don’t even know how to thank you when all I want to do is taste those lips of yours.”
“Awake for five minutes and already hitting on my daughter. Maybe I should have left you in the ocean.” I looked over at the man by the door in his robe and pajamas. Her father was a burly looking man who was about my height or even taller. The upturn of his lips belied the anger in his voice.
“Daddy,” she huffed.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“Before you start making moves on my daughter, I need to know more about you. Now that you’re awake and obviously alert, I suppose you could fill us in.” I moved to adjust the pillow behind my head, but my woman saw my struggle and assisted.
“Don’t try to move too quickly,” she scolded. Her face inches from mine, I did my best to hold back the insane urge to pull her into my arms.
“I’m surprised that you didn’t look me up,” I grunted out, stretching my legs a little to get the blood flowing in them.
“I didn’t want to pull any information just in case someone was looking for hits on your name.”
“I’m not from here. Well, shit, I don’t even know where here is.” It blew big time that I had no idea where I was. Being vulnerable and at the mercy of others had never sat well with me. My entire life, I’d been the one people relied on. This was foreign and unacceptable. I had to get back on my feet and ready to strike at those who put me in this position.
“We’re just outside of Victoria, Texas.”
“You have got to be fucking shitting me. I’m not far from those fucking bastards. We were just in Corpus when they disposed of me.”
“Damn. No, you’re not, but that’s why we kept it a secret. I found you about ten minutes outside of Port Lavaca Bay. Texas may be a big state, but word travels fast these days.”
“Thank you for keeping my situation a secret. There’s no doubt that I would have been in some serious trouble. Now that I’m awake, I need to get things together before they learn I didn’t die. I don’t suppose I can move on my own yet?”
“I’m not sure how they’d find out, but the sooner you’re back to normal, the better for everyone.” I couldn’t tell if he wanted to get rid of me because I wanted his daughter, or because the cartel would rain down hell on them if they found out they saved me.
“We have been exercising your legs,” my angel said. I wagged my brows at her. She stammered and then continued, “You’re pretty weak right now. I’d say you can start by sitting up with your feet on the floor.”
I moved, but it was slow going and they were there, guiding me into the position.
“Wow, you’re right. I feel fucking weak as hell.” I should be able to pick her little ass up instead of requiring her assistance to move. Soon, I’d have that fixed and then she’ll be pinned to a wall with my cock deep inside of her.
“You’ll get back to normal fairly quickly. Are you hungry?” she asked, nibbling on her bottom lip again. My attraction to her seemed to be out of control, and she felt it too.
“I could use something, but I’m sure it’s too late.”
“I can warm up a little of the leftovers from dinner.”
“So what were my injuries?” I could still remember the physical blows they delivered repeatedly.
“Three broken ribs, two fractured ribs, and massive bruising and head trauma. Most of the swelling and bruises have lessened, but we’re glad you finally came around; it’s been four weeks.”
“Four weeks?” I did my best, but it was hard to feign control when I’d been unaware for almost a month.
“Yes. We’re terribly sorry.”
I cupped her face, wiping away the lone tear that fell. She had a kind heart that I wanted to own, nurture, and protect. “You have nothing to be sorry about, angel. Please tell me your name.”
“I’m Grace, and this is my father, Stanley.” Grace. My saving Grace. I played with her name in my mind, thinking about how perfect it was.
Reaching out, I took her hand in mine. “I can’t even express how grateful I am to you. You both saved me at a time I thought I was a goner.”
“It was the right thing to do,” Stanley said.
“As much as I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, there are some contacts I’ll need to make immediately.” They blanched. “Don’t fret. The person I’m contacting won’t be out to get me.”
“Your wife?” she asked, biting her bottom lip and waiting anxiously for the answer.
“I don’t have one of those yet, Grace.” I tossed her a wink.
“How about we get some food into you and save the call for the morning?”
“I’d like some food, but the sooner my friends know I’m alive, the safer we’ll be.”
“Fine. I’ll go get your food.” She left the room for a moment, and a part of me felt like it was missing. The feeling was indescribable.
“Here’s my cell.” Stanley reluctantly handed me his phone while we waited for my woman to return.
“Okay. I need to do something to it really quick.” I used a trick to turn off all the tracking, including all permissions, and sent the code to Boomer. After serving together for many years, he’d know exactly what I meant.
Still flying. Need Simmons. Victoria. Give her my love.
A text comes back minutes later.
Ok. Will do. MP. Birdie?
Hospital. My saving Grace. 1300.
Grace came into the room with a plate that smelled fucking delicious. “It’s just some pot roast and vegetables, but it reheats pretty well.”
“Thank you, Grace.” She tried to hide the frown, and I pretended not to notice. I handed her the phone in exchange for the food. It wasn’t a lot, but I supposed my stomach couldn’t hold much at the moment.
As a natural reaction, she looked at the phone. “Who is Victoria?” She caught herself, blushing with embarrassment. She had no reason to be jealous, but I’d take any sign of interest as a positive.
“Your town.” Her face turned beet red. “The her is my sister, sweetheart. Don’t worry. There isn’t some woman waiting for me.”
“Oh. Well, I don’t understand what most of that means.” I took a bite again, practically moaning from the flavor. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was.
“It means tomorrow at the hospital, you will meet with Dr. Joseph Simmons and whoever he brings with him at one and bring them back to me.”
“I’m working at the hospital tomorrow until six. I can’t bring them here.”
“Then you can give them the address. Be as discreet as possible.”
“I’m a doctor. Discretion is my job.”
“And saving lives.”
“Get some sleep,” her father added.
“Why didn’t you have me meet with them?”
“Because they won’t trust you as much as they’d trust a woman. Second, it’s not likely that Grace could have pulled me out of the water, so if the cartel suspects that I’m alive, which I doubt, they won’t look at her.”
Chapter 5
Grace
I had to leave the house
before I was tempted to call in or show up late just so I could spend time with him. Sneaking into our guest bedroom to watch Ricardo sleep this morning couldn’t have been more wrong unless I’d climbed into bed with him right then and there.
My father would shave him once a week, but now that the scruff had grown on his face, I wanted to run my fingers over it, feeling it scrape my inner thighs as he explored my body. I acted like a walking teenager all over again. Talk about freaking pathetic.
Even as a teenager or even an adult, I never behaved like a crazed horny thing. Maybe I had a kink for almost-dead guys. I laughed as I rushed out of the house and to my car.
I smiled all the way to work, knowing that I wasn’t alone in the attraction. He’d barely woken up when he declared that he wanted to kiss me, and hell if that admission didn’t go straight to my pussy, dinging my bell.
Pulling into the hospital lot, I looked around to see if I’d been followed. No one looked out of place. There were very few people coming and going, and a couple of them were my colleagues. I didn’t know why all of a sudden the paranoia had crept in. Just because my father and I knew he was alive didn’t mean anyone else did. Well, except the people he wanted me to meet today.
“Good mornin’, Dr. Holden. It’s been pretty quiet here. I guess it’s still early enough.”
“Let me get changed, then, since you jinxed us both, Sonia.” I wagged my finger at her. She pretended to be contrite, but the smile on her face gave her away.
“Sorry.” We knew the moment we said something about the ED being calm that a storm of patients would be flooding the department very shortly. Truthfully, I didn’t care. The busier I became, the faster the day would pass and I could get back to Ricardo.
I waved as I walked back to the locker room, changing and preparing for the long day ahead. Like clockwork, the EMTs brought in multiple ranch mishaps and car accident victims, keeping my morning busy. I barely remembered to take a bite of my sandwich between surgeries.
By the time the clock struck one, I moved to the lobby area to wait for Ricardo’s friends. I watched as two men walked into the hospital both in dress pants and white dress shirts, buttoned almost to the top. One had a doctor’s coat over his shirt. They were both handsome, one with a longer beard and gave off an alpha male vibe without even trying. Their gaits were imposing. Could this be them?
Both men appeared curious, stealing small glances around as they approached me. The one in the lab coat addressed me. “Hello, ma’am. I’m Dr. Joseph Simmons. Are you by any chance Dr. Grace Holden?”
“Yes. How did you know?” I questioned. Ricardo didn’t give them any more information than what I’d seen.
“It says Dr. Holden on your tag.” He pointed to my name badge.
“You looked up my last name, didn’t you?”
“Of course we did.”
“And who are you?” I asked the bearded tough guy.
“I’m the one your patient texted. What room is he in?” He came off curt, but I saw an honest concern flicker in his eyes. I’d seen it many times with dads whose sons had done some stupid stunt that landed them here. They would pretend that they were angry about their kid doing something dumb, but underneath their hardened exterior, they were scared.
“Please follow me.” I took them into the chapel because I knew we wouldn’t be disturbed.
“Please don’t tell us he took a turn for the worse.” They glanced at each other, then back at me with panic in their eyes.
“Thankfully, no. I just didn’t want prying eyes and ears. Who are you, exactly? He didn’t fill me in because he said he wasn’t sure if only the doc would come.” I tipped my head toward the doctor.
“I’m Garrett “Boomer” Steele. The founder of Steeleville.” He along with Dr. Simmons pulled out their IDs just to ease my mind.
Feeling a little more at ease about it, I said, “He’s not here. He’s at my home. We treated him there.”
“Who is this ‘we’?” Cocked brows and crossed arms added a bit of menace to the simple question.
“My father and me. My father was rec diving when he saw Ricardo in the water. He quickly brought him to his boat, which was hidden from view of the cartel, and drove him straight to our home.”
“How the hell did you treat him without anyone noticing?” They were both cautious, looking for any potential danger.
“We have a small clinic we run out of our home, so we were able to get the medicine needed without drawing attention to ourselves.”
“How is he?” Boomer asked, taking a seat in the nearest pew.
I tried to find my words. Thinking about his injuries nearly brought tears to my eyes as I thought about the man who accidentally stole a part of me when he called me his angel.
Finally, I broke it down. “Ricardo was unconscious for four weeks. Most of his injuries weren’t fatal immediately. They wanted him to suffer, so they tossed him in the ocean, bloody and broken. I don’t know what he remembers because he messaged you almost immediately before he ate a bit and we all went back to bed.” I left out his interest in me because they didn’t need to know that.
“Thank you, Dr. Holden, for everything you’ve done for him.”
“Grace, please.” I pulled out one of my cards and added my home address to it. “Here is my address. You can see him there. He’s probably trying to walk right now because the man is insanely stubborn.”
“Pinned him on that one. Is there anything else we need to know?”
My phone went off just as I shook my head. “I’m needed in the ER. Be careful. The cartels are dangerous, and if they sniff that he’s alive, then we’re all in trouble.” I patted their knees and then left. My day wasn’t nearly done, but I was already exhausted. Running a clinic, working as an EM physician, and caring for a man who was supposed to be dead was tiring.
For the next three hours I worked nonstop. It seemed everything that could go wrong did. We had a serious car accident with two fatalities and three who were moved to ICU after surgery. I loved what I did, but it was hard on my heart and soul.
By the end of my shift, I sat in the locker room and cried. It sucked losing patients. You knew that some people coming in had no chance of survival, but you hoped that you could just be that miracle they needed. I closed my eyes and then finished dressing.
“Grace, are you okay?” the head nurse asked as she sat next to me.
“Yes, Delia. I am fine.”
She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and gave me a squeeze. “You don’t look it. I think you need to take some time off.”
I turned to face her, feeling defeated. How easily my day had turned to shit and my humor had gone. “I don’t think I’m cut out to be a doctor. Is that bad?”
“Oh, honey, you’re a phenomenal doctor, but you have a heart of gold. Perhaps you could move to being a doctor to less vulnerable patients. I know you want to be like your dad, but I’m sure he’d be proud of any direction you take.”
“Thank you. I will definitely be considering it.” She left, and I finished changing to head home and to Ricardo who I needed to see. Somehow, I knew he’d make me feel better. Even in his coma, I sensed the change in my mood as I entered the house.
“Oh my goodness,” I sighed as I turned on my car. What if they took him away from here? Would I ever be able to go home again if he wasn’t there?
Chapter 6
Ghost
The second I woke up, my body throbbed, pain every damn where, but all I gave a fuck about was finding my woman and kissing her senseless. Grunting, I worked myself into a seated position.
Sweat built up on the back of my neck and on my forehead. Standing went smoothly until the room started spinning. I gripped the wall until everything settled and my equilibrium righted itself. Each step I took, my legs shook like a newborn foal. I got this. I’d been walking for over thirty years; a month shouldn’t bring me down.
“Fuck.” Stumbling down the hall, I banged my shoulder on the wall. Overcompe
nsating, I nailed my hip against the sofa. “Son of a bitch. Get your act together, Rico. You’re a grown-ass man with two working legs.”
Finally, I straightened up and moved around the house without slamming into anything else, hoping to see Grace.
When I reached the kitchen, I saw her father sipping coffee so I straightened up. “Good morning, Mr. Holden.”
“Stanley, please. Coffee?”
I really liked him. Hell, the man saved my life and didn’t try to kill me when I demanded forever from his daughter. “Please. Thank you. Where is Grace?”
He smirked, then handed me a cup of steaming-hot black coffee, just like I liked it. “She’s gone already. It’s a thirty-minute drive to the hospital.” I felt the disappointment acutely in my damn chest.
Soon we wouldn’t be sleeping alone ever again. My heart and soul belonged to her and her pretty blue eyes. They captivated me from the first moment I saw them filled with so much emotion. Everything about her revitalized my being, so much so that I couldn’t imagine her not in my life. I had to find her and tell her that I’d never let her go. I’d never had those feelings for anyone else. Could it be love at first sight? Damn right. It was exactly that, and I planned on making her mine as soon as humanly possible.
“Does she call when she’s working?” Fuck, I sounded like a stage-five clinger. I took a sip and looked around the white country-style kitchen, trying to hide my embarrassment.
“Not most of the time since she works at the hospital for only one week a month. Besides, we’re both very independent and solitary people. I run the clinic when she’s there, so she knows how busy it can get.” I couldn’t contain the frustration and the sense of defeat, and he read it off my face. “If she does call, I’ll make sure to give you the phone.”
“Thanks.” I took another drink, attempting to find the right words. The silence grew awkward as the seconds ticked by.
“Sit down. I’ll whip up a small breakfast for you before I head into the clinic area. All I ask is that you stay hidden. You won’t have to worry because no one comes into the house. It’s one of the things I made a number-one rule.”
