Slade tried to ignore Lily, but he knew she wouldn’t be pushed off. She was determined to stick with them. And since Rocky stayed at the scene to help check on others who’d been drugged, and Dunn called Captain Patrick to get permission for the rest of the team to be involved, Slade was at the hospital alone. He knew Archer would call Lily to check on him, but he thought he could handle it. If it weren’t for Kyra, he could have.
When he walked in, she looked so alone. On a bed in the corner with no one around to hold her hand. He didn’t hesitate when he rushed over to her. And when the nurse assumed they were together, Slade couldn’t bear the thought of saying they weren’t and being told he had to wait somewhere else.
Lily waited with them until someone came to take blood from each of them. Kyra was still a little groggy. The nurse mentioned keeping her overnight.
“I don’t think I can keep you with her overnight, though. We can’t allow coed rooms, even for couples.”
“I understand. If I’m good to go, I can sleep on a chair or something.”
“You don’t have to,” Kyra said firmly. “I’ll be fine.”
Slade tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled. “I know, but I’d feel better if I knew you weren’t alone tonight.”
“Oh, honey, let him spoil you for a night. Too many times we have people in here alone. If he wants to sleep on one of those uncomfortable chairs, hold on tight and don’t let go.”
Kyra looked like she was going to correct the nurse, so Slade lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles again. For whatever reason, it seemed to shut her up. And Slade was finding the soft skin of her hand irresistible.
The doctor ordered a CT for Kyra since she fell, but it came back clean. Their toxicology reports showed botulinum toxin, but Slade only had trace amounts. Kyra was exposed to more, so they admitted her for observation overnight.
The ER nurse handed Kyra over to another nurse who was going to take her up to a room. She explained that Slade wanted to stay the night, and the new nurse just smiled and said they had no problem with that.
Lily pulled Slade into the hall while Kyra was getting changed into a gown. It was hospital policy, but they also wanted her out of her clothes in case there was something on them.
Slade didn’t like her being out of his sight, but a nurse was in the room helping Kyra get changed. It was already after dinner and quickly heading toward night, but the only thing on Slade’s mind was making sure Kyra was safe.
“How do you know her?” Lily asked, tucking her brown hair behind her ear and giving him a curious grin.
“She was at the bank.”
“Okay, but do you know her from somewhere else?”
Slade shook his head.
“Why are you so invested in her?”
Slade shrugged. He couldn’t explain it, not even to Lily. She’d been kidnapped, but she was set free within twenty-four hours. The fear she felt lingered, but she was able to forget it and move on.
The fear Slade felt after being held as a POW for nearly two weeks followed him everywhere. He always thought he was strong and that nothing could hurt him, but being captured proved that he wasn’t as strong as he thought.
He managed to push past the fear and the anger, but being in that bank brought it all back. The helplessness, the frustration, the knowledge that he should have been able to do something. And if all he could do was help Kyra, be there for her so if she had a nightmare she knew she was safe, then he’d do it.
But Lily wouldn’t get it. Slade wasn’t even sure the rest of his team would. They all knew what happened to him when he was held captive. He knew it could have been so much worse. He’d spent time talking it out with a therapist. The only thing that helped him was getting the hell out of the desert. He was able to move on and trust that he’d never be in that kind of situation again.
Or so he thought.
“She’s all set,” the nurse said with a smile, leaving Kyra’s room.
Lily made sure Kyra got a private room when they admitted her, so it was plenty big enough for the three of them to all be in there. The beige floor and beige walls did nothing to promote healing. Signs on the wall said the nurse’s name was Amanda and had instructions on how to use the TV and phone and how to call if Kyra needed help.
“Did you eat?” Lily asked, her gaze going from Slade to Kyra and back.
Slade huffed a laugh and shook his head. “We were a little busy.”
“Are you hungry? I can run to the cafeteria, or I can grab something and bring it back.”
“That would be great, Lil. Thanks. Kyra, any preferences?”
Kyra shook her head and pulled the blanket up higher. The way her nipples pressed against the thin fabric of her gown, Slade knew she’d removed her bra before she climbed into the hospital bed. He wondered what else she’d removed.
“I eat pretty much anything,” Kyra said with a tentative smile.
“There are a ton of places close.” Lily’s phone beeped. “Hang on.” She thumbed a text, then pocketed her phone and looked at them again. “Kyra, would you be okay with a few visitors?”
“No,” Slade said. “She doesn’t need to be subjected to everyone. I can get us some food. You go… Crap.”
“What?” Lily and Kyra both asked.
“Howler,” Slade said to Lily.
Lily shook her head. “We’ll take him. Actually, we might stay at your house. If that’s okay?”
Slade nodded. “Yeah, he’ll drive everyone crazy. Or you can ask Kelsea and Jaymes.”
Lily shrugged. “We’ll figure it out. Why don’t you go grab food and I’ll stay here with Kyra. That way, they can all see for themselves that you’re okay. They’re worried about you.”
Slade glanced at Kyra. He didn’t want to leave her. Walking away was painful to imagine.
“You don’t have to come back if you have something else going on. I understand,” Kyra said with a forced smile.
Slade shook his head and walked over to her bedside. He couldn’t resist leaning down and kissing her forehead. He lingered just a minute, reassuring himself that she was okay. “I’m coming back. Lily will take care of my crazy dog tonight. And I’ll be back with dinner.”
Kyra nodded and shifted on the bed. Slade waved to Lily and left the room, immediately texting the team that he would meet them in the lobby and not to go up to Kyra’s room. The last thing he wanted was all his teammates checking her out.
“It’s a good thing Slade was there at the bank,” Lily said. She took the seat next to the bed. She was fishing. Kyra could feel it.
“I guess,” Kyra replied.
“This whole thing is pretty crazy.”
Kyra narrowed her eyes, wondering where Lily was going with it. “Um, yeah. It was.”
“Are you feeling any better?”
Kyra nodded.
“Is there someone you want me to call? Sorry, I didn’t even think to ask. Family, friends, boyfriend?”
Kyra shook her head. “Nope, I’m all set. I do need to make one call, but it isn’t all that important right now. I guess it can wait until tomorrow. Hopefully, I can go home.”
“I’m sure you’ll be able to. It sounds like botulinum toxin works its way out quickly.”
Kyra nodded again. Why was Lily still there?
“So, do you live around here?” Lily asked.
“Um, yeah. Not too far.”
“Cool. Slade lives a little north of the city. He has a house with a big yard. His dog, Howler, is the greatest dog in the world. He can’t hear or smell, and his back legs don’t always work, but he’s awesome. Slade adopted him from a shelter because no one else wanted him. Our friend, Kelsea, volunteered there.”
“Um, okay.” If Kyra wasn’t mistaken, and it was possible she was since she’d been drugged, Lily was trying to talk up Slade.
“He’s a really good guy, Slade. He comes across as kind of an ass at times, but he’s sweet and kind and really cares about the people he’s close to. My husband works with him. They’ve known each other for years. They were SEALs together, and they all got out together. Now, they run an elite team that helps protect our borders. You don’t usually think about our Canadian border as having a lot of issues, but it’s crazy.”
“Um, okay,” Kyra said again. She had no idea why Lily was telling her all that, but it didn’t seem like Lily even knew what she was saying.
“Anyway, Slade never dates. I mean, never. He’s the kind of guy who meets a woman and never calls, but he doesn’t date. I think he should because I think he’d make a great husband, but I’m taken. I mean, I’m not interested in him like that. He’s like a brother to me. But you know, if maybe you were interested, then…”
The drugs were definitely still doing a number on Kyra’s system because she was pretty sure Slade’s friend was trying to hook them up.
And to think, before she went to the bank, Kyra thought the most exciting part of her day was going to be her interview.
Slade found the rest of the team in the lobby near the ER. They looked menacing as a group of seven men, all standing together, none of them smiling. They were tall men, and strong, all former military, and all tough as hell.
Archer saw Slade before the others and broke from the group first. “You have a girlfriend?” he asked.
Slade rolled his eyes. “Your wife needs to keep her damn mouth shut.”
“So you do?” Archer asked again, his eyes lighting with humor.
“She’s not my girlfriend. I don’t even know her. It was the only way the nurses would let me see her.”
“You were pretty concerned with her at the bank,” Rocky added, his own smirk curling his lips.
The others joined them and asked Slade how he was.
“Doing okay. The drugs were powerful as fuck. They’re gone now. I feel better,” Slade said, looking to Rocky for confirmation.
“Botulinum toxin. Definitely powerful, but also fast acting. Enough to knock you out but not something that usually leaves any permanent issues,” Rocky explained. “You should still get checked out in a few weeks to make sure everything is okay.”
Dunn nodded. He was the leader of the group and technically the boss of the rest of them. Daniel Dunn was their second in command when they were stationed in the desert. As their XO, he was a damn good leader behind their commanding officer, a man who betrayed them all and almost killed them. Slade considered the group of them his brothers, even their two newest members, Jaymes and Mason.
“You okay?” Dunn asked.
Slade nodded. “I’ll be fine. How was the interview?”
Dunn shook his head.
“Not a good fit?”
Dunn shrugged. “Never showed up. Kind of disappointing. She had the best résumé of all the people who applied.”
“We’ll find someone.”
Dunn snorted. “Ashleigh’s due in five weeks. I’m running out of time to find someone and train them before I’m off for a month.”
“We can handle training someone,” Dex said. Ryker ‘Dex’ Hamilton was the new second in command. He was smart as all hell and lethal. If there was a man Slade wanted at his back, he’d pick Dex. He’d take any of them, but Dex topped his list. Dex made interrogations look easy and lethal force even easier. He was not the man Slade would ever want to face off against and was happy he was on their side.
“I know,” Dunn said. “None of that matters now. What are you doing down here?”
“I need to get food and head back up. She doesn’t need all of you invading her space.”
Dex raised an eyebrow. “You mean you don’t want all of us around her. You’re settling down?”
“Jesus. You’re all ridiculous. Archer, Lily said you could stay with Howler. I’m staying here tonight.” Slade headed for the door, not caring if the others followed him or not.
“Yeah, we’ll stay. We might mess up your sheets, though,” Archer called out.
Slade snickered. “You might want to change them first.”
Archer doubled over like he was going to vomit. Slade wasn’t about to tell him to change the sheets because they smelled like Howler. He knew Archer and the others thought it was because Slade shared his bed with more than a few women.
He did that, too, but not in a long time. After their former CO and friend tried to kill them all and ended up dead in the process, Slade struggled to sleep. He woke up more than a few nights a week in a cold sweat or screaming. The first time he was with a woman and she freaked out, rightfully so. Slade decided until he got the nightmares under control, he needed to keep his distance from the opposite sex.
Slade walked outside into the warm May evening and stopped short at the crowd behind him. He turned and glared at them. “You’re not going to follow me.”
“We don’t want you alone,” Rocky said. He liked to mother-hen the rest of them.
“I won’t be alone. I’ll be in a hospital surrounded by trained medical professionals. I’m sure none of them are as good as you, but they’re capable of saving my life if something happens. Any word on what was taken or who they were?” Slade asked Dunn, needing to change the subject.
Dunn shook his head. “They took a bunch of cash, but no clue who they were.”
“Was there an inside person?” Slade asked.
“Hard to imagine there wasn’t. They’re still going through footage. You know it’ll be awhile before they have anything.” Dunn said. He looked as disappointed as Slade felt.
“One guy didn’t wear a mask,” Slade told them.
Dunn nodded. “Patrick knows. The others told them. Trying to get a good description. Someone will probably come here tonight to talk to you if you’re okay with that. And to your girlfriend.”
Slade rolled his eyes and walked away, showing them all his finger as he left. He loved them, but he wasn’t in the mood for them to choose him as the butt of their jokes.
Slade got in his truck and sat there for a minute. His adrenaline was finally slowing down, and he was going to crash soon. He’d been amped up all evening, on alert because of Kyra. Being alone in his truck and knowing she was safe meant his body could finally relax.
Slade drove through a burger place and got two meals with fries and a couple of milkshakes. He was back at the hospital in less than ten minutes and on his way up to Kyra’s room.
He heard Archer’s voice as soon as he stepped off the elevator. He was at the nurse’s station, watching the elevator. When he saw Slade, he thanked the nurse he was talking to and headed toward him.
“I thought I told you not to bother her,” Slade growled.
“I’m here to get my wife. She wouldn’t leave until you got back. I stayed outside so they could talk,” Archer said.
“What are they talking about?”
Archer snorted. “You. You know how Lily is.”
Slade rolled his eyes and groaned. He pushed the door to Kyra’s room open and glared at Lily before looking at Kyra.
Lily looked at him and grinned, but her gaze immediately slid past Slade. Her whole face lit up before she rose from her seat and bypassed Slade for Archer.
Slade walked toward Kyra as Lily kissed Archer. Kyra cleared her throat and shifted on her bed, then tugged the thin sheet covering her up higher.
“I hope burgers are okay,” Slade said, feeling uncomfortable again.
Kyra nodded and forced a smile for him. “Yeah, that’s great. Thanks. Um, you can give me your address and I’ll send you a check. I was at the bank to deposit a check and I’m out of cash. Crap. I need to call my roommate. She’s going to kill me if I don’t pay her tonight.”
“We can go over there if you want,” Lily said. “We can give her cash for you.”
Kyra shook her head and chewed on her lip. “No, it’s fine. Hopefully she’ll understand.”
“Seriously?” Slade asked. “Why would she not?”
Kyra snorted. “She’s not the most reasonable person. I’ll just explain everything and let her know I’ll get the money to her tomorrow. I mean, I hope I can. I don’t even know where my check is. I gave it to the teller.”
“We’ll find out,” Archer said. “I’m Archer, by the way.”
Kyra blushed when Archer moved closer to shake her hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Archer’s lips curled up, and he looked back at Lily. Lily had a guilty look on her face that said exactly what kind of things she told Kyra.
“Well, we should go,” Lily said quickly. “Let them eat and get some rest. We’re going to stay with Howler tonight. We’ll come by in the morning to check on you guys. Let us know if you need anything.”
Kyra nodded. “Thanks, Lily. It was nice to meet you both.”
“You, too. See you tomorrow,” Lily said as she dragged Archer from the room.
