Crush looked over my blood-soaked sweatshirt, pants, and the rips on my clothes. Not to mention the dried blood on my face and hair.
I handed him the shopping bags. “I got you some clothes.”
“Jesus, girl. Get in here.” He pulled me into the room and tossed the bags on the bed. After lighting up all the lanterns, he set the matches by the fireplace. “What the hell happened? Are you hurt?”
“No.” I walked sluggishly to the desk chair and collapsed. “Where’s Harley?”
“I think he’s with the kid.” Crush sat in front of me on the bed and put his hands on my knees. “What do you need, Cookie? Anything.”
“A stiff drink.” I slumped in the chair, legs stretched out.
“I’ll get a wet towel.”
“No, don’t bother,” I quickly said. “I’m gonna shower in a minute. I just wanted to bring you your stuff.”
He looked at the blood on me and sighed. “Do you ever think about quitting?”
I smiled lazily. “You didn’t raise a quitter.”
He smoothed back his messy grey hair. “No, I guess I didn’t. What’s in the bags?” he asked, opening one up.
“How are you feeling? Is your head hurting? Have you felt nauseated?”
He lifted the sweatshirt with the raccoon head on it that saidRebel’s. “I am now. What the hell is this?” When he pulled out the boxers with the raccoon heads printed on them, he stirred with laughter. As soon as he laid eyes on the raccoon socks, his chuckle turned into a rolling belly laugh.
“Sorry it doesn’t have biker logos on it.”
He set the stuff down and wiped away his tears. “It’s not that. I’ve been wanting to check out that place for a while. The boys’ll be jealous.”
I got up and sat next to him, inspecting the small bandage still taped to his head. “Are you drinking enough water?”
He captured my wrist in his hand. “You need to stop worrying about your old man. You care too much about people. Anyone ever tell you that?”
“The people who bled on my shirt might disagree.”
“I meant about the people you love. Maybe you need to let someone take care ofyoufor a little while. Where’s peckerhead?”
I leaned against Crush’s strong arm. “He almost died tonight. They had to rip open his chest while he was awake to pull wood out of his heart.”
Crush wrapped his arm around me tight and sighed. “I can’t say anything that’ll make it hurt less. Sometimes you see some bad shit in life and it sticks with you. He’s alive?”
I nodded, then pulled away when I remembered something. “Do you feel different around me?” I studied his weathered face, every line more noticeable in the shadows of the candlelit room.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean… Maybe I should leave. I drank the light of a Charmer, and it’s affecting some of the guys.”
His lip curled, and he jerked his head back. “You think I’m attracted to my own flesh and blood?”
“Well, I don’t know how it works. All I know is everyone’s coming on to me.”
“Jesus, girl. I don’t think it works like that.” He gently patted my back. “Why don’t you sleep in here tonight? I’ll take the floor.”
“You’re not sleeping on the floor. I just wanted to check on you.” I looked around, noticing someone had set up another table next to my desk filled with snacks, drinks, and a stack of magazines. “I see you have everything you need to survive for a year. There’s more food in the bag, so take home whatever you don’t eat. I’ll be in Christian’s room tonight. He needs someone to watch over him.” I stood up, the dark light still slithering through me. I’d almost lost the two most important people in my life in a span of twenty-four hours, and as much as I wanted to be alone, they needed me. “If you need anything, I’ll be down the hall to the right. Don’t go downstairs, and don’t ask anyone questions about tonight.”
“Same goes for you, baby girl. If you need anything, I’m right here. I know you can’t talk about it, and I won’t ask questions. We can just have a cup of coffee and play checkers.”
There wasn’t much Crush could do for me except offer support. I squeezed his shoulder before grabbing a few clothes and heading out. When I reached Christian’s room, he was still unconscious. Vampires didn’t sleep, but with all the blood loss, he wasn’t back to normal. I lit a candle in the bathroom and took a quick shower. I didn’t even wait for the water to heat up; I just wanted to scrub all the blood off. After towel-drying my hair, I put on some fresh sweatpants and a shirt and returned to his bedroom.
