I’m out of bed and across the hall before my brain fully catches up with my body. The door isn’t locked—thank fuck—and I push through it, already scanning for threats. No intruder or apparent danger. Just Sloane, thrashing in the bed in the throes of a terrible nightmare, most likely reliving her horrific time in that pit.
She’s crying out. Her voice cracks on a sob.
I sit on the edge of the bed. Part of me knows I shouldn’t touch her—she might not know where she is, might think I’m one of them—but I can’t watch her suffer. “Sloane.” I keep myvoice low and gentle as I try to take one of her hands in mine. “Sloane, you’re safe. You’re with me, in Truckee.”
Her eyes fly open, wild and unseeing. “Stop it,” she shouts. “Leave me alone.” She grabs my arm with a tight grip and for a second she’s still there, fighting for her life.
“It’s me,” I say. “It’s Jonus. You’re safe.”
Recognition finally floods her face, then embarrassment. She releases my arm like it burned her and runs her hands through her hair. “Oh my gosh. What was wrong with me? I’m sorry.” Her voice is hoarse and she looks around, blinking awake. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Don’t apologize.” It comes out rougher than I intended. I’m shaking too, I realize. Adrenaline with nowhere to go. “Are you okay?”
She slowly pushes herself up against the headboard, wincing at her bruises and lacerations, and sits cross-legged, wrapping her arms around her waist, still trembling. “Yeah, just a bad dream.”
“I want to kill every single one of them for doing that to you,” I growl. “I want to go back to that compound and burn it to the ground.”
She meets my gaze. “I think itwasburned to the ground. And they might really all be dead or at least injured.”
I grin. “Yeah, that’s right. Does that make you feel better?”
“Yeah,” Sloane responds. “It really does because I don’t ever feel that those exact guards are going to come back after me. But I’m not feeling perfectly safe yet, because I’m certain Aldrige is hiring a new team of people to find me here, in America.”
“But you’re not alone, like you were last time. I won’t let them take you Sloane. I’d die before I let them hurt even a hair on your head.”
“Can you stay in the room with me?” She asks quietly, like she’s ashamed to need it. “I’m afraid to be alone in here.”
“I’ll stay as long as you want.”
I shift, settling into the chair beside the bed.
“Oh, I feel bad at you trying to sleep in that small chair. You can lie in this bed, next to me.”
I desperately want to comply, but I don’t think she’s ready for that. “No,” I respond. “I am perfectly comfortable and I want you to feel safe. Sleep, Sloane. I’ll be right here, making sure no one can come in.”
She lies back down, curling on her side to face me. Her breathing is still ragged, but it’s slowing. Her eyes drift closed.
I watch as she falls asleep. And then I get as comfortable as an orc can get in a human-size chair, and I fall asleep too.
Morning light wakes me.
I’m still in the chair, neck stiff, one leg gone numb from the angle, but I don’t care. Sloane is asleep in the bed, face peaceful now, her auburn hair spread across the pillow. I watch her breathe for a moment longer than necessary. The way her freckles scatter across her cheeks. The way her lips part slightly.
My female.
The thought comes unbidden, but I don’t push it away.
She stirs, her beautiful blue eyes fluttering open. She sees me and smiles before she remembers to be embarrassed about last night. “You stayed.”
“I said I would.”
Her smile widens, just a little, and warmth spreads across my chest.
Morning reality intrudes quickly. She probably needs to use the bathroom, her feet are bandaged and the hospital was very clear that she remains non-weight bearing. No walking for at least five days, probably longer. It probably is better that I stayed in the room with her overnight.
I stand and stretch.
She watches every move I make and I notice her cheeks looks flushed.
