Sometime later, the changing speed of the vehicle roused him. Elias sat up with some difficulty. “Trouble?”
“Not unless you count your house as trouble. You’re home.”
He blinked. When his vision cleared, he saw the white colonial-style home he’d bought with Iona in mind. He knew now that was a stupid plan. He’d never escape his past. His father would see to that.
Elias opened the passenger-side door and stood beside the vehicle. He took a few minutes to study his home and landscape, looking for any minute changes. He found none.
“Keys.” Seth held out his hand, palm up.
“I can clear my house.” Yeah, that was a bad-tempered comment considering his team leader was doing him a favor.
“Not today. Give me your keys, Elias.”
He stared at Seth and realized he was beaten, at least today. The truth was, he wouldn’t be able to defend himself properlyanyway. The pain meds were wearing off, and his shoulder gnawed at him like a bad toothache. Elias reached into his pocket for his keys and dropped them into Seth’s palm.
After getting Elias’ code for his alarm system, Seth entered the house, turned off the alarm, and began his search. He returned five minutes later. “It’s clear. No sign of intrusion.”
Some of Elias’ tension bled away. “Thanks.”
Seth grinned. “How much did that hurt?”
“Too much to admit my embarrassment. Sorry, man. The pain is getting to me.”
“Did you take pain meds before you left the hospital?”
He remained silent.
His team leader shook his head. “Take the medication. Now. Consider that an order, Knight.”
Elias started to argue, but he hurt too much to put up a fuss. He dug the medication out of his Go bag, popped two pills into his mouth, and swallowed them dry.
“Bed or couch?” Iona asked.
He frowned. “What?”
“You’ll fall asleep in a few minutes. Where will you be the most comfortable?”
“Couch.” That way he could hear if something was happening and help Seth fend off the enemy if he breached security and slipped into the house.
Iona and Seth supported him across the living room and lowered him onto the couch. He groaned as pain washed over him in a wave. Elias closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the couch. Holy smoke. Being shot hurt worse than getting stabbed. The nausea was bad, too.
Seconds later, someone draped a cold pack over his forehead and a second one behind his neck. Like magic, his nausea rolled back to where it was irritating but controllable. Thank God. He really didn’t want to barf in front of the woman of his dreams.
A hand with soft skin stroked his bristled cheek. “Sleep, Elias. You’re at home and safe. We’ve got you.”
Iona. He sighed, nuzzled her hand, and dropped into the darkness.
A long time later, the rumble of men’s voices and Iona’s laughter pulled him back to the surface of consciousness. He realized two things. One, he was starving, and two, the pain medication had worn off again. Man, his shoulder hurt badly enough that he might beg Violet for something stronger than the standard mild painkillers the operatives at Fortress routinely used for battle injuries.
Elias opened his eyes to see Grant standing to the side of his living room window, scanning the street and neighbors’ houses. “Everything okay?” he croaked.
“Wondered when you’d rejoin the living. So far, nothing has caught my attention. You’ll have to look when you’re fully awake and see if something catches your eye.” Grant turned away from the window. “Ready to sit up?”
Although it galled him to accept help, Elias nodded. Seconds later, he was sitting up, feet on the floor. He counted it a victory when the room only tilted for a few seconds. Much better than this morning. “What time is it?”
“A few minutes after six. Everyone is here and starving. We ordered pizza.”
His stomach growled. “Sounds good to me. Let’s go eat before the wolves in my kitchen eat everything in sight.”
