My breath came in harsh, wheezing pants, but I wasn’t getting any air.
Oh god.
Oh no.
“Not again.”
Then everything went black.
When I woke up, a nurse hovered over me. Her eyes were a gentle brown. So warm and nice.
“There you are. When’s the last time you ate, sweetie?”
“Um…” I blinked a few times. I tried to put an arm under me to sit up, but the room swam around me again, and I fell back onto the bed. “Last night, I think? Dinner last night maybe?”
Mal cursed softly behind her and paced the short distance the curtain allowed. His hands tunneled through his hair as he muttered something to himself.
The nurse smiled at me. “Okay, well, since this is the second time you’ve passed out, we’re going to put you on IV fluids and delay discharging you for at least an hour. Now lie back and keep your feet up. You’ll feel better once we get some fluids in you.” She stood up and turned to Mal. “And it wouldn’t hurt to have someone bring you something to eat. I can order from the cafeteria, but take my word for it, you’re better off ordering something in.”
Mal nodded purposefully then stomped through the curtain, shoving it out of his way, clearly a man on a mission.
The nurse turned back to me with a smile. “It helps to give them a task. Makes them feel like they’re in control of the situation a little bit. You’re a lucky girl.”
I gave an incredulous laugh. “Really? It doesn’t feel that way.”
I mean, I was lying on a hospital bed after being taken hostage. How exactly was that lucky?
The nurse winced. “I meant your hubby. He clearly loves you. You should’ve heard the hell he raised when you passed out again. Usually, guys like that are annoying assholes.”
I raised my eyebrows and she laughed.
“But he’s pretty to look at. It helps.”
This timeIlaughed. She wasn’t wrong.
“And he clearly loves you so much.” She tipped her head. “Like I said, you’re a lucky girl.”
Again, it didn’t feel that way lately, and this time I wasn’t thinking about the abduction. My marriage hadn’t been the easiest so far and considering we’d only been together a month, that wasn’t exactly a good sign.
The honeymoon stage had felt like anything but.
My nurse patted my shoulder. “I’m going to start that IV for you. You try to get some rest. I’m only allowing your husband back since he’s a handful, but we can bar him if you think it’ll help. It’s completely up to you.”
I sighed and shook my head. Things might be bumpy between us, but I needed Mal here with me.
Mal was back—empty handed—before the nurse returned, and I blinked up at him in confusion.
He collapsed into the chair next to the bed with a sigh. “Ryker is getting you a burrito. Leif wanted to go, but he’s creating enough of a stir here, sending him out for food won’t help. The last thing we need is a bunch of Leif sightings. The place is a zoo as it is.”
“Leif is here?” That was important, but I couldn’t exactly remember why.
“And Ryker and Beau. The hospital arranged a private waiting room for them, since it was causing mayhem in the halls. Although to be fair, the press was already here, so they can’t blame that on us.”
“Press?” I repeated weakly.
Mal winced. “Shit. Sorry.” He sighed and shook his head. “Yeah, it’s a shitshow out there.The Babbler, KALI 14 news, the major networks, they’re all out there. Considering you were taken hostage at a major airport, it’s kinda headline news. And they all got pictures of us arriving.”
The nurse came back with the IV and Mal waited tensely while she set up the IV stand.
