“Alexis!” Trevor exhaled, his relief so profound he nearly collapsed. He laid a gentle hand on her forehead, careful not to touch where she was bruised.
“T-Trevor.” She smiled up at him as best she could, but then her eyes caught the blood on his other arm, and she scowled. “Your b-bleeding.”
Having forgotten all about the cut, Trevor quickly glanced at his arm and back at her. “It’s nothing, Lex. Barely a scratch.”
“Yeah,” she whispered. “I got...s-scratched...t-too.”
After everything she’d been through, she still had her sense of humor. Jesus, she was amazing.
With a half-laugh, half-cry, Trevor paid no attention to the tear falling down over his cheek as he spoke.
“You sure did.” He swallowed against that painful knot again and told her, “You did good, Lex.Sogood. I’m so proud of you, baby.”
“H-how did...find m-me?”
“Shh. Don’t talk, angel. There’ll be plenty of time for all that later. Right now, I need you to save your strength. Can you do that for me?”
Trevor looked to Jake who had removed his hand from the cut on her neck. Thank God, it wasn’t very deep. “She’s fading fast, Jake.”
“Ryker’s medics just got here. He’s bringing them in now.”
Knowing she would be taken to Homeland’s private medical facility made him feel slightly better. They had the best doctors and nurses on staff, including Olivia.
Wanting to check her stab wound for himself before the medics came in and took over, Trevor smiled down at Lexi. “I’m just going to take a quick look at your side, okay?”
“’kay,” she whispered back, her voice so soft he could barely hear her now.
Giving Coop a nod, the younger man removed the bunched shirt he’d been holding against Lexi’s side and stepped out of the way. Carefully, Trevor lifted the hem of Lexi’s own blood-soaked shirt and got his first view of where Young had used his knife on her.
As gently as he could, Trevor inspected the wound. Lexi moaned when he pressed around it, trying to assess how deeply she’d been cut. Thankfully, he didn’t think the bastard had damaged anything major, although she’d need some tests run to be sure.
“Sorry, angel.” He kissed her forehead. “I’m done. You’re going to be just fine.”
“P-promise?”
He smiled. “I promise.”
Her eyes started to close.
“Lex?” She didn’t respond, so he ordered her sternly, “Alexis, I need you to open your eyes and look at me.”
Her eyes finally fluttered back open, and he blew out a breath. “That’s good. You’ve got to stay awake for me, angel.”
“So...tired.”
“I know, baby. I know you’re tired, but you have to stay awake.”
Ryker entered the room, followed by two medics.
Despite the fact that her pinky had been broken, Lexi reached her hand toward his. “S-stay?”
Not wanting to cause her more pain, he gently grabbed hold of her thumb and used his to caress the skin on the back of her hand.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
The corners of her mouth curved slightly, and his aching heart swelled. Though, it was about as far from ideal a place as it could be for this sort of thing, Trevor kissed her temple and whispered into her ear, “I love you, angel.”
They were the last words she heard before she lost consciousness.
