Chapter Seventeen
She was dead. Right?
That was the only explanation for how heavy her body felt. Pain speared down her throat at her attempt to swallow. Like her esophagus had undergone torture while she’d been unconscious.
Wait. Why was she unconscious? A puff of air shot up her nose, and Aslen grabbed for her face, coming into contact with some kind of tube. A groan escaped, aggravating the grated skin along her airway. That wasn’t normal, was it?
“You’re awake.” Footsteps shuffled closer. Warm skin connected with her hand as someone held onto her. Hints of clean soap and the perfume she caught in the face almost every day clamored for her attention. “You scared the crap out of me, As. You’ve been out of it for two days.”
Two days? No. This wasn’t heaven. This was definitely hell, but at least she knew that voice. And there was that incessant beeping telling everyone in a five-mile radius she was still alive. Ugh. She’d always hated that sound. Hated that her machine kept going while her parents’ had been unplugged before she’d woken after the fire that’d taken them from her.
Aslen forced the lethargy clinging to her eyes—okay, her entire body—back to get a look at her best friend. Danny lowered her face level with hers, scratchy white sheets washing out whatever color her friend might’ve earned this summer in the park. Usually perfect hair clustered in greasy strands as if Dannyhadn’t washed it in days, which couldn’t be right. The lines around her best friend’s eyes seemed deeper than the last time they’d been together, too. When was that? Where was she?
“You look like crap.” Aslen tried to sit up, but her body had other ideas. While the IV in her arm told her some kind of painkiller was mixed in with fluids, a bone-deep ache refused to die. Nope. Not happening. Sinking back down into the pillows stacked at her back, she stared up at the ceiling to get her breath back. Oh, hell. Why did it feel like an elephant had sat on her chest?
“Speak for yourself.” Danny squeezed her hand. Bits of hot-pink polish were chipped at the ends. “You’re still just as pale as when Murray pulled you out of that damn reservoir.”
Murray. The reservoir. He’d…saved her? She attempted another swallow to ease the dryness in her throat but only found more parched flesh. Dang. She was thirsty. And hungry. And tired. And confused. “Where is he?”
Danny flashed a splinter of a smile. Nothing compared to the usual full display that’d gotten Aslen through the worst nights when she’d learned Murray had gone home with another ranger or found someone else to warm his bed. Or pissed her off in general. Her heart hiccupped at the realization that he wasn’t here. He’d pulled her out of that reservoir—saved her life—but he couldn’t be here when she woke up? “One of the doctors wanted to check his hands for infection. The burns… They’re pretty severe. He’s been here since you got to the hospital, but I told him he couldn’t take care of you unless he took care of himself first. Guess I convinced him.”
“What burns?” How was he still alive? The fire. The accelerant. She’d been knocked unconscious by the arsonist. How did Murray survive? Aslen pushed her upper body forward. “I need to see him.”
“You will.” Danny set one hand over Aslen’s chest and pressed down, pinning her to the bed. “But I promised him I would get you to drink some water and eat something while he was gone.” Twisting, her friend aimed for the stackable drawers acting as a bedside table and grabbed for the oversize plastic mug with bendy straw. She handed it off, waiting until Aslen took a few good pulls.
And, oh, hell, that felt good. “Thank you.”
“As for the burns, I don’t know how they happened, and Murray isn’t really the talking type when it comes to anyone but you.” A softness Aslen never wanted to see on Danny’s face soothed those rough edges around her mouth and voice. “He’s been trying to track down that boat and the man who abducted you. Got the whole law enforcement division working overtime. Running himself thin in the process. Do you remember what happened? Anything that might help us catch this guy?”
Too many memories to sift through assaulted her from every direction. Bits and pieces of what she thought might be the last few minutes of her life. Flashes of Murray, of realizing she wouldn’t see him again, of Danny and the two years they’d had each other’s backs. More than friends. Sisters. The kind Aslen had never imagined having after losing her family. Then of all the things she hadn’t been able to do and would never get to try. “I didn’t know him. The man who took me, but…” His voice echoed in her head, sharp and acidic. Her stomach threatened to roll, but whether it came from two days of being in this hospital bed or something deeper, she didn’t know. “But I think I’ve met him before. His voice. It sounded so familiar.”
“You mean in the park? Like a hiker?” Danny’s blue eyes widened. “You think he knew who you were?”
“No. Well, yes. He…knew me. He knew my name even though I wasn’t wearing a tag.” The back of her skull pulsed with her heartbeat. Some painkillers. Couldn’t even do their damn job.Aslen scrubbed at her face, ignoring the slight sting of the IV pulling at the back of her hand. “I don’t remember much, but I know I would recognize his voice if I heard it again.”
Danny smoothed her hand over the back of Aslen’s. “You don’t have to worry about any of that right now. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“Me too. Thank you for being here with me.” It took everything she had not to let the tears burning in her eyes fall. It was too much. Too much like waking up in a room just like this all those years ago. Of learning that her mom and dad hadn’t made it out of the house. That she’d killed them. And Murray… She’d almost lost him. Her last line of defense in a crappy world that insisted on taking everything and everyone she cared about.
The door swung inward, putting the man himself in the frame. His shoulders curved inward as his gaze met hers. Relief. She felt it, too, as if the elephant dancing on her chest finally gave her a chance to breathe.
“I’m going to give you guys some time.” Danny patted Aslen’s hand before she shoved herself up to stand. Grabbing for her backpack, her friend rounded the end of the bed. “I’ve got to wash two days of smoke and ash out of my hair, but call me if you need anything. All right? Anything at all.”
“Thank you.” Aslen’s voice broke on the crap lining her throat.
Murray stepped aside to allow Danny her exit but didn’t seem interested in coming any closer with the drink in his hand. He’d showered, changed his clothes. Looked as though he hadn’t nearly died in that fire. The traitor. Why did he have to look so good when she was sure she looked like something that’d crawled out of an evil well? “She was supposed to call me if you woke up.”
“It’s only been a few minutes. You didn’t miss much.” She attempted another valiant effort of sitting up, which Murray seemed to take offense at.
He closed the distance between them, setting his drink on the bedside table beside her mug. Hands hovering over her shoulders, he shifted his weight to help take some of hers but didn’t seem to know where to touch her. If he could touch her. “Be careful. You’re still recovering.”
Ah. Yes. There was the alpha-hole she’d missed so much. “I’m okay, Murray. I promise. Just a little sore.”
The muscle along the left side of his jaw jumped. He grabbed for the drink, and it was then she noticed the bandages. Thick and winding over both hands. She couldn’t seem to look away from them. “I brought you a Diet Coke. Thought you could use the pick-me-up. I know you’re not a fan of hospitals.”
Now she really was going to cry. She grabbed for the Styrofoam and slugged a few gulps. Aslen almost melted into a soggy puddle as the combination of caffeine and carbonation did its job. She met his gaze. “You had them add fresh lime.”
“Isn’t that the way you like it?” His eyebrows cut across the bridge of his nose, mere centimeters from meeting. “I can take it back and get you something else.”
