Page 14 of Bond of Passion

Chapter 4

A million things churned in Deja’s mind as the hospital erupted in chaos. Gore dripped down the walls and hung in shiny, wet strings from medical equipment and light fixtures. Jagged shards of bone penetrated the ceiling, doors…people. Pained moans and horrified screams mingled with the ringing in her ears.

The ringing seemed odd, given there hadn’t been an explosion. Not a loud one, anyway. All she remembered was a concussion of force and blunt pain as Tavin came down on top of her.

Tavin.

Holy shit, the asshole had actually shielded her from the blast and saved her life.

Seriously? The guy who had buried a blade in her heart and watched her bleed out…had saved her life?

What the fuck?

The next moments were a blur, but she was well aware of Tavin’s heavy weight on top of her, and his blond head resting against her cheek as his unconscious body sagged.

He still smelled the way she remembered, of ancient forests and the smoky Islay whisky he favored.

Then hands pulled him away, and the stench of blood and bowels and the bitter, acrid notes of pain and terror replaced Tavin’s masculine scent.

Voices blended together, and Gem’s face got all up in hers.

“Are you okay?” Gem snapped her fingers. “Deja? Can you hear me? Blink if you understand what I’m saying.”

Blink. Right. Okay. She blinked. “I’m…okay,” she rasped.

Gem’s eyes narrowed into concerned slits as she flashed a penlight into Deja’s eyes. “Do you know where you are?”

“I’m at Underworld General. My name is Deja, the king of Hell is Revenant, it’s June nineteenth, and I’m fine, to answer your next questions. Others need you more.” She tried to sit up, but Gem’s hand on her shoulder held her down.

“Excuse me.” Gem arched a dark eyebrow. “Does first-day nurse think she knows more than fifteen-year doctor?”

Deja’s cheeks went hot with mortification. “Sorry. I just—”

“It’s okay. Shit’s chaotic, and you just experienced a shock.” Gem smiled, taking more sting out of her rebuke. “I just want you to stay still. No moving until we know you don’t have a spinal injury. You landed pretty hard.”

Next to her, another Seminus demon in a black paramedic uniform was attending to Tavin, who was still unconscious, lying on his belly, with a dozen shards of what she guessed were bones sticking out of him.

“Is he going to be okay?” She would be pissed if he died before she got to kill him.

“Shade’s the best,” Gem assured her. “Tavin’s in good hands. Now, relax while we get you stabilized and checked out.”

Deja wasn’t sure how long she lay there getting poked and prodded by multiple staff members, including the Seminus demon Gem had called Shade. He was the one who’d pronounced her free of major injuries and finally let her sit up.

Gem helped her to her feet, and she groaned as she took her first steps. The impact on the floor had been harder than she’d thought, and her back and hips were killing her.

“Hold on.” Gem pulled her aside, next to a commercial-fridge-sized iron cage that was out of the way of the mayhem. She reached out, her hands stopping short of Deja’s face. “May I?”

Confused but not willing to risk another infraction on her first day of work, Deja nodded, and the doctor probed her cheekbones, jaw, and neck with her gloved fingers. “Looks like you escaped relatively unscathed.”

Thanks to Tavin. Not that she would admit that out loud.

Why had he done that? He might be a paramedic, faking caring about people, but she knew the truth about him. He was a cold-blooded killer.

“But,” Gem said softly, “you have a lot of old scars.”

Jolted out of her thoughts about Tavin, Deja stared at the black-and-purple-haired female in front of her, seeing more than a senior physician at Underworld General. For the first time, she noticed the tattoos encircling Gem’s neck and wrists. She went cold.

Those were spells.