Rubbing his chest and looking like he wanted to kill something, Shane stalked outside.
“You can’t keep him away from her, Kane,” Michael said quietly. He knew, as did all of his mated brethren, that Shane would stop at nothing to get Lacie back safely.
“I know,” Kane exhaled. “But he’s going to lose his shit when he sees her.”
“That bad?”
Kane didn’t answer. Instead he said, “I’m counting on you two to keep your heads. Kieran, you’ve got to take Davidson out of commission double-time. He’s fucked in the head, but he’s a hell of a soldier. There’s no telling what the crazy bastard is going to do if he knows he’s cornered. Treat him with extreme prejudice.”
Kieran nodded confidently. Nearly as large as Kane and just as deadly, Davidson didn’t stand a chance. “No problem.”
“And Mick...” Kane shook his head. He could not think of a single piece of useful advice. Michael was the best; no matter what they found, he would handle it. There was no better medic in the field, no one Kane would rather have taking care of his family, and Lacie now fell into that category. But at least he could give him a heads up. He rubbed at the back of his neck where a large knot was forming. “From what I saw, Lacie’s not going to be in any kind of shape to be helpful.”
Michael stared at Kane, and understood what he wasn’t saying. He took a deep breath, and nodded.
“Get her back here as soon as possible. Rebecca’s already prepared the spare room with everything you may need. She can assist you.”
Rebecca, looking as serene as ever, gave Michael a gentle smile. Kane had shared what he’d found with her. And if what he suspected was true, Rebecca would be invaluable. She had spent a decade working in third world impoverished nations. She had seen more than her share of the world’s horrors, and yet had somehow retained her gentle soul. Her capacity for caring for others knew no bounds.
*
Finally! Lacie was asleep. She’d fought it for as long as she could, but eventually her exhausted, weakened body had just taken over.
Craig sighed. She hadn’t wanted to drink her tea, and had begged him not to give her any more of the pain meds. At first he agreed; he’d already made the decision to start weaning her from them. As the day progressed, however, she began to shake from the sudden withdrawal, and he went back to his original plan of cutting down her doses instead.
It hadn’t been easy. Lacie eyed every beverage with suspicion and he’d been forced to drink from each glass before she would take some. He could have forced the meds into her, he supposed – she barely had the strength to hold her own cup – but he didn’t want to do that unless she gave him no other choice.
Thankfully, he’d managed to empty a capsule into a small jar of applesauce, and for whatever reason, she hadn’t challenged him on that.
Craig was running out of time, he could feel it. Lacie had been looking at him strangely all afternoon, as if she didn’t quite know who he was. She’d asked all kinds of questions about the cabin, about his “uncle”. Maybe it was the meds, maybe not. But he didn’t like it. She was supposed to be growing closer to him, not moving farther away.
Crawling into the bed beside her, he pulled her close against his body and buried his face in her hair. He loved holding her like this, spooned against him, safe and warm in his arms. He’d become addicted to it, in fact, and he never wanted to spend another night without her. To love her. Lacie had the power to renew his faith in everything good, and he so desperately needed that.
*
Lacie shivered. It was so cold. Not the kind that came from the frosty mountain air; that would be most welcome. No, this cold came from somewhere deep inside of her, more chilling than anything nature would create. It was in her very bones, the center of her soul. So very cold.
It was dark again, too. Still. Silent. As if everything was waiting. A familiar sense of dread began to creep over her. It was skimming her arms, the outside of her thighs, her breasts. Something hard pressed against her from behind as puffs of moist, warm air pulsed against her neck and shoulders like some panting beast.
Tonight the nightmare was different. There were no comforting dreams to ease her into it; Shane’s presence wasn’t there to give her the strength she needed to make it through this one. Tonight there was only incomprehensible grief.
She screamed silently in her mind, knowing that her body would ignore the commands she desperately tried to give it. Her arms hung uselessly at her side, unable to push and scratch and fight. Her legs remained immobile, incapable of kicking out. Her body, utterly powerless to even twist away or curl herself into a protective ball.
But it was even worse than usual. Tonight, her mind registered everything.