She went back to ignoring him.
Hoping she could stay out of trouble for the next few days, he returned to the hospital. Pam was now in the waiting room where he'd been earlier.
"Any word?" he asked.
"Not yet. Kim went to check." She skimmed his body which was now covered with his long duster, a gray hoodie and black shirt and jeans. "You don't look as near to death as Kim said you did."
He shrugged as he pushed his sleeves up on his arms. "A shower does wonders for a body."
"So they tell me."
Ash sat down beside her, his heart heavy as they waited and waited with no word. Kim joined them and after what seemed like forever a doctor came out to talk to them.
"How is she?" Kim asked before he had a chance.
"Amazingly resilient and very lucky she got here as fast as she did. Her spleen was damaged, but we've got it put back together. Barring a bizarre infection, she'll be good as new."
Ash let out a deep breath in relief.
"Can we see her?" Pam asked.
"She's still in recovery, but we'll have her out within the hour. You'll be able to see her then."
Kim shook the man's hand. "Thanks, Phil."
"No problem."
As the doctor walked away, Ash turned to Kim. "Since she's going to be here for a couple of days, I have something you need to know."
Kim's face blanched. "Oh God, you're a serial killer aren't you?"
Her logic baffled him. "What?"
"See this is what happens," Kim said to Pam before she looked back at Ash. "You're too perfect which means you're probably Dexter right? Hiding bodies someplace weird. You probably have your mom's body stashed away in your closet."
Ash shook his head. "No, at least not this week." He paused as he hoped he was doing the right thing by telling them what'd really happened this afternoon. "We didn't just wreck. We were run off the road."
Pam narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Someone was trying to kill us. Last night, her friend Dimitri was murdered in Greece and his house searched. One of her team must have found something significant and someone wants it bad enough to kill for it. I don't think Tory should be left alone until we know more about it. The guys who came after us today, could very easily show up here."
Pam paled. "Can we get security on her?"
Kim shook her head. "The police won't do anything without concrete proof."
"I can guard her," Ash told them, "but I wanted you guys to know why if I'm not here, another guard needs to be. She can't be left alone."
Pam nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, I'm a major conspiracist anyway."
"And on that note," Kim said, stepping back, "I'm going to cruise by the recovery room and check in on her just to make us all happy."
"Thanks."
Kim patted him on the arm. "No problem. I'll be in touch."
But even so, Ash didn't breathe comfortably again until Tory was in a private room with him by her side.
She was hooked to several monitors and an IV. Her face was so pale that it scared him and he hated that sensation. It was also strange to see her without her glasses on.
Brushing her hair back from her forehead, he smiled at how beautiful she was. Not in a classic way—she honestly had nothing on Artemis in terms of looks, but there was something about her that even while she was unconscious shined through. Her spirit and her impishness. He could already hear her insulting him.
I thought you knew how to ride a bike. Gah, I can't believe you wimped out and lost control like that.
He could almost laugh at her imagined barbed comments as she took him to task for letting her get hurt.
His gaze dropped to her hand. Picking it up, he studied the daintiness of it. Her fingers were long, thin and graceful. The kind of hands that were made to stroke and to soothe. Fingers made to suckle and nibble. Before he could think better of it, he held her hand to his cheek and savored the soft feel of her skin. All his life, he'd craved a loving touch. One that wasn't selfish or hurting.
The only one to touch him like that had been Ryssa, but even she'd been stingy with them. Part of it had been his own fault. So many years of being slapped, pinched and hurt had preconditioned him to tense whenever someone came at his face. Even now he didn't really like anyone to touch him and yet he craved it.
I'm psychotic.
No, not really. He wanted what he didn't know and he didn't know how to get what wanted. It was that simple and that difficult.
But as he held her hand against his cheek, he imagined her awake, touching him. His cock hardened with need and his heart broke over the reality that he could never be with someone like her.
He was forever tied to Artemis. Forever tied to a destiny he'd wanted no part in. Trapped between his mother and a goddess who claimed ownership of him. What he wanted was one single day of freedom to be a normal man who could make decisions that would only affect his own life. A day to laugh and to relax.