His heart went hot-air ballooning inside his chest. “You remember me.”
Only a foot of space separated them, but she threw herself against him so hard he rocked back half a step. Her arms cinched around him, holding him tighter than he’d ever been held. He returned the favor. Didn’t he fucking enjoy that? She fit into his hard angles like the final piece of a puzzle.
Through the thin blanket, he felt the protrusion of her spine and the ripple of each rib. He was intensely aware of her breasts mashed against his chest and the sharp points of her hip bones framing his happy place. It was more than bad timing that his happy place decided to grow ecstatic. Christ.
“He wouldn’t stop stabbing her.” Her voice bore the sound of prolonged suffering. “Blood was everywhere. Everywhere. On me. And I couldn’t move. I couldn’t make him stop. I couldn’t even scream.” Her body pulsated with fear, and Mr. Happy finally wised up and let some blood flow back into his brain.
“The things you’ve been forced to see. The things you’ve been through. I can’t imagine. But, baby, it’s over now. No one will ever hurt you again. That woman is dead. The trailer is destroyed. You are here with me. Safe.”
“How did I get here? I don’t remember.”
“You were barely alive when a deputy sheriff found us and drove us to the hospital. You’ve been here for four days.”
“No, I mean how did I get here from the park?”
“Huh?” The word popped out, making him sound like an imbecile.
“Just now. How did I get here from the park?”
He searched her eyes, expecting to see a crazy gaze aimed back at him, but her aquamarine depths were clear and lucid. “You’ve been here in the hospital for the past four days. I’ve been with you the whole time.”
“No. I was just at Prospectus Prairie Park.”
He spared a glance at Kent. The guy’s eyes narrowed on Isleen; then he yanked his buzzing phone off his belt and read a message on the screen. Really? She wakes up for the first time, and this is Kent’s reaction?
“Baby, you’ve been here with me. You’ve been sleeping a lot over the past days, pretty out of it. Then ten minutes ago, you got out of bed and walked down the hallway to this waiting room. I followed you. Put this blanket over you.” He tugged the ends tighter across her front. “You were… You were all lights-are-on-but-no-one-is-home. And then you just snapped out of it.”
Isleen had started shaking her head halfway through his speech. “Just now, I was at Prospectus Prairie Park. A woman was jogging, and a man crawled out of a culvert and stabbed her over and over. He wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t move. I tried.” Her chin trembled, and her face scrunched into a grimace. “My head…” She grabbed her forehead with both of her hands. Her face went from hale and hearty to gray. “I don’t fee…” Her eyes rolled back, her legs folded, and she collapsed. Xander caught her before she met the floor and swung her way-too-bony body up into his arms.
Kent was beyond useless. He stared at his phone as if the next winning Powerball numbers were being revealed to him.
“Nurse! I need a nurse!” Xander yelled as he jogged back down the hallway to Isleen’s room.
“What happened?” The nurse assigned to Isleen rushed after him, huffing and wheezing as if she were running a marathon.
“She was up, walking around. Talking. Said her head hurt and then passed out.” Xander settled Isleen into her bed.
You’re so sweet, the way you haven’t left her all this time. Wish my Kelly could find someone as devoted. I bet she’d even be able to overlook your face if you treated her half as good as you’re treating this girl.
Xander held his breath while the nurse took Isleen’s blood pressure, listened to her pulse, and checked her pupils. “Everything seems normal. If she doesn’t wake up in a few minutes, let me know and I’ll call the doctor.”
As if waiting for the cue, Isleen’s eyes fluttered open and locked on Xander again.
“Baby, you okay?” he asked.
“I’m so cold and…” Her teeth chattered and a rash of goose bumps sprang out across her flesh, reaching up her neck and around the edges of her face. Damn. He didn’t know goose bumps could do that. “And tired. I’m so tired.”
“Here. You’ll warm up in a moment.” The nurse placed another blanket over Isleen. “You need to take things a little slower. Now, if you need anything else, you let me know. It’s nice seeing you talking.” The nurse rubbed Isleen’s leg and then left the room, brushing by Kent, who was leaning against the doorjamb.
“Dude. We need to talk. Now.” Kent’s tone grabbed Xander’s attention. The guy pointed to his cell phone.
No way was Xander going to leave Isleen. He glanced down at her. She had already drifted off.