“No, she sure ain’t, but my point is that she was happy, once. There are good memories inside her head, mixed in with all the shit. Should we show her pictures of those happy times?”
“Only if she asks and you think she can handle the truth.” Blackhurst spread his hands. “Sorry not to be more specific, but head injuries, combined with what Ms. Amari has been through, are not an exact science. All I can tell you is that some people will make a complete recovery, others won’t. I prescribe love and affection, peace and quiet.”
“She’ll get as much of that as she can handle,” Raoul said on a serrated sigh.
“Good to know. I’ll run those tests now, then I’ll have a dietician stop by and give you advice on how to feed her up again slowly. The right sorts of things for her to eat, stuff like that. Remember, she’s been deprived of proper nutrition during her captivity, so feeding her too much of the wrong things too quickly could do more harm than good.”
“We appreciate your advice,” Raoul said, liking the man.
“Sorry not to be able to tell you what you need to hear, but I don’t believe in making false promises. I hear you have a top neurologist ready to look at her in Wyoming.”
“Yes, we have,” Zeke said.
“Well, he might be able to tell you more.”
Agent Parker in particular kept pressing to have just a few minutes’ talk with Cantara. Raoul flatly refused, and was ready to deck him when he suggested she wouldn’t be able to return to Wyoming until she had been debriefed. Like anyone could stop him and Zeke walking out with her. He would like to see them try it. The mood he was in right now, it would be a useful way to channel his anger and endless self-recriminations.
A drip was again inserted in Cantara’s hand to feed her while she slept. Raoul and Zeke slept in the room with her, taking it in turns to stretch out in the other bed. One of them was always awake to watch over her, just in case she opened her eyes and needed something. She didn’t. She slept soundly and, seemingly, wasn’t troubled by dreams. Both men were watching her when she blinked her eyes open at eight the following morning. She had slept for sixteen hours straight.
“Hey, babe.” Raoul gently touched her pale cheek. “How do you feel?”
“Where am I?”
It was the first question she had asked. In fact, they were the first words she had spoken since saying their names on the plane the previous day.
“You’re back in the States, darlin’,” Raoul told her. “You’re safe now.”
“We’ve got you, honey,” Zeke assured her. “We don’t plan on ever letting you out of our sight ever again.”
“I need the bathroom.”
It broke Raoul’s heart when she looked around, as though seeking a pot in which to relieve herself. Is that how she’d had to live all this time?
“We’ll get you to the bathroom, honey,” Raoul said, ringing the bell. “Let’s see if we can get this drip disconnected first.”
She lay passively in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling until a nurse answered the bell.
“Hey,” she said brightly to Cantara. “You’re awake.”
“She needs the facilities,” Zeke said.
“I’m sure she does. Can you help her with that?”
“We’ve got her,” Raoul replied as the nurse efficiently disconnected the drip.
“How about some breakfast, sweetheart?” the nurse asked.
Cantara didn’t appear to understand the question.
“Bring her something,” Zeke said. “We’ll help her with it.”
“What about you guys?” the nurse asked. “I’m sure we could rustle up something for you as well. I guess you missed dinner.”
Raoul couldn’t remember the last time either of them had eaten. “Yeah, that would be good, thanks.”
When the nurse left them, Zeke pulled back the covers. Raoul went to pick her up to carry her to the bathroom, but before he could do so, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood. Almost immediately her knees buckled, but the guys held back from helping her, sensing she needed to do this on her own. She placed a fisted hand on the bed and pushed herself upright again. Raoul suspected this was how she had gotten through her ordeal. She had used her iron will to overcome adversity and show her defiance, even if it had been at the expense of her sanity.
“It’s this way, darlin’,” Raoul said as she looked around her, bewildered again, as though she had forgotten what it was she needed to do.
She made no attempt to shake off his hand when he placed it on her elbow and slowly guided her in the right direction. He turned his back while she used the toilet, giving her some privacy, but remaining in the room in case he was needed. He was unsure if she knew just how intimate they had once been and that he had seen and touched every inch of her naked body—with his hands, his lips, his cock. He pushed aside such thoughts and shared a look with Zeke. She had finished what her body told her it needed to do. Now she appeared to be waiting for instructions. Zeke moved toward the shower and turned it on.
“Come on, babe. You’ll feel better after you freshen up.”
She stood passively while he removed the hospital gown she had slept in. Both men were hard pressed to hide their reaction when her body was revealed to them. She had bruises and abrasions all over it, her once full breasts had withered and her hip bones looked as though they were about to burst through her skin. At a healthy one-twenty when they had last seen her, she now couldn’t weigh more than eighty pounds.
“You think she can shower alone?” Zeke asked.
“Hell if I know.”