Scorched Fury: A SkinWalker Novel #5 (DarkWorld: SkinWalker) (20 page)

A
FEW
HOURS
LATER
I
AWOKE
fresh, though still in a good amount of pain. Enough to remind me that despite my walker DNA, I was still very much breakable.

A pinching in my arm caused me to raise both eyebrows. While unconscious, my father had inserted an IV drip. I knew I should be grateful that he'd thought of my health when I couldn't, but right now I needed so badly to pee that I groaned loudly as I sat up and fumbled with the needle.

"Are you okay?" a voice asked, the sudden sound making me yelp and almost lose control of my bladder.

"Shit! What the hell is wrong with you? You almost made me wet my pants," I yelled, furious that Justin had found that particular moment to come visit. Furious, too, that the shock had cause me to pull the needle out from my hand with more force than wise. Blood streamed across the back of my hand and I grabbed the edge of my t-shirt and used it to staunch the flow.

My bladder throbbed, and I pushed to my feet as Justin moved away from the window and into the light from the hallway that cut a path across the room.

The room was dark, which is why I'd had no idea he was there. Not to mention he had Alpha mojo working for him too. That made me feel more than uncomfortable and I wondered what that said about my feelings.

I left him chuckling as I entered the ensuite. I used the toilet, then washed up and studied my reflection. Although I was grateful that I was wearing clothes, they were much too minimal for me to be comfortable with my visitor.

A navy singlet, bra-less naturally, and pair of black boyleg shorts, courtesy of the spare set of nightclothes I'd left in my old room. The attire left my arms and legs bare, revealing purple and yellow bruises near both bandaged injuries.

Someone had removed the high ponytail and brushed my hair so that it lay straight and flat against my head. Probably Lily.

There were dark circles under my eyes, and even the deep emerald had faded to a lackluster green. I tucked my hair behind my ears and headed back to the room, taking each step slowly and carefully.

Perching on the edge of the mattress, I scowled at Justin who now sat cross legged on the other side of the bed. As if he belonged there.

"Can you make yourself useful and help me?" I snapped.

I heard the ice in my voice and knew I sounded like a bitch but I ignored it. And strangely so did Justin.

He got to his knees and crawled over to my side.

"What do you need?" His lip curled suggestively.

"Keep your dirty thoughts to yourself please, or I'll call someone else to help."

He raised his hands in defense. "Okay. What can I help with?"

I pointed at my bandaged arm. "Help me get it off."

"You think that's wise?"

"I don't particularly care about wisdom. I want to see how it's healing. Now."

"Fine. But I will tell your father I helped under duress."

I snorted. "Big strong Alpha afraid of one little female?"

He shook his head slowly as his hands made deft work of unwinding the bandage. "Kai, you have no idea how frightening you can be. Add Alpha to the mix and you're a bomb waiting to explode."

"You make me sound volatile." I flinched as his fingers touched the bare skin of my arms.

Justin snatched his hands away. "Did I hurt you?"
 

"No. I'm okay. It's not your fault. The wound isn't fully healed." I didn't tell him that it was his touch that had made me flinch. Now, I wanted to stay as far away from him as possible.

He
was my past, Logan my present and future.

But that didn't mean that just because a relationship was over the two parties stopped having feelings for each other. I wished that I'd never come to that realization.

Ever.

I didn't want permission to feel anything for him. I didn't want a reason for it to be okay that I thought of him as special. It should be wrong.

It
was
wrong.

I shook my head as he lifted the edge of the bandage to reveal the wound. Dad had coated it with a layer of BioHeal, a thin silicone/water blend that was infused with nutrients, minerals and Vitamin E.

Through the transparent layer, I could see the raw wound, moist and healing but still horrific proof of what had happened. Not often a girl got impaled with a stake.

Thank Ailuros I wasn't a vamp.

"Want me to help with that?" Justin pointed at my thigh and I gave him a withering glare. He checked and repositioned himself, lying back on the pillows beside mine. He rested his head on his hands and stared up at the ceiling.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm keeping an eye on the patient."

"I hardly think that's necessary. I'm healing fine, thank you."

He managed a shrug, even while lying down, and I had to admit the man was a magnificent specimen. Any girl would be proud to have him as a life mate.

A trickle of unease filtered down my spine. "I'm not going to fall asleep with you lying next to me."

He spoke with a smile that bordered on sinful. "Why not? Do I make you uncomfortable?" We both knew what he meant but I didn't bite.

"No. You snore. I won't be able to get any rest."

"I do not snore." He looked appalled at the suggestion, as if I'd called him a serial killer or worse, a poacher.

"You do. Even Sara admitted it, so go away. I need my rest. I don't have time to lose sleep because of you."

I flicked my fingers, shooing him away, hoping he'll leave fast. My eyes were already drooping and if he delayed any longer I really would end up falling asleep with him next to me.

And that was not going happen.

Thankfully, he relented and scooted to the end of the bed, standing and arching into a lazy stretch. "You get better, Kai. I don't like seeing you hurt."

"It's my job, Justin. Getting hurt is part of the deal."

"Well sue me if I dislike seeing you in pain." He headed to the door, turning on the threshold to flash me a toothy smile. "Sweet dreams."

And then he was gone, leaving me shaking my head, unable to decide whether the sadness I felt was because he'd left or just due to fatigue.

I chose to believe it was fatigue.

CHAPTER 27

W
HEN
I
WOKE
UP
LATER
, I felt a whole lot better. And so did my wounds.

Someone had come while I'd slept, and stuck a light plaster onto my arm and I smiled. No matter how hard I try to rebel, someone always tried to keep me in line.

I sat up slowly, testing the reaction of both my head and body. Both seemed agreeable to movement. The IV was gone, needle and all, and I was free to get out of the bed and move around.

After washing up and combing my fingers through my hair, I rummaged in Greer's drawers and found a pair of ancient tights and an oversized cable knit sweater which made me shake my head and smile.

Now I knew where my favorite old sweater had gotten to. Greer had been known for sneaking off with my stuff, the reason for many of our spats when we were little.

Much warmer and far more decent, despite being unable to locate shoes, I headed for Logan's room.

The door hung open, and the room lay shrouded in darkness. Logan still slept, his condition unchanged. Despite talking to him, despite his connection with his sister, he remained the same.

I swallowed the rising tide of despair that threatened to overwhelm me, and forced myself to head downstairs. And was surprised to find Darcy pacing in the living room, her forehead a blur of lines.

"What's up?" I asked, moving close to the fire.

She glanced up at me, winding a long lock of her blonde hair around her finger. "I'm worried about Logan's condition."

"What's changed?" I hadn't seen any difference.

"Nothing. That's the problem." Darcy sighed, her eyes darkening as she turned from the fire and began to pace. "Even after talking to him there's been no change. I expected some kind of reaction . . . Even a little."

 
"I know how you feel. And all we can do is try." I shifted to face her, feeling her emotions wash over me. I hesitated, then said, "What is this about?"

She lifted her lashes. "I . . .
I
did this to him." She stabbed a stiff finger into her chest twice, her ragged voice broadcasting her inner turmoil. I had to admire that she didn't hide the truth of her feelings. "I put him in this place. He wouldn't be suffering if it wasn't for me."

I shook my head and touched her arm. "Darcy. You know better than that. Had it not been for you, Logan would never have known he had a sister. He'd have never known that he wasn't alone in this world. He has
you
to thank for that."

I tried to meet her eyes but she shrugged my hand off and took two steps away as if she wanted to run. Then she took a breath and turned. "You don't understand."

Her voice shuddered as she shook her head, as if she knew I totally didn't get it. Her tone hardened as she continued, "If it wasn't for me, he'd be at peace. He'd never have regained any of his memories if I'd only done what I was told." Darcy's voice, her expression was bitter and angry.

I laughed softly. "That's the stupidest thing I've heard to date, and let me assure you that in recent months I've heard some pretty stupid things." I stepped closer to her, face-to-face, but she didn't flinch, just stared at me, confusion making her eyebrows wiggle.

"You don't know what you're saying. I was given a set of instructions and I took it upon myself to ignore them. I let my personal feelings cloud my judgement and now a man's last moments on this earth will be spoiled, ruined because I couldn't obey the goddamned rules." Her voice had risen to a pained cry.

I laid a hand on her shoulder. "No. If he were able to, he'd thank you. You've given him, even if it is for a brief time, the joy of knowing that he isn't alone, that he still has family. He would thank you." I shook her shoulder. "You hear me?"

She gave a tiny smile but I could see she wasn't convinced.

"Darcy, by allowing Logan to regain some of his memories you've given him a chance to find her. And us a chance to rescue her. Someone is determined to keep her hidden. She's important, so important that they'd ruin lives, even kill to keep her away from us. From him. Anybody would be grateful for what you did. You risked your life to allow Logan the joy of one day finding out the truth. He will thank you when he recovers."

"If he recovers."

"Even if he doesn't recover, don't you think he'll leave this life happy he found her, and grateful to you for helping him do that?" I shook her shoulder again, this time a little harder. "At least allow yourself to see that some good came of your actions."

"Okay." She looked away, the fire drawing her gaze. And as she stared at it, flames danced in her eyes and she let out a sigh. I felt a little weight lift from my heart. In trying to convince her of why her actions had been for the best, I'd allowed myself to see it too.

I sighed as well. "I was so angry with you."

That got her attention and her eyes snapped to my face.

"I was furious that you wiped his mind, furious that you allowed him to be tormented by returning memories, furious that you didn't tell him the truth earlier." Her eyes shuttered and her shoulders dropped the tiniest fraction. "And then I saw Logan's face when he made contact with her, the joy he experienced when his mind first touched his sister's. That's something nobody can put a price on. And you did that for him."

Silence fell around us and the crackling of the fire was a gentle interruption, as if it too understood the gravity of the moment.

Darcy looked hopeful and I smiled, only a small one because that was all I could manage, but I could tell it was enough.

"I've forgiven you, but the hurt hasn't gone." I sighed and gave her an encouraging smile. "But that's for me to deal with. You just need to know that I am so very grateful that you helped him find her. And now, for everything you're doing to help him."

She shook her head, looking so lost. "But I can't promise that I can help him fully recover. That is what I'm terrified of."

"You realize we can't expect you to do that?" She looked confused. "How can we ask you to wave your hands and magically make him better? We use what we can and take it one step at a time."

Finally, she nodded jerkily, then gave a tight smile. "Yes, and the next step is to see what progress he's made."

I turned on my heel and strode to the door. At the threshold I glanced back at her, studying her face, profile backlit in fiery gold. "You coming?"

She started then stared at me. "Yes. I'm coming. But not until you get something to eat."

"Dear Ailuros, is every person in my life out to baby me?"

"If we don't, who will?" she asked, grinning.

I failed to come up with an appropriate response.

CHAPTER 28