Infinite Ties (All That Remains #3) (18 page)

“Your blood?” Her voice is barely a murmur,
her eyelids growing heavy.

“I have to be inside of you one way or
another.”

A small grin curls her lips. “Beast.”

“You know you like it,” Airen whispers,
kissing her forehead. He throws a worried look at Nic when she falls back to
sleep.

“Give her time to rest. She’s asleep, not
unconscious. Her brain is giving her an out, relieving her pain.” When Airen’s
blood has been successfully transferred to Abby along with a bag of fluids, Nic
regards us. “I need to get started while we have enough light.”

Nodding, Airen leans to kiss Abby’s lips.
“Sweetheart, can you hear me? Can you open your eyes?”

“Air?”

“How do you feel?”

“It really hurts.”

“I’m sorry, baby, but Nic has to get the
bullet out, then you’ll feel better.” Her eyes widen and she attempts to sit up.
Airen helps her get upright as Nic sits beside her.

“Have you done this before?” she asks.

“No, but I’ve been trained. I can do it.”

Glancing at us gathered around the table,
she giggles. “I feel like I’m in an old western. You aren’t going to pour whiskey
on it first, are you?”

Nic chuckles. “You’re one in a million,
Abby. I’m going to give you a drug that’ll put you in a twilight state, not
unconscious, but you’ll be out of it. Then I’ll use hemostat’s to remove the
bullet, disinfect the wound, and stitch it up. You probably won’t remember
much.”

“But it’s still going to hurt like hell,”
she guesses.

“Afraid so.”

“Can’t you put her out?” Airen demands.

“I’m not an anesthesiologist. We can’t
risk it.”

“I’ll be okay,” she tells Airen, taking
his hand. “But I don’t want you to watch. Please, go outside until he’s done.”

“Forget it, Abigail. I’m staying right
here.”

Abby’s gaze lands on me, pleading for
help. “Airen, you freak out when she cuts her finger. This is going to be…bad.”

“I’ll deal,” he growls. Shifting his gaze
to Abby, he says, “I’m not failing you again.”

“Air, don’t say that. You’ve never failed
me, but if you stay I’ll be worried about you. It’ll make it harder. You made
this relationship possible, brought us together. You’ve trusted Joseph with me
every step of the way, now let him do this, please.”

Before he can protest, I embrace him, and
murmur in his ear, “You saved her, you gave her blood. Let me help her now. I
can get our girl through this. I can be strong for her.”

Swallowing hard, he nods. Abby squeezes
his hand and says, “I love you. I’m sorry I didn’t listen.”

“I love you, darlin’.” He leans to whisper
his next words so the others won’t hear. “After you’ve healed, your ass has a
date with my palm for not listening.”

“Looking forward to it.” Her arms circle
his neck, and she kisses his jaw. “Go away so Nic can play Operation. Ignore
the buzzing sounds.”

“Come on, Airen, I’ll go out with you,”
Troy volunteers.

Abby grabs Troy’s arm. “Get him far enough
away that he won’t hear me scream.”

“I promise. You’ll be okay. Nic knows what
he’s doing.” Troy kisses her forehead.

“Can I have a minute with Joseph before
you start?” Abby asks Nic, who nods and clears the room. As soon as I sit
beside her, she embraces me, her face against my neck. “I’m so scared,” she
sobs. “It hurts so bad, even to touch, and he’s going to dig around…I can’t do
this.”

“Shh…sweetheart, my girl, you’ll be okay.”
She sobs into my shoulder, releasing the pain and fear she hid from the others,
even Airen. It tears me apart, devastates me, to see her hurting like this, but
I’m glad she can come to me when she is. That she doesn’t have to hide it from
me. It’s something we have that’s only ours. Of course Airen sees her cry,
sometimes she can’t help it, but she hates to show weakness around him when
he’s always so strong.

It took a long time to get Abby to open up
and trust me, to turn to me for comfort the way I do her. I’m awed and touched
at her trust in me. Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do for her now. I
can’t take away her pain or make the next hour any less horrifying. “Listen to
me, ladybug. You can do this, my brave girl.”

“Brave,” she scoffs. “I’m terrified.”

“Bravery doesn’t mean you aren’t afraid.
You know that. It takes courage to face our fears, even if we do it screaming
and fighting. Even if we don’t do it by choice. And you
can
do this. I
just watched Airen ask Gary and Nic to tie him to a chair and take his blood.
He knew he had to, there wasn’t really a choice, but it took tremendous
courage. Especially because he knew how he’d react in front of everyone.” I
slip my hand beneath her chin and gaze into frightened brown eyes. “And you
have more courage than Airen and I combined, more than anyone I’ve ever met.”

Wiping her eyes, she leans against me.
“Okay, get Nic before I change my mind.”

As the others return, Abby shakes her head,
upset at being seen like this. “Just Nic.”

Nic waves at Eric, who nods and leads the
others outside. “I need Gary to help hold you still.” His face softens at
Abby’s reluctant nod. “Don’t look so terrified, doll. I’m going to give you a
shot, and it’ll be over quick. Turn toward Joseph, the injection goes in a
buttock.”

“Of course it does,” Abby replies with a
sigh. Gary politely turns away while Nic peels down the back of Abby’s panties.
All I can think is that Airen would be losing it. I know Nic’s gay and I still
don’t like the sight. “Ah, it burns,” Abby complains.

“It’ll stop when the meds disperse,” Nic
says, rubbing the injection site. “Joseph, massage this spot for a moment and
it’ll help.”

Abby grins up at Nic as I take over and
says, “You were doing fine.”

A smile breaks across Nic’s face and he
laughs at Abby’s flirting. “You have a gorgeous behind, love.”

“Mmm,” Abby agrees. “Airen likes it. He
likes Joseph’s too. It’s firmer than mine. Firmer. Fir-mmmer. That’s a funny
word.”

“Stuff works fast,” I remark, pulling
Abby’s panties back into place, and trying not to laugh.

“Okay, I want you to lie still, Abigail.
Gary’s going to hold your leg steady for me, but Joseph will be right beside
you. Understand?”

“Sure,” she chirps. “Christ, you’re
gorgeous. Your eyes are so blue.” Oh yeah, she’s out of it. Gary bites his lip
to restrain his laughter, and Nic grins down at her as he swabs the wound and
the hemostat one more time. “Why, thank you. You’re quite lovely yourself.”

“Nah, I’m ugly,” she scoffs. “But Airen
and Joseph don’t mind.” I shake my head at him as he goes to protest, and Abby
keeps babbling. “Joseph’s lips are sexy, though. And his dimples. Airen calls
him dimples.” This time both Gary and Nic laugh aloud.

“Okay, Abby,” I reply, trying not to
giggle. “It’s time to be quiet a moment and let Nic work.” Before you announce
all our secrets.

“Okay.” I’m rewarded with a sunny smile.
It doesn’t last long. She jerks when Nic gently stretches the opening of the
bullet wound to see inside. “That hurt!” she cries indignantly.

“I know, love. It’s going to hurt, but we
have to do it.” He adjusts the angle of the light clipped to his head, and
turns to Gary. “Hold her.”

Goosebumps line my arms when she shrieks
as Nic inserts the hemostats. “Stop! It hurts!” I embrace her, and her arms fly
around my neck.

“Almost got it,” Nic says.

She screams again, and sobs,
“Joseph…please…make him stop, he’s hurting me.” Her eyes beg me to do something,
and my heart shatters. “Why?” she cries, the drugs confusing her, making her
forget. All she knows is she’s in agony, and I’m not helping.

“I’m sorry, baby. He has to get the bullet
out. It’ll be over soon. I promise. Hold onto me.” Her face is buried in my
neck when she screams again and abruptly goes limp in my arms.

“Got it,” Nic announces, and I hear the
clink of metal as he drops it on the table.

“Nic, she…”

“She passed out. It’s okay. She’s better
off. The worst is over.”

“Airen…Joseph,” she murmurs, coming to as
Nic puts the last stitch in her skin.

“Right here, baby. It’s over. You did so
good, my girl. I’m so proud of you. Does it hurt?”

“Don’t feel anything.”

“Good. She’s had a local as well,” Nic
says. The next moment she’s snoring softly, her face relaxed, showing no signs
of pain. “She’ll sleep awhile. Get some air, Joseph. We’ll move her in a few
minutes.”

Airen grabs me as I step out the door.
“How is she? Fuck, you’re white as a ghost.”

“She’s okay, sleeping,” I mumble, trying
to forget the last few minutes. Strong arms steal around me. “That was awful.”
I hope to hell she doesn’t remember, but I know I’ll never forget.

“Tell me,” he says, pulling me to sit on
the curb.

“She wasn’t scared after the shot. She was
so out of it. Funny. But when he started, she was in agony, and the worst was
she didn’t understand what was going on. She was like a kid. Begged me to make
it stop. Fuck, Airen, the look in her eyes, she couldn’t understand why I was
letting someone hurt her.”

Airen sighs, tightening his embrace. “I’m
sorry, Christ, Joey…thank you for getting her through it.” He releases me and
runs a finger down a scrape on my chin. “That bullet grazed you.”

“I know.”

Despair fills his face. “I could’ve lost
you both.”

“Airen…can you kiss me?” I don’t want to
make him uncomfortable, but I need something. I can’t stop shaking.

Soft lips land on mine, his strong hand
curling into my hair. “I still love you. I don’t know what’s going to happen,
Joey, but I love you.”

“Me too, Dark Eyes. Let’s just take care
of our girl. We’ll work on us later. Just know that there is an
us
.
We’re not done.”

He nods and kisses me again. “Let’s go get
our girl.”

A few hours later, Airen and I are
watching over Abby at Troy’s cottage. He and Nic insisted on giving her their
bedroom. They’re dealing with complete bedlam outside, trying to arrange beds
and food for five more women and six kids. RV’s dot the yard as they set up
temporary housing so no one is left alone. “She’s going to be fine,” Airen
says, when he notices me staring at Abby.

“I’m so fucking pissed. I didn’t think I
was capable of being this angry at her.”

Airen grins. “Pissed at your sweet
innocent little ladybug?” he teases.

“I’m serious. I…why the fuck would she do
that? Defy us every step of the way. Swear to stay put and then do the exact
opposite. Christ, maybe she is suicidal.”

“No. She’s fucking stubborn and impulsive.
I damn sure want to know why she was in that room, but I guarantee you, she was
trying to help.”

I rest my forehead in the palm of my hand.
“She’s going to help me into the fucking nuthouse! Watching her, I feel so bad.
I’d do anything to take away her pain, feel it for her, but I also want to
scream at her, shake some sense into her.”

“I know exactly how you feel, and when
she’s better, you give her all the hell you want, but right now…”

“I know. I wouldn’t.”

“I know that too.”

It’s after midnight when Abby begins to
stir. “Sweetheart?” Airen murmurs, and climbs into bed beside her. “Are you
okay?”

Her chest rises on a sharp gasp, and her
eyes fill with tears. “Hurts.” She rolls onto her side, jerking the blanket off
her legs.

“Don’t touch,” Airen warns, taking her
hands as she stares at the bandage on her thigh.

Tears stream down her face, and Airen
talks soothingly to her while I radio Nic. He answers immediately, his groggy
voice growing clearer after I tell him she’s in pain. Less than a minute later,
he bursts through the door with a medical kit. One look at Abby’s wet, strained
face, and he’s filling a syringe. “Hey, doll, is it bad?”

She nods, wiping her eyes.

“Do you hurt anywhere other than your
leg?”

“My back, but it’s not as bad. I can
handle it, but my leg…please.” It kills me to see my strong girl so desperate.

“I know, love. We’re going to take care of
that right now. I’m going to give you a shot.” He turns to me with a reluctant
grin.

“It goes in your butt cheek, Abby, so I’m
going to pull your panties down,” I tell her.

No modesty or embarrassment this time. She
doesn’t care what he sees as long as it brings her relief. “Is it going to
knock me out? Make me forget?”

“No, it’s not as strong as the last
stuff.” She winces at the stick of the needle and the burn of the drug. When I
rub the sore spot, her jaw drops and she looks at Nic, horrified. Airen stares
at us as if we’re crazy when we burst into laughter.

“Sorry, but Abby remembers something,” I
tease.