Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
“I’ll be right out!”
I washed my hands carefully so I wouldn’t get the bandages wet and then shuffled back out of the bedroom. When I got there, Charlie was sitting on the end of the bed.
Relief rushed through me so hard that I swayed.
“Nice of you to wake up finally,” he greeted, looking me over. “Have a good nap?”
“That’s bold, coming from you,” I replied, moving to the bed. “You’re good?”
“Well, I’ve been worried out of my mind for the past two days, but yes,” he said as I gingerly sat down near the pillows. “How are you feeling?”
“Like someone ran me over with a Zamboni.”
“Close enough,” he said with a small smile.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You dated a cop for ten minutes?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
It took me a moment to understand what he was referring to.
“I may have gone back to the gun range without him,” I replied as Ambrose walked back into the room.
“Did you live there?” Charlie asked dryly.
“No, I didn’t go for long.” I didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
“Then how the hell did you do all that?”
“Once you know how to load and fire, it’s not hard.” I shrugged.
“Oh, please,” he shot back. “I saw the aftermath. You—”
“They were practically on top of us, Charles,” I snapped, my voice high and weird. “It doesn’t take a whole lot of skill when you’re that close!”
The amusement in Charlie’s eyes disappeared. “I’m sorry, Luce.”
“It’s fine,” I replied flatly.
“Hey, baby,” Ambrose called. “You up for a little trip?”
“Oh, sure,” I spat, spinning on him. “How about we go back to Europe? I had so much fun there the last time.”
Charlie jerked with surprise, but Ambrose just watched me steadily.
“I was thinking we could walk down and see Alice so she doesn’t have to come up here.”
“Definitely,” I said, dropping my feet to the floor. I ignored the pain in my thigh and stomped toward him.
“You want some pants?”
“Not if they look like yours.” I glared.
The asshole laughed.
“She’s always like this when she’s sick,” Charlie said.
“I’m not sick.”
Ambrose got me some baggy sweatpants and helped me step into them. They were very loose in the waist, but that was fine because it meant they were also very loose in the legs and didn’t put any pressure on my wounds.
I complained as we left Ambrose’s rooms. “Should I really be walking?” I asked, letting him tug me along slowly. “It seems like a bad idea.”
“She wanted you up last night, but you were sleeping,” he replied.
“That seems way too soon.”
“She’s pretty good at what she does,” Charlie said from behind me.
“Good to know,” I mumbled.
We took the stairs slowly, setting two feet on each one before I moved to the next. As a result, there were people waiting for us by the time we reached the bottom floor.
“How are you feeling?” Erik asked, watching me intently.
“Like shit. How about you?” I replied flippantly.
After a moment, he smiled. “Better.”
That’s when I remembered he’d been shot too. Shit. I didn’t have time to apologize for being a jerk when Reese moved in for a hug.
“Holy shit, dude,” she said, squeezing my waist. “You’ve been asleep a long time.”
“It was an exhausting day,” I replied, patting her back.
“Understatement of the year.” She pulled back and looked into my eyes. “We did it.”
“Barely.”
“It counts,” she said firmly.
“I’m taking her to see Alice,” Ambrose said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
Erik and Reese backed out of the way as he led me toward the hidden hospital room. When we got there, I got a nasty sense of déjà vu, but it wasn’t Reese in the bed next to the one I’d been in. Instead, Alice’s large mate lay there, still as a rock, his face pasty white. His neck was wrapped in white gauze.
“Oh, good. You’re awake,” Alice said from her place in a chair beside him.
“Sven?” I asked, looking back at the Vampire.
“He’s still recuperating,” she said firmly as she stood. “It takes time. Let’s take a look at those wounds.”
I walked over to the other bed and stood beside it. Untying the knot at my waist, I let the sweatpants fall to my feet.
Alice raised her eyebrows. “Well, that’s one way to do it.” She walked over to wash her hands as Ambrose kneeled down to help me step out of the pants.
“How are you feeling?” Alice asked over her shoulder.
“Sore.”
“I’ll bet. That bullet was a tricky bugger.”
My stomach flipped at that.
I stood very still while she took off the tape and uncovered the wounds on my legs, my chin high as I stared at the wall. As she poked at those, Ambrose began to unwind the cloth around my arms.
“Healing nicely,” Alice said. “Your immortality hadn’t solidified yet, but if I had to guess, I’d say it had started.”