Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 59413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
It takes me a moment to force my eyes open. My vision is clearer, and I am connected to a lot of tubes, oxygen stuffed into my nose, and something pressed against my lips. I shake my head a little, taking a second to remember where I am and why.
The room is dimly lit, the soft hum of machines surrounding me. I try to move my fingers, feeling the stiffness in my joints, the heaviness in my limbs. The sterile scent of the hospital fills my nostrils, mingling with the faint aroma of antiseptic. I blink slowly, trying to piece together the fragments of my memory.
“Can you hear me?”
A man is speaking to me, and the more I focus, the quicker I realize he is a paramedic. He is staring down at my face, his eyes full of concern and a fear that tells me my injuries are as grave as I imagined them to be. He looks like he has seen a ghost—that ghost being me.
“Yes,” I croak, my throat burning, the taste of blood lingering on my tongue.
“What’s your name?”
“Sable.”
“I’m Michael. I’m going to get you help right away. You’ve been badly injured, Sable. Do you know how this happened?”
My eyes move past him to the biker, a cigarette in his hand, his eyes on mine. My breath catches in my throat as I take him in. All six feet of pure muscle and ink. He looks like a Viking straight out of a movie. His skin, a perfect blend of light and dark, mixes together in the creamiest, warmest blend I have ever seen. His eyes, as blue as the sky, shine even though it is dark out. His hair is long, and his beard is full.
He’s unfairly gorgeous.
“Sable?”
I turn my attention back to Michael.
“Someone tried to kill me. I don’t know who. I ... I was at a bar with friends. I left, and the next thing I knew, I was being stabbed. They thought I was dead and threw me over the edge. I pulled myself to the road, and that’s when he found me.”
I nod in the biker's direction.
My head is light, and my body is numb.
I’m guessing whatever drugs the paramedics gave me are good.
“We’re going to get you to the hospital.” Michael nods to me, then turns to the biker. “You will need to give a statement. Until then, you can leave.”
“No.”
My voice comes out quickly, even before I can think about it. A panic grips my chest, something terrifying and unfamiliar. I don’t want to be alone. I don’t want to ride in this ambulance or go to the hospital by myself. I don’t even know who tried to kill me or why. The sirens wail around me, a constant reminder of the chaos that’s just unfolded. My mind races, trying to piece together the fragments of what happened. Faces blur in my memory, shadows lurking in the corners of my thoughts. I feel the weight of uncertainty pressing down, each breath a struggle against the fear that threatens to consume me.
“This man isn’t family,” Michael begins, but he is cut off when the biker steps up beside him, his presence overwhelming as he drops his cigarette, crushing it out with his boot.
“She wants me to ride with her, I’m ridin’ with her.”
His voice is unwavering.
Looking between the two of us, Michael exhales and nods.
Reaching out, the biker takes my hand, stepping up beside the stretcher.
“Sable, huh? Good name.”
A small smile tugs at my lips. “What’s yours, mystery guy?”
“Kael.”
My brows go up. “Kael, huh? Good name.”
His eyes dance as he stares down at me.
I squeeze his hand.
I don’t know who this man is, but he is the reason I am still breathing and, for that, I want to know more.
Even if that is a very dangerous thought to have.
They load me, load us, into the back of the ambulance. Kael wedges himself in without so much as a flinch at the sheer amount of blood lying around; between me, my clothes, and the paramedic tools, it is everywhere. Michael clatters around with wires and stickers and mutters about shock, but Kael never lets go of my hand.
Michael secures me, taking a seat and calling out to his partner that we are ready to move. Police lights flash outside, and I hear the other paramedic tell the police they will meet them at the hospital. They can’t waste time with more questions.
Kael gets right up against the rails of the gurney, his thumb moving lazy circles over my wrist, as if he has known me forever and this isn’t our first time meeting. I’m terrified, my stomach in knots, but with him right here, I feel a sense of calm. Considering how bad things are, I feel good. Shock, I’m guessing. Michael mentioned it enough.