Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92941 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Sometime later Helen strode quietly into the room, carrying a bowl and a stack of something I couldn’t get a clear look at.
“Up, child,” she said gently as she closed the door behind her.
I didn’t have the energy to fight her, so I rose to my feet.
“You’re a mess,” she continued, shaking her head as she sat her things at the foot of the bed. “You don’t look much better than poor Beaumont.”
Standing like a doll, I let her unzip my jacket and pull it off. My guts twisted at the realization that blood had seeped through near the neckline and gotten all over the sweater I wore beneath it. Lifting my arms, I let Helen pull that off too. Then my shoes and jeans. She dropped everything into a pile on the floor.
Next, she dipped a rag into the bowl at the end of the bed and reached carefully for my face.
Closing my eyes, I let her gently wipe away the blood. It was down my neck. In my ears and hair. Covering the bottom half of my arms and hands. She kneeled in front of me and wiped down the fronts of my legs where it had soaked through my jeans.
I didn’t even know that people had that much blood in their bodies. How in the world had Beau lost so much?
“I grabbed some clothes out of Beau’s dresser,” Helen said as she rose to her feet again. Reaching behind her, she handed me a soft gray t-shirt. It smelled like Beau.
I pulled it over my head.
“The boy doesn’t have sweatpants,” she informed me, handing me…leggings? “But I found a pair of thermals.”
I pulled the soft base layer leggings up my legs, folding and rolling the waistband to keep them from falling off.
“That’s better,” she said with a small smile. She lifted the bowl of water off the bed, and bile filled my mouth at the sight of the dark liquid inside. “You climb in with Beau. I’ll tell them all you’re sleeping.”
“Thank you,” I croaked.
“Anytime,” she replied, pausing by the door. “I’ve patched Mordecai up a time or two.”
“Was he ever this bad?” I asked in a whisper, looking down at Beau.
Helen was quiet for a moment before she spoke. “A couple who looks like us were targets for all kinds of fools,” she said finally. “But they always got what they deserved in the end. Rest, child. I’ll come back and get those dirty clothes in a few minutes.”
As soon as she was gone, I crawled onto the bed and curled up next to Beau on his least injured side. The heat was a steady thrum under my skin, so I didn’t bother getting under the blanket. He was so still, his arms down at his sides and his head tilted just slightly toward me.
“As soon as you wake up, I’m going to rip you a new one,” I whispered on a shuddery exhale.
Lacing my fingers through his, I closed my eyes and pressed my lips to his bicep.
I must’ve fallen asleep because when I woke up the sky was darker through the window, and my clothes had disappeared from the floor. The door was open, and Ambrose’s head was barely visible as he peeked inside.
Movement next to me had me lifting my head just in time to see Beau gesturing for Ambrose to leave.
“I’m awake,” I announced groggily, pushing myself up so I could see Beau’s face.
He looked terrible. There were dark circles around his eyes, and his expression was strained—but his eyes were clear.
“I’m going to kill you,” I growled, getting to my knees as Beau let out a painful sounding huff of laughter.
“I second that,” Ambrose agreed, striding into the room.
“I’m fine, baby,” Beau said with a wince, his hand clasping my thigh.
“You…you…” I stuttered, staring at him in disbelief.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Ambrose barked, dropping into the chair next to the bed as people started filing in.
Ambrose must’ve been what broke the dam because I was pretty sure everyone on the property had crammed themselves into that little room.
“We were less than ten minutes out,” Erik chided.
“You were shot five times, Bjorn,” Alice said, censure dripping from her words.
Beau’s jaw firmed as I scooted in closer, moving to sit at his shoulder.
“You didn’t even have a weapon,” Chance drawled. “What kind of suicidal shit was that?”
Beau’s arm moved out slowly, crossing over my thighs. His thumb rubbed along my kneecap.
“Well,” Erik said when my mate refused to respond.
“Is this some kind of intervention?” Beau asked curiously. I wondered if anyone else heard the thread of venom in his voice.
“I’ve already lost three children,” Mattie said softly.
Beau jerked almost imperceptibly.
I didn’t think that this conversation was going to go the way everyone had planned. “I think this is too much—”
“I’m a mated male,” Beau snapped. “None of them had a knife large enough to remove my head.”