Page 99 of Healing the Heart

“No. I called a neurologist friend for advice when you went past the twenty-four-hour mark.”

“Oh,” she said sleepily. “Then having friends who know is the next best thing.”

Fiona wasn’t sure if she said that or just thought it, and remembered nothing else, until a distraught shout jolted her awake.

She shot upright in bed, suddenly fully alert. At first, she thought it came from her, but beside her, Noah tossed andturned, muttering incoherently as if locked in a nightmare. She strained to make out his words, catching only fragments like “don’t” and “bastard.”

She hated to wake him. He slept so little. But the thought of him reliving what they’d just been through made her heart ache.

Gently, she shook his shoulder. It wasn’t enough to rouse him, so she shook harder and called his name.

The hotel nightlights cast enough light to see the haunted look in his eyes as they flew open, and he stared up at her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, voice hoarse with sleep.

“You were dreaming.”

He sat up, rubbing his face.

She, better than anyone, knew how jarring nightmares could be. Gently squeezing his arm, she offered, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Fuck no,” he replied, his voice tinged with frustration.Noah looked at her as if realizing how that sounded and took her in his arms. “I’m sorry, baby. It’s all jumbled in my head and makes no sense. You don’t need to hear that.”

“I do if it helps you sleep.”

As he held her close, his warm breath rustled her hair when he exhaled hard. “That’s sweet, but it has faded already.”

Fiona doubted that was true. She could feel the tension in his body from the remnants of what haunted him.

Abruptly, he released her and swung his legs over the side of the bed. After sitting there a moment, he walked naked to the bathroom. It wasn’t visible in his bearing, but she could tell the Jordan situation weighed upon him. With all the attention she was getting, it was easy to forget he’d been through a horrifying experience with a deranged murderer, too.

The toilet flushed, and water ran in the sink. A minute later, he came back to bed. After he stretched out on his back and bunched his pillows under his head, he held out an arm for her.Eagerly, she went to him, nestling into his side, seeking comfort as much as she wanted to give it.

“Sleep,” he urged just above a whisper. “It’s 2 a.m. and still a long time until morning.”

Fiona yawned. Despite all the sleep she’d had in the last two days, it wouldn’t be a challenge. Sadly, she didn’t think that would be true for Noah who lay tense, quiet, and wide awake by her side.

THE FOLLOWING DAY,there was a debriefing scheduled for 10 a.m. at Rossi. When Noah came out of the bathroom, wearing just a towel after his shower, he discovered her dressed and eager to leave.

“It isn’t necessary for you to be there, Fiona. I’ll update you on everything. You should stay here and rest.”

“That’s all I’ve done for days,” she exclaimed. “I feel much better, Noah, and I’d really like to get out of this hotel room and feel the sunshine on my face and breathe the fresh air.” In LA, known for its poor air quality, this seemed like a stretch, but she still wanted out. “If you’ll recall, I was on lockdown for weeks before everything escalated.”

“I’m unlikely to forget it,” he said, brows furrowing as he locked eyes with her. After a brief silence, where she could almost hear him running a mental risk analysis, he nodded. “All right. He’s behind bars and not going anywhere, so you might as well hear it firsthand.”

“They released him from the hospital already?”

“Yesterday. He’s in lockup at the LA County jail. Their medical staff is capable of monitoring him following a concussion.”

“But he got stitches, right? Across his pretty face where you slugged him.”

If she came across as a tad too vengeful, he didn’t seem to mind because he smiled.

“Twelve, so I was told. Six in two places.” He crossed to his dresser and dropped his towel. She got a nice eyeful of sculpted male ass before he pulled on a pair of snug boxer briefs. “Bloodthirsty is a new side of you. I like it for him.”

“If that’s the case, I don’t have to keep it to myself that I hope he scars and they’re as jagged as Frankenstein’s.”

She heard him chuckling behind the T-shirt he pulled on over his head. It was the first time in days. Mostly she’d gotten frowns and brooding silence. She worried he was more deeply impacted than she was.

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