Page 7 of Going Down Smooth: Part Two

A door opens and closes softly from somewhere in the room. “Her heartrate spiked a few times, nurse. Do you think she can hear me?” Trey says enthusiastically at the sound of more shuffling feet. The music lowers suddenly and all I want to do is shout at Trey to leave the volume where it is, or maybe he can keep humming instead. Anything to distract me from the memories of the trauma I endured at the distillery.

“I am here for her checkup, so let’s have a look, shall we?” The nurse answers with a smile in her tone.

A door opens and closes again. The sound of heavy footfalls has me wanting to move my head to see who it is but all I can manage is a twitch.

“Did I hear you say she’s awake?” Nate asks with so much hope I wish I could reach out and take his hand in mine. My emotions rise up inside me once more and my heart hurts, it’s beating rapidly as the need to open my eyes consumes me. I want to see them. I need to see my guys and reassure them that I am here, alive and okay.

“See, that’s what it did a minute ago. Is she okay? Is she trying to wake?” Trey asks frantically. I feel sorry for the poor nurse who’s in the middle of taking my blood pressure. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had been well and truly harassed every time she walked in this room to check me over. Impatient Alphas.

“It’s a possibility. An accelerated heartbeat is definitely a good sign that she hears you,” she replies quickly, as if she’s shooing a fly. Yep, they’ve been pestering this poor woman.

“Merce, baby. Open your eyes. Let me see those beautiful browns,” Nate says softly. He’s so close I can feel his breath on my skin. His lips brush against my temple and his scent washes over me, clean, crisp apple goodness, making me inhale deeply, the sweetness hits the back of my throat, making me groan softly.

“Come on, songbird, come back to me, sweetheart. Come back to us. Open your eyes,” Trey says from the other side near my face, rousing me gradually with his chocolate and marshmallow scent invading my senses. He smells like coming home. I want nothing more than to open my eyes at this very moment.

The sound of shuffling is all I hear before a bright light explodes in front of one of my eyes as a gloved hand forces it open. My other eye opens, moving rapidly back and forth as I try to focus on what I’m seeing. The pin light feels like needles piercing my retinas as I groan against the pain in my head.

“Mercy!” Nate shouts. “Oh, thank the heavens.” I try to turn my head but only manage to see his back as he moves away from the bed.

“N—” I try to call his name, but nothing other than the n comes out, falling from my lips. My eyes widen in panic as reality begins to set in. I can’t speak. Oh God, my voice.

“Shhh. . .don’t try to talk, songbird. You have vocal cord damage from smoke inhalation.” Trey touches my arm to get me to look toward him. It takes me a minute to focus on my beautiful Alpha. He smiles reassuringly. “You should be okay soon, baby, and we can sing to your heart’s content. Did you hear the music, sweetheart? I was playing it for you. Always for you.”

Trey’s in desperate need of a shave, with tired eyes behind black-rimmed glasses but there he is. I thought I would never see his face again. He bends down and kisses my lips so tenderly I’m teetering on the edge of a tsunami of tears.

“Miss Smooth.” The nurse comes into view at the foot of the bed. My gaze turns to her but in doing so I take in the state of my body for the first time. I can’t force my eyes away from the damage. My left arm is nestled in a sling, the cast feels tight and heavy against my tightly wrapped rib cage. I’m not sure how many ribs are broken but the pain from one is enough as I drag in a shuddering breath. My left hand is also bandaged, and I have several other bandages down my right arm. I’m a mess and I don’t even want to know what condition my face and hair are in.

My observation doesn’t take longer than a few seconds before my eyes travel up to meet the nurse’s kind ones. Her smile is warm and reassuring as she clutches my chart in her hands. I stare at her for a long moment, and I am sure she is possibly assessing that I am about to break into a million pieces. I want to speak but I can’t. I have so many questions. I want to see Knight, Lox, and where did Nate go? I need to know what happened to Faith and the state of the company. I am helpless and confused and I want this all to be a bad dream.

“Songbird,” Trey calls my name and I turn my head and look at him through blurry eyes. My tears fall slowly down my cheeks in frustration as I lift my right hand and make a writing gesture.

Trey’s eyes light up in realization. “Yes, Knight bought a notepad and a pen for you just in case. Wait, let me get it.” He rushes over to a couch near the window, grabbing what he needs, then crosses back over to me.

“Miss Smooth, I’m nurse Jacky. I’ve been looking after you for the past two days and I am very happy you’re awake. Your Alphas are something else.” She chuckles, trying to lighten the mood as I get the meaning behind her statement. I can only muster a knowing smirk. Poor woman. “All your vitals are good right now, oxygen levels are much better, so you don’t need the machine anymore. I will leave you for a moment and go page Dr. Loxley,” she says, dropping my chart at the foot of my bed.

I watch her leave as Trey places the notepad and pen on my lap. Then he grabs the remote next to my leg and the bed begins to lift, tilting me up further into a sitting position.

“Is that better?” he asks. I nod slowly, mouthing thanks, as he rushes to the other side of the bed, grabs a water jug, and pours water into a glass with a straw for me. Oh, sweet nectar, my throat feels like it’s drier than Death Valley and I’m in need of an oasis. He holds the cup for me, and I take the straw in my mouth, drinking the water down greedily. I don’t stop until there’s nothing left and hurry to scribbleMoreon the notepad. Trey doesn’t hesitate as he refills the cup and I drain the second glass finally satisfied.

Thank you,I write quickly.

“You don’t need to thank me, Mercy. I am here for you, songbird.” Trey leans in and kisses my temple as the door bangs open to reveal a wide-eyed Lox. He pauses, taking me in, his chest heaving, like he ran all the way from wherever he’d been prior. Knight appears behind him followed by Nate as all three of them block the door. I raise my working good hand, and that seems to be all they need to come storming towards me.

“Mouse.” Lox reaches me first and wraps his big muscular arms around me gently. His scent of crackling fire and smoke doesn’t trigger me, it soothes me like a balm was applied to my soul. Surrounding me in his warmth, he holds me as if he never wants to let me go. If he could squeeze himself into my bed without hurting me, he would, and I would welcome it. I kiss wherever my lips can touch in quick succession, mainly his broad chest, but I don’t care. I relish the closeness.

“Mouse, damn it, woman. God damn it.” He pulls away and cradles my head in his hands, searching my face, letting his eyes roam all over me before he kisses my lips like I’m the most precious thing in the world. He wipes a stray tear from my cheek before he inhales and blows out a breath of what I can only assume is relief.

“You don’t get to play hero anymore, mouse. Do you hear what I’m saying? If you need an army to annihilate the bad guys, then we will be the first to run into battle. We will slay your dragons and anyone else who threatens your safety,” Lox says, leaving no room for me to protest. All I can do is frown at the implication of my weakness. He sighs as he reads me without me uttering a word. “I am not saying this because you’re weak, far from it, mouse. I say this because you are our general, baby. You tell us who to hurt and they will hurt. You are in command here, always.”

Yep, more tears. If I’m going to be vulnerable, then these four men are who I will let my guard down for. How do I respond to this man? My Alphas, who always put me first. Who give me choices and let me take the lead. Who’ve made me their number one. They love me, no, loved me from the very beginning, and it was me who was left to figure it all out on my own. I had to catch up, because they were already there with their hearts in their hands. I drop my head and write my reply, simple and easy. This is what I should have told them out loud years ago.

I hold up the notepad and turn it so that all four of them can see my feelings on paper and on my tear-stained face.I LOVE YOU.In big bold letters. I love them. They are mine and I’m theirs. I can’t argue with Lox’s request because it’s not unreasonable. If I have learned anything from this, it’s that I’m not a superhuman and I can’t take on the world alone and without help. I have to learn to accept all my strengths as well as my weaknesses, embrace who I am one hundred percent without denial.

I’M SORRY. I quickly write, holding up the notepad once more. Nate frowns, and Trey, Lox and Knight all begin to protest at once, but I widen my eyes imploringly, underlining those two little words over and over again to emphasize my point. Damn, I wish for nothing more than to say this out loud. I want to express myself with more than just ink and paper. But I do owe them an apology. I shouldn’t have left the way I did. I should have called and waited for them to go with me. If I had. . .well, I wouldn’t be here, in this bed, battered and bruised without my voice.

“Mercy.” Knight takes my chin in his hands and turns my face in his direction. I offer him a small smile and lean into his touch. My lips tremble, and I close my eyes briefly, refusing to let another tear fall. Knight is holding on to so much emotion that I can physically feel it battering away at my heart. “We can spend forever apologizing for the things we all did wrong here.” He sighs and rubs my cheek with his thumb in gentle hypnotic strokes. “Baby, I’m just happy to see you awake and present. Right on time, Miss Smooth.” He smiles and winks playfully, making me smile as well. Then his eyes shift to Nate, then Lox and Trey before he focuses his gaze on me again, I can almost sense the proverbial “but” before it happens.

I glance at the four of them, keeping the alarm off my face before mouthing,What? I brace myself for whatever they are about to say. I’m sure there’s a list of problems that need to be solved and even as I think it, my thoughts turn to Freeya and I wonder why she’s not here as well. I quickly store that question away for later as Nate clears his throat.

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