Page 42 of A Hunter Turned
Archer blanched, his face stricken, and she immediately regretted that tersely worded reprimand of his highhandedness. Shaking her head, she blew out a breath. “Shit. I’m sorry. I don’t mean that. It was a rough night.”
He nodded, his eyes focused on the toes of his boots, his voice breaking slightly as he asked, “How bad are you hurt?” And then hesitantly, as if he was afraid to hear the answer, “How –” Clearing his throat, he tried again. “How were you hurt?”
“I’ll be fine, minor damage for the most part.” She held up her wrists, which had sustained the worst injury. “Self-inflicted in my escape.” Collapsing on the couch, all of her aches and pains began to catalog themselves in her brain at once. Archer’s blood was doing its job, several of the minor cuts and bruises already fading, but damn, she hurt everywhere. Most of which was likely from the rollover she’d been in. Lurching up, her voice was panicked as she asked, “Did you find Efrem? Is he okay?”
Archer’s smile was affectionate as he nodded. “We found him, a little banged up, but he’ll make a full recovery. You have a champion in him, by the way.”
“I do?”
Before Archer could elaborate, the house was suddenly flooded with people. The healer, Marguerite with her medical bag immediately went to work checking Jamie over. Morgan and Kane, both hovering with identical expressions of worry, Travis, as well as several pack members she’d met during her stay in the bayou – one of whom was Efrem, with a bandage around his head but a bright smile on his young face when she caught his eye.
The only one missing was… Before Jamie could even complete the thought, Cady came barreling in, yelling her name, a pair of big pink fairy wings flopping in her hands. The little girl stopped short, her eyes widening as they took in the injuries and the obvious blood on Jamie’s shirt. Jamie pulled the hated blanket back over herself, despite the healer’s protests, to save Cady from the sight.
“I’m fine,” she said brightly and patted the seat beside her. As the girl bounced up onto the couch, Jamie tugged her into a hug, making Marguerite grumble. Ignoring the healer who was still poking and prodding despite the interruption, Jamie kissed the top of Cady’s hair. “I’m so happy to see you. I missed you.”
“I missed you too.” Raising her rump to pull out the wings she’d been partially sitting on, Cady announced, “I made these for you.”
Feeling her eyes fill with a hot rush of tears, Jamie tried to blink them away as she reached for the gift with hands that shook. “Thank you,” she breathed. “They’re beautiful.”
Savoring the warm, sturdy weight of the girl beside her, Jamie closed her eyes and tried to memorize this feeling for when she was gone. After all, the problem she’d been facing before her capture hadn’t magically gone away. Archer’s pack wouldn’t accept her, they thought that she was manipulating him. Perhaps not all, judging by the number currently in the room to check on her wellbeing, but enough where he would still have to make a choice. And as alpha, there really wasn’t a choice, was there?
Someone pushed something into her hand and Jamie opened her eyes to see Travis with a glass of what looked like scotch. “You look like you could use a drink,” he murmured. “I’m glad you’re safe.”
Offering him a weak smile of appreciation, she took the glass, suddenly exhausted. As if sensing Jamie’s need for quiet, Archer began shooing people out with the promise that they could check on her later, and while Jamie was loathed to let Cady go, the girl didn’t need to see the extent of the injuries that the healer was about to reveal.
“How did this happen?” Marguerite asked, probing Jamie’s wrist gently.
“Wire restraints.”
When the healer raised an eyebrow, it was Morgan who elaborated. “Unless you have access to specially made cuffs, wire is the best way to restrain a vampire. If they try to brute force their way free, they risk losing their hands. Most aren’t willing to suffer the loss.”
A grimace and a nod were the healer’s response before she glanced up at Jamie. “This is going to sting.”
Taking a bracing gulp of the liquor, Jamie nodded that she was ready before gritting her teeth through the pain as the wound was cleaned, stitched, and then bandaged.
With the worst injury dealt with, Jamie found herself reverting to Hunter mode, and her team needed to be briefed. “They thought you would be in the SUV,” she said to Kane, who was trying to wear a groove into the floor with his pacing. “It was only when they found me instead that they decided to use me to get to you.”
Kane nodded, his beautiful face wracked with guilt. “I’m so damn sorry, Jamie.”
Jamie shook her head at the apology. “Two vampires. The scarred one, Marlin Hughes, and one that looks like a bulldog.”
Morgan nodded. “They’re both dead.”
Good. “They also had a woman working with them, a witch.”
That obviously hadn’t been common knowledge considering the looks on all of their faces. And then Kane, eloquent as always, burst out with a “Mother fucker!”
Another wave of exhaustion rolled over her and Jamie closed her eyes as Morgan, Kane, Travis, and Archer all began talking at once.
Marguerite let out a shrill whistle that had Jamie wincing before she heard the healer say, “Take it outside. She needs rest.”
Jamie heard a few grumbles, but she didn’t bother to look and see. She heard footsteps, the door opened and then closed, and then Marguerite said, “You have blood on your pant leg. Where else are you injured?”
Her response was dry and said on a chuckling groan, “At this point, I have no idea. My whole body hurts.” It may not have been helpful to Marguerite, but it was the truth.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Like the others, Archer had been surprised to hear a witch had been working with the vampires. Unlike Morgan, Kane, and Travis however, he didn't think it was something worth discussing in-depth as they were currently doing – treacherous assholes, after all, came in all shapes, sizes, races, and genders. Archer was too concerned about Jamie to think of anything else, was impatient to get back to her, and had to fight the urge to barge back in there and assure himself she was truly well, that he wasn’t just receiving lip service from her so he didn't freak out again with the whole smother her in his protective instinct vibe. Shit. Hehadgone a little nuts upon finding her, hadn't he? After all, he couldn’t imagine anyone wanted to be treated like a football headed for a touchdown.
