Page 54 of Powerless
He closed my fingers over the small, wooden hammer, then gently pushed my hand back toward my body.
"When he shows up, you can give it to him," he smiled. "He'll love that. You two," he snapped to the two men who just walked in. "And everyone else who's not injured. Start cleaning up first thing in the morning. Haul the bikes to my shop. Pick up personal items and supplies and sort them out to their rightful places. We'renottreating Reaper like he's dead until we have certifiable proof."
Everyone returned to their tasks with a low murmur, myself included. I peeled off my gloves and lathered up my hands with antibacterial soap as Jandro smacked a kiss on my cheek.
"Thanks, Doc," he nuzzled against my face for a moment. "Now, coffee."
I nodded and moved on to my next patient. What else could I do?
Noelle seemed to be cleaning up Larkan's road rash well enough, so I handed her cold packs for his shoulder and left them to continue making their googly eyes at each other.
The night wore on. Jandro brought me at least three cups of coffee while I wrapped sprained ankles, checked for head injuries, changed bandages, and so on. My brain was wired but my body wanted to drop from exhaustion. And that was with everyone stepping up to help. I'd have to express my gratitude one day, when I wasn't so tired.
Every so often I looked to the door. My heart jumped into my throat whenever someone came through, but it was never him.
"Mari," Noelle placed a gentle hand on my shoulder when I dropped into a chair, peeling off what felt like my hundredth pair of gloves. "You need to rest. I'm bringing Larkan back home to keep an eye on his injuries. You coming with us?"
I shook my head. "Jandro's still trying to talk Shadow into letting me see him. And if—whenReaper comes in, what if he needs attention right away? I should stay here."
"You're not superhuman, Mari. You're about to crash any second."
The moment she said that, I felt like all my systems were shutting down. "Maybe, but I need to stay here. I could take a nap or something."
"I'll clear off the couch and get you a blanket." She left my side, shooing people out of her way.
I paused for a moment to look around the room. The chaos had died down and most people left with their loved ones to return home. For the first time in hours, I didn't have anything immediately to do. And nothing to distract me from the fact that Reaper still wasn't here.
"Come here, girl," Noelle unfolded a large comforter and pointed to the couch. "Lay down."
I did as she commanded, dead on my feet as I stumbled over.
"Poor thing," Noelle mumbled as she brought the blanket over me. "We gotta take care of our little medic, now that she's caring for all of us."
"We are. At leastIam." The voice sounded like Jandro but I couldn't be sure. My eyelids were too heavy. The blanket and couch too warm and comfortable.
And I fell into a restless sleep before I knew it. But even during sleep, the fear of never seeing Reaper again haunted me.
Twenty
MARIPOSA
"Reaper...Reaper!"
"He's not here, honey. I'm sorry."
My eyes snapped open to the familiar green eyes looking at me, but they were the wrong ones. Noelle's red bangs fell across her forehead, her brow pinched tight with concern.
"What do you mean?" I blinked, rubbing my eyes. "Where is he? How long have I been out?"
I swore he was here. I felt his hands on me—strong, possessive, and full of his want. I heard him calling me sugar into my ear. But none of it was real?
"You've been out a couple hours. It's almost dawn." Noelle squeezed my hand.
"And he hasn't come back?"
She shook her head slowly. "I'm getting worried, Mari."
That scared me more than anything. The unshakeable president's sister, who knew him better than anyone, was losing hope.
