Page 27 of Smoke and Mirrors
I climbed in without hesitation, but stayed glued to the far side of the cab away from him. Buckling my seatbelt, I closed the door but left it unlocked and leaned against it. This kept me far away from Raz and would get me out faster when we arrived.
If he noticed or cared that I sat clear across the cab from him, he didn’t mention it. He turned the key and the truck roared to life.
“How far is the hospital?” I asked as we left the campsite and turned onto the main road.
“Not far,” he answered. “Ten, maybe fifteen minutes.”
Silence stretched on between us. I didn’t get the sense that he felt angry or cold toward me, but all this empty space between us still felt wrong. I glanced at him, his face neutral and focused on the road as if he was driving alone.
“Did the EMTs say anything else?” My words felt weak. I could hear my own desperation to fill the silence with any kind of connection from him.
“Just where they were taking him, and that he was alive but unconscious,” he replied flatly.
I turned to look out the window. Trees whizzed by, the space between them growing as we began to leave the forest and return to civilization. I looked for flashes of white fur like when Connor and I first came out here. Seeing Hunter’s wolf in the corner of my vision freaked me out back then. I thought I was going crazy, but now I was looking for a source of comfort. A reminder that everything was going to be okay.
“They should have worked.”
Razvan spoke abruptly, startling me as I turned to look back at him.
“What?”
“The pills I gave him. They shouldn’t have worn off so quickly.” His jaw tensed, he spat the words out through gritted teeth. I just then noticed his knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel. “I swear on my life, Mel, I’d never try to hurt him or sabotage his act. You and he are the only humans who know what I am.”
“Raz,” I breathed, unbuckling my seatbelt without thinking and sliding across the seat to sit next to him. “It’s okay. I know you’d never do that.”
He glanced at me once before returning his eyes to the road. “You believe me?” he asked in a pained voice. “They’re going to question me, you know.”
“I do believe you.” I placed a hand on his arm, soaking up the heat from his inked skin. “I trust you, Raz. I--,” my voice choked with emotion. So many deep emotions swirling through me for three very different men.
“I’ve always trusted you,” I whispered, lowering my eyes. “I’m just an idiot. You were right. I’m so sorry, Raz.”
He took one hand off the steering wheel and wrapped it around mine, his tattooed thumb rubbing gently across my palm.
“I am too. I’m sorry,steluta.”
14
MELODY
We both jumped out of the truck the moment Razvan pulled into a parking space at the hospital. He grabbed my hand immediately and pulled me close as we walked up. I leaned into him, grateful for his presence now that this obstacle had moved between us. Perhaps it wasn’t completely out of the way, but it had definitely moved.
Nigel was already in the lobby, standing at the counter when we arrived.
“Where is he?” I demanded when we burst through the doors.
He turned, glanced quickly at my hand entwined with Raz’s, then lifted his eyes back up to me.
“They’re running tests on him. X-rays and all that. I’m just finding out where our waiting room is.”
After a few minutes, a nurse gave him directions and the three of us started for the elevator. Razvan pulled me tight against his chest and kissed my forehead when the door slid closed. His heart beat erratically underneath my ear and I couldn’t tell which of us was more worried.
I slid my hands up his back, enjoying the momentary distraction of feeling his warmth and the contours of his body. He wasn’t as tall as Hunter, nor as muscle-bound as Connor, but a perfect balance of strength and leanness. The decorations of ink covering him only highlighted the artistic lines and shapes his body made.
Choosing not to comment on our affection, Nigel looked away politely as the elevator ascended to Connor’s floor.
The elevator dinged and the door couldn’t slide open fast enough as we piled out. Nigel approached the desk and told them who we came to see.
The receptionist typed at the computer for a few moments and then glanced up at me.
