Page 117 of Triple Power Play 3
Jax positions himself behind her, drawing her between his legs, and lowers his voice. “What is it? Did someone hurt you?”
She shakes her head sharply. “I feel strange.” They do that thing where they communicate with their eyes. I sit at the end of the bed and untie her laces but pay close attention.
“It’s an echo from the past.” He tucks a wayward lock of hair behind her ear. “You were frightened, and your body remembers.” He kisses her cheek. “You’re safe with us.”
His words give me pause, and my gut clenches. I wonder how deep their connection goes, if they’re similar in more ways than I thought. The idea of someone hurting them, especially intimately, fills me with such fury and adrenaline, my muscles no longer ache.
By the end of tonight, we’ll be inseparable, because I don’t know how I’ll ever part from them.
54
AURORA
“How could you walk around like this? God-fucking-damn it, Aurora.” Ethan carefully removes my shoe. “If you don’t start listening to me, I’m sending you to New York.”
My blood-soaked sock sticks to the insole. I flinch and attempt to yank my foot away. “No, you won’t.”
His fingers encircle my ankle, steadying me while he peels off my sock. “Watch me.”
“Alright, let’s see here.” Nurse Brody shines a penlight and ignores our bickering, his chipper tone never wavering. “You’ve got a few nasty cuts here,” he says as he lifts a pair of tweezers.
My heart rate picks up a notch, and I press into Jax behind me. “I picked out a couple of pieces already.”
While my adrenaline was high and I was eager to get to the hospital, I sat on the side of the tub and hastily ripped out what chunks of glass I could manage. I whimpered and cried—a lot. It was not my finest moment.
The nurse grasps my foot and digs the tweezers into my inflamed arch.
Hot, searing pain has me trying to pull out of Ethan’s firm grip, and I whimper-cry, “Ow!”
My husband tightens his arms around my chest to prevent me from escaping and drops his head to my shoulder. “Fuck, I’m sorry, baby.”
I bite my lower lip, and tears wet my eyelashes.
Ethan’s stormy gaze meets mine. “In New York, you could work on the loft, design in your studio, and rest. The twins will stay with you, my family will keep you safe.” He’s serious, his brows pinched in concern.
“I’m not abandoning Reece when he needs us. He’d never leave me, and I’d never leave either of you.”
His frown deepens, and he clenches his jaw, the muscle bunching. “There are people who want to hurtyou. Youarehurt. I’d send Jax too, if it wasn’t for the case and hockey. We’ll hire a nurse?—”
“No.” A piece of glass is freed, and blood spills from the wound. My frustration boils over, and I shake my head. “Not happening.”
“Aurora.”
“Ethan.” I mock his cautionary tone. “We can move into your downtown penthouse. If the twins want to stay, they can take Jax’s place. It hasn’t sold, and it’s only a block from yours. After Reece is discharged, we’ll go to Laguna or remain in LA. We’re not separating.”
Jax lifts his head. “We’ll figure it out. Let’s not fight. Everyone is tired and cranky.”
The nurse switches to the other foot and draws my attention from that icy glare.
“How long is the surgery?” I ask Brody to distract from the pain and the awkward silence.
“Depends on the severity, but about ten hours.”
I stare, wide-eyed. “Ten hours?”
“Maybe longer.” He concentrates on a stubborn sliver in my heel. “They need to repair damaged blood vessels and nerves,remove bone fragments, and restructure his shoulder and arm with plates and screws.” He glances up. “It’ll be a long recovery.”
My eyes find Ethan’s, and he releases a defeated sigh. “You will rest and gonowherealone.”
