Page 60 of Carnal Urges
He doesn’t have to take me back to New York where he snatched me from. He doesn’t have to make arrangements for travel or avoiding whoever might be trying to rescue me. He could simply leave me in the hospital and walk out.
Like he did only minutes ago.
Right after Nancy announced I was pregnant.
My heart starts to pound. My mouth goes dry. There’s an awful tightness in the pit of my stomach.
Okay, what is this feeling? Let’s name this feeling to defuse its power.
Right now, I’m feeling… strange.
Too vague. Try again.
I’m feeling … unwell.
Could be that blood clot in your head. Let’s talk about your emotional state, not your physical one, Sloane.
I hate it when you get snippy with me.
And I hate it when you talk back to your inner voices like you’re a crazy person. WHAT ARE YOU FEELING?
Aloud, I blurt, “Hurt.”
As soon as I say it, I know it’s true. Then the disbelief comes.
I’ve lost my mind. My feelings are hurt because my kidnapper left when he heard about the baby.
The non-baby that I am definitely not having.
I leap from bed, run to the door, and yank it open. I don’t know what I had planned, I’m acting on sheer instinct, but as soon as the door flies open, four huge men in black suits jump from their places flanking either side of the door to create an impenetrable bristling gangster wall in front of me.
One of them is Kieran.
Why seeing him causes such relief to flood my body, I don’t want to know.
He takes one look at my face and slams into scary high-alert mode. Yanking a gun from his waistband, he peers behind me into the room, hackles raised and growling.
“What’s the craic? Are ye all right, lass?”
“Yes, I’m all right. I just… um. I was… thirsty.”
Kieran relaxes his shoulders and exhales a breath. Then he turns to the man beside him.
“Go fetch a wee glass of water for the lass, and be quick about it.” He puts the gun back into its holster and turns to me, smiling. “Boy’s a dear, you had me soilin’ my kex with that puss of yours.”
I don’t think I’ll ever understand a word the man says, but I know on a cellular level that he was worried about me, that he was ready to shoot any intruder who might be in my room, and thatDeclan not only hasn’t abandoned me in this hospital, he’s left me with my own personal protection unit in his absence.
I refuse to name this feeling. It might be the final straw that breaks my brain.
“Best get back in bed, lass,” says Kieran with a chin jerk. “Declan’ll go mad as a box of frogs if he finds ye worse off when he gets back.”
Instead of answering, I give Kieran a hug.
When I release him, everyone is staring wide-eyed at me like I farted in church.
I say sincerely, “Thank you, Kieran. And all you guys, too. I feel so much better knowing you’re out here. I really appreciate you watching out for me. I’m sure there’s probably lots of other stuff you’d all rather be doing…”
I inhale an unsteady breath. No one says anything. The gangster who Kieran sent to get the water returns and hands me a paper cup.
