Page 68 of Graced
“Grace?”
Before she could respond, he got up and came over to her, gathering her into his arms for one of the warmest hugs she could ever remember.He held her for the longest time, finally releasing her as he perched himself on the bed next to her and took her hands in his.“How do you feel?”
“Tired.A bit achy, but otherwise I feel okay.”She reached behind her head and hesitantly touched the sore spot back there, only to discover it was a sizeable lump underneath a gauze pad.
He grabbed her wrist as she winced from the pain.“Leave it alone.Dr.Blocker said you had a minor concussion.That’s why he kept you overnight for observation.But he said if you felt better in the morning, he’d let you go home.”Rhyne grinned crookedly.“He said you were damn lucky.I agree with him.”
Grace smiled back.“Speaking of.Holy shit.What happened to you?”
Now that she could see him close-up, there were definitely more of those scratches on his face, not to mention what looked like fresh ones on his arms and neck.
He sighed and sat back, but he didn’t release her hands.“It’s a long story.”
“Humor me.”
That got a snort from him.“What’s the last thing you remember?”His eyes narrowed.“If there are parts you don’t want to talk about just yet, that’s okay.”
Sighing, she dropped her gaze to where their hands rested on the thin blanket.What was the last thing she remembered?
“I remember those strange men.I guess they’re Welsh’s friends.They put zip ties around my…” Her eyes went to the visible bruises on her skin.“They put me in the back of their car, and…and…”
Rhyne drew her back into his embrace, pressing a kiss to her hair.“Let me take it from there.Nash and I followed them out of town.Nash called the cops and told them that Welsh had kidnapped you, and gave them the description of the SUV you were in.”
A small shudder went through her, but she’d never felt safer than she did at that moment.
“Tell me more.”
“Grace, when Welsh attacked you at the hospital and killed Norris, he broke the most sacred of cardinal rules of my kind.”
“That being?”
“He got the cops involved.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“It risked our secret getting out.It risked the world learning the truth about vampires, and about our living among humans.Our very existence was at stake.”
“So what happened?”
“After the police identified Welsh as the man who’d killed Norris, they had the house placed under surveillance, hoping to catch him.When me and Nash left to go find you, they followed us.I guess they were thinking we’d lead them to him.We caught up with Cargill and Welsh in Cargill’s SUV, but by that time we’d crossed the county line.So the police car tailing us gave way for the sheriff’s department.Cargill must have realized something strange was going on and tried to ditch us, but the sheriff’s cars slammed into him, and the SUV ended up in a ditch on the side of the road.”
A hazy memory of being tossed around inside the vehicle came to her.After that, she remembered nothing more.“What happened next?”
“Nash and I got you out of the SUV, and when the ambulance arrived, I gave you to them to bring you here.”
She felt herself stiffen slightly.“What about Welsh?Did the sheriff’s men capture him?”
“No.”
Her stomach tightened with fear until she heard his next words.
“Welsh is dead.He’ll never bother you again.”
She pulled away from him so she could look him directly in the eye.“Did you…kill him?”
Rhyne smiled.“I tried to.Welsh and Cargill and his men fled the scene right after the car was overturned but before the sheriff’s men could get to them, Nash tracked them down, and after I delivered you to the EMS and made sure you’d be safe, I followed him.We found Welsh and the others quite a distance from the highway.They’d taken temporary refuge in a hunting shack.”
“So, if you didn’t kill him, who did?”
