Page 36 of Wolf
“You need to rest,” he tells me, taking a seat on my bed. “Doctor’s orders. And try not tospeak.”
“My throat… sodry.”
Thorne grabs the water on the tray beside the bed and slides his hand under my head, lifting my lips to the cup’s paper rim. My first gulp takes a while to go down, but it’s such a relief. I didn’t realize I could be that thirsty. I only stop drinking after he refills the cup the fourthtime.
“Are you all right?” Iask.
He opens one side of his zippered sweater and shows me the bandaged areas around his chest and above one shoulder. “It fucking hurts, but the doctors say that I’m fine. The wound will heal over time. The bullets did a number on me, but these doctors are thebest.”
“Thank God. You lost so much blood, I was so afraid you wouldn’t…,” I start to admit but stopmyself.
“I’m right here. Nothing a few pints of O positive and experienced surgeons couldn’tfix.”
“Good.” I start to wonder how he’s up and moving around before I am. “How long have I beenunconscious?”
“Four days. The doctor will explain, but there was a complication during the surgery. I don’t really understand, but they had a problem getting the bullet out. He should be here anytimenow.”
“Where are we? A hospital?” I ask, looking around the sparsely furnished room. There’s one visitor’s chair, the monitoring equipment attached to me, fluorescent light above me, one door, and white walls. Nowindows.
“Something like that,” Thorne answers. “It’s a private trauma clinic… courtesy of the money I earned from my employer over the years. Former employer. You’re better off not knowing anything more thanthat.”
“With no windows?” For a second, I thought I was injail.
He furrows his brows. “They’ve pulled out all the stops to keep the location unknown… even topatients.”
“That’s a bitextreme.”
“Wait until the orderly puts a black bag over our heads when it’s time to check out,” headds.
“Wow.” The mention of eventually leaving this place brings on a slew of sobering questions. Is Grams still okay? If they found me, they could’ve found her out east too. Are there any more people after me? If it’s over now, will Thorne ride off into the sunset alone, or did he mean it when he said we’d protect each other for as long as it takes? Was what we shared as real for him as it was for me? I know that I meant it, but I don’t know what he’s thinking. This can very well be the end of the line for me and the only man to ever touch myheart.
I’m so overcome that I can’t think of what to askfirst.
“You should try to get some rest.” His deep voice reassures me somehow. “I’ll find thedoctor.”
“Wait,” I say pleadingly as he moves to stand, my hand gripping his with a desperation I didn’t think I had inme.
He runs his fingertips over the side of my cheek and smooths my hair back. “What’sup?”
I feel stupid. The words won’t come. All I want is the man in front of me, yet I can’t bring myself to find out what we are to each other. But I need toknow.
The creak of the door swinging open pulls us from the intense moment, and Thorne leans back to lookaround.
A middle-aged female doctor walks in, followed by a male nurse. The nurse checks my vitals as the doctor fills me in on the unexpected hemorrhaging that took place while I was under the knife. “You’re stable now,” the doctor says, wrapping it up. “We’ll keep you for observation for another two or three days, but rest assured, you’re in goodhands.”
“That’s a relief,” Ianswer.
“Be sure to rest up,” she orders as she turns to leave with the nurse. “Good night, MissMcClintock.”
It’s strangely cathartic hearing her say my real name. Maybe things will be different now. Maybe I’m finally going to be free of mypast.
“That’s good news,” Thorne speaks up when we’re alone again. “Just a few more days and we can blow thisjoint.”
“Yes, that’s awesome,” Iagree.
“So… what were you going to ask me just now?” He peers down at me, studying my face, waiting for me tospeak.
“You… we… this… What I’m trying to sayis—”
