AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He leans in and places his mouth over mine. It’s not intrusive or pushy, it’s just soft, gentle, enough to let me know that my Clay is right here with me.
“Do you want to talk about the nightmare?”
I pull back from him and lie back on the pillows that are more upright than they were when I first woke up. “I can’t, Clay. Just trust that I’m doing this for you, because I love you too much to put you in danger. I can’t lose you now. I won’t.”
Clay tilts his head and studies every part of me. “You’re never going to lose me, short stuff. I’m here, and I’m staying here. Nothing you could do or say will make me want to leave.”
I shake my head. “I know. That isn’t why I’m concerned. I just can’t talk about anything. I can’t have anything I say put you in danger. Please, just trust me, Clay.”
He never takes his eyes off me. He leans his hand on my thigh and rubs circles with his thumb. “You don’t have to say anything, but I’m going to ask you a question. I just need to see your face to know the answer.” I sigh, but it’s pointless saying no, because Clay will keep going anyway. “Has someone threatened you to keep you quiet? Has someone said you can’t talk?”
“Clay…” I growl out my frustration.
“Nothing will touch you, Shay.”
“No, they won’t. They’ll just touch everyone I care about. I won’t let that happen.”
“What about Josh, huh? Don’t you want us to find him? Bring him home?”
“Of course I do!”
I forgot where I was for a moment, because when a nurse turns around and looks at me, I shrink back into the bed.
“I don’t know where I was held, Clay.” I soften my tone. “By the time I arrived at that camp, my sense of direction was gone. I don’t know how long Josh and I kept moving for. I don’t know how long Josh carried me before I woke up. No matter what I tell you about the people in that camp, what was going on, I will never be able to tell you where Josh is. And the night I left the prison I was in, I was too far out of it to even pick up anything significant. I don’t even know if Josh is still alive, Clay. I never once saw him when I woke up in the medical wing. Keir said he would have been trained as a soldier once he proved his worth.”
“Keir?”
“I’ve said too much already. But Keir is a doctor. Someone captured just like me. He helped me as best he could. He probably kept me alive, Clay.”
Clay looks down at his hand on my leg. He looks deep in thought, disturbed even. I can’t read him, and that is never a good sign.
“Where was he from?”
I shrug. “I think he’s American. We never really spoke about our lives back home. We were more concerned with helping the people that walked through the medical wing doors. And I was always on the lookout for a way out, but it nearly got me killed in the end.”
“You worked there?”
I nod. “Until I called you and got caught.”
“And what kind of people did you treat?”
“I can’t, Clay.”
He sighs. Just when I think he’s going to get angry with me, he sits up straight, takes my hand in his, and smiles. “Okay, I get it. I won’t ask any more questions. How are you feeling?”
“Better. I just want to get out of here and go home. These four walls constantly remind of the hospital room I sat in for weeks, months. God, I don’t even know how long.”
I’ve been stuck within four walls for long enough; I need to feel free and alive again. I’ve lost all sense of myself lately and I need to remember what it’s like to live as me, and not some captured, wounded soldier.
“I think it will be a while, babe. Listen to what the doctors say and you’ll be out of here in no time at all.”
That’s what I’m concerned about. The doctors won’t be in any hurry to discharge me, especially after everything I’ve been through.
“Hey.”
Carrick peeks his head around the door and walks in with bags of goodies. If everyone keeps going, I’ll have enough supplies for the full hospital.
“Mom and Dad are on their way up. Clay, I’ve had my orders to send you back to the compound. The guys need your help.”
