“Haunted is a nice way of saying crazy. And are you trying to say he won’t go the rest of the way off his rocker when he learns about her?” Logan stared pointedly at everyone in the vehicle, but no one responded. “That’s what I thought.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Saxon said. “Killean has to accept her.”
“Good luck,” Logan snorted.
“He doesn’t have to accept me,” Elyse said. “He has every right to hate me.”
“Yes,” Saxon growled. “Hedoeshave to accept you.” Because like it or not, she was staying with him.
A knot lodged in Elyse’s throat as she recalled all the vampires she hurt, including Saxon’s friends. She’d spend the rest of her life trying to atone for it, but she’d better do it fast as she didn’t see her life lasting much longer.
* * *
“Tryto avoid the cameras when you go in,” Declan said. “It’s going to be almost impossible, especially by the front door, but do the best you can. Try to be out in one hour, but anything longer than three and we’re running the risk of Savages breathing down our necks.”
“Got it,” Saxon said.
“I know none of you have probably ever been to a hospital before,” Elyse said. “But getting in and out in an hour is virtually impossible, even if you’re only visiting someone. It will probably be at least an hour wait in the ER.”
“You’ve never been to a hospital with a vampire before; we’re going to bypass a lot of things,” Saxon said. “Do any of you have extra weapons? I’m out.”
Declan and Asher each removed a stake from their pockets. Saxon took them and tucked them away. “I’ll see you soon.”
He helped Elyse out of the vehicle and closed the door on the minivan they stole an hour ago. When the van pulled away, he wrapped his arm around Elyse’s waist and turned to face the hospital. They’d driven almost three hours before coming across this hospital and deciding it would be safe to stop.
While they were in the hospital, Lucien and Asher would remain hidden outside the building to watch for any approaching Savages. Declan and Logan planned to find a vehicle someone wouldn’t report stolen. The minivan drove toward the entrance before coming to a stop again; Asher and Lucien climbed out of the van and blended into the shadows of the trees crowding the drive.
Elyse held her arm as she walked beside him toward the brightly lit, glass doors almost five hundred feet away. Scaffolding framed either side of the emergency doors. Tarps and equipment remained on the scaffolding in expectation of the construction workers returning today.
Declan made sure to stay away from the cameras when they pulled in, which meant they had to walk further, and Elyse trembled with every step she took. As the night progressed, he’d sensed her increasing distress as some of her shock wore off. Now, her eyes were sunken and shadowed as she kept her head bowed.
“Let me carry you,” he offered. “At least you’ll be warmer.”
Elyse couldn’t stop her teeth from chattering, but she didn’t think it had anything to do with the cold and everything to do with the ceaseless, throbbing of her arm. It was as if someone were jabbing her with fiery hot knives and digging them around in there. When she moved the wrong way, the two bones grated together until she wanted to scream or vomit, but she was afraid both actions would jar her arm too much.
“No… I… uh… I can’t move,” she said.
She knew how ridiculous that sounded as she continued to put one foot in front of the other, but the idea of being lifted off her feet and jarred in any way made her cringe.
“We’re almost there,” he said. “Keep your head down.”
She bowed her head as he held her closer. The doors swished open, and they stepped into the well-lit interior of the hospital. The rush of heat washing over her did little to warm her. She kept her head down in the hopes of avoiding some of the cameras, but she knew it was impossible.
She glanced around the pale pink chairs of the waiting room and spotted a couple of people sitting in them. One of them held an ice pack on his ankle, and the other was staggering around like a drunk searching for the bathroom. And that was exactly what he was doing as he crashed into the restroom door. The woman with him dropped her head into her hands.
“Can I help you?” the woman behind the desk asked.
She had to look up, or she’d appear even sketchier. “Yes,” she said as she met the woman’s kind blue eyes. “I broke my arm.”
“Okay,” the woman said as she turned to her computer. “I need your name, insurance information, and—”
“Oh, I don’t have insurance,” Elyse blurted. How could she have forgotten that pertinent detail?
“Well, then we have some paperwork….”
The woman’s voice trailed off as Saxon leaned over the counter and smiled at her. Her eyes widened before her gaze ran appraisingly over him. Then, her eyes shot back up, and a blush crept into her cheeks as she turned back to her computer.
Elyse gritted her teeth while she resisted kicking him in the leg, but he was speaking. “I’m sure we don’t have to go through all of that.”
