“He’s not the only one,” Lucien muttered.
“You’ve made that clear, so why don’t you take the car andgo. I’m not making you stay here,” Saxon said.
Lucien looked as if he’d never considered this possibility, and for all his surly assholishness, Saxon knew the idea of leavinghadnever occurred to him. He was a dick, but he was a loyal dick and a good friend… even if Saxon wanted to choke him.
“And where would I go?” Lucien asked.
“To meet Ronan,” Saxon said. “He’s still heading for Maine.”
“Hmm.” Lucien seemed to ponder this. “I’m not in the mood to drive.”
Despite his irritation with him, Saxon smiled when Lucien gave him the finger. “Hugs and kisses to you too,” Saxon said.
He focused on the room before him. Elyse was still and pale as she lay there; she was so vulnerable to these humans who were far from perfect. They were only going to fix her arm, but any number of things could go wrong. His hands clenched around the stainless-steel sink in front of him.
He didn’t hear Declan approach until he stood beside him. “She’ll be fine. This is what humans do.”
“And this is where humans sometimes die.”
“That is the mortal way of life. It’s also the immortal one.”
Saxon knew he had a point, but he didn’t respond as the surgeon cut into Elyse’s arm. A knock on the door sounded, but he didn’t look over until he heard Asher say, “We have a problem.”
Saxon glanced away from the surgery. “What is it?”
“I need all of you to come with me.”
“I’m not leaving,” Saxon said.
“Believe me,” Asher said, “youhaveto see this.”
It was the paleness of Asher’s face that caught Saxon’s attention. He glanced back into the operating room, but everything was calm in there as the doctors spoke in muffled tones and the machines continued their reassuring beeps. He kept his eye on Elyse as he followed Lucien and Declan out the door.
“This way,” Asher said.
He led them a few doors down the hall and into the waiting room full of cheery pink and green chairs. Because it was so early in the morning, no family members were waiting for their loved ones to get out of surgery. The room was quiet except for a news story about adopting shelter animals playing on the TV in the corner.
Once they realized they were going to be staying longer than they hoped, Logan and Declan went to the security office to deal with the guards and to have the cameras facing outside turned back on. Logan remained in the room, watching the feeds for any sign of approaching Savages.
“What is so important?” Saxon demanded; his skin crawled with his compulsion to return to Elyse.
Asher waved a hand at the TV. “The news.”
They all glanced at the cute reporter holding a squiggling puppy in her arms.
“I’m all for saving animals, but I’m not driving over to the shelter to adopt them all,” Lucien said.
Asher shot him a look. “It’s coming after this story.”
Saxon stepped back to peer out the doorway. The hall remained empty, and if he strained to listen, he could hear the distant beep of Elyse’s heart monitor. The rhythm remained steady and strong.
“Now back to the developing story we’ve been covering all morning,” the female anchor said.
“Yes,” the male anchor said. Saxon turned to find the two reporters gazing solemnly at the TV. “Here to tell us more about the possible abduction of a young woman is reporter Skylar Jackson. Have you learned anything new, Skylar?”
The focus shifted to a pretty, young reporter standing on the side of the road. When the camera panned back, Saxon saw the motel where they’d stayed in New York. Flashing lights reflected off the building and spilled across the parking lot as three police cruisers came into view.
“Shit,” Lucien muttered.
