“My house.” I can take care of her. It’s away from the bustle of town, but close enough for her family to come. Besides, Mari uses Tilda’s house for music lessons. “Take her to my house. I’ll be right behind you.”
I can tell that Carol wants to argue, but Pete says, “I’ll call the hospital and have them send some O-negative blood just in case, Max. Do you remember your medical training?”
“I can manage.” I lean in and kiss Tilda’s forehead. “Don’t you dare leave me before we’ve even had a proper date.”
A soft moan and a flicker of eyelashes are the only responses.
I head for home through the woods, but Sam calls out, “Max, my truck is less than a mile away. It will be faster.”
Over my shoulder, I meet Chief Martinez’s stare as he and two other officers chain the boogeyman to a very large tree to wait for backup. He gives me a nod. “We’ve got this, Max. Take care of Miss Schwan.”
Ion and I follow Sam and Mari at a run to the south. When we reach some kind of dirt service road, it’s only a hundred yards to Sam’s custom truck made to accommodate the giant.
I’m grateful for the silence as Sam breaks every speed limit to get us to my house. It’s not possible to make small talk, and since these are the people who care the most about Tilda, I assume they feel the same.
We arrive at my house just before the ambulance pulls down my drive. Everyone goes into action as if this kind of thing happens every day.
Mari heads directly to my bedroom, and I follow. We pull down the blankets and stack pillows for Tilda’s comfort. “She’s going to be fine.”
I can’t tell if she’s trying to comfort herself or me. I manage a grunt of agreement as I pull extra blankets and draw the shades, since the sun will be coming up soon. My vampire won’t like bright sunlight streaming in.
In the living room, Sam and Ion have moved the furniture aside to make it easy for Carol and Pete to bring Tilda through on a gurney.
Pete says, “We’ll leave the backboard in case she complains of back or neck pain. The wounds stopped bleeding on our drive over.” He gives a little half smile. “It’s a good sign.”
They lift her onto my bed.
She’s small and pale and covered in bandages.
Heart in my throat, I need a few deep breaths to get my emotions under control. Losing her is not an option. A sudden wash of regret comes over me because I didn’t kill that miserable boogeyman. It deserved to die for what it did to my beautiful swan. She is all things good, and that monster tried to kill her and harm a child.
“Do you want help cleaning her up?” Carol asks.
In the lamp-lit room, she looks even worse than she did outside that cave. Panic steals my breath.
Mari says, “I’ll help him, Carol.”
Sirens are getting closer, and I move to defend the bedroom.
“It’s just the blood, Max.” Carol grips my arm. “You’re going to have to calm down if you’re going to help Tilda.” She rushes out of the bedroom to meet the officer bringing the blood.
Taking my hand, Mari’s voice is soft and calm. “Carol is right, Max. I know how you feel, and I don’t blame you, but you found her and kept her alive in that cave. Now you have to get yourself under control and help her recover.”
“I know.” I take several deep breaths. “Let’s get her cleaned up. I have a tee shirt we can put her in.”
Pete comes in rolling an IV pole. “Mr. Radu thinks a pint of O-negative can’t hurt.” Without waiting for a response, he sets up the pole while Carol comes in with the bag of blood.
While the EMTs work, Sam brings in a bucket of soapy warm water and a washcloth. I cut Tilda out of her shredded clothes while Mari washes the grime off. It’s a relief when, beneath the blood, the wounds are starting to heal. The bruise on her neck and collarbone is still dark and looks painful.
We put fresh bandages on the deeper cuts and slip my white tee onto her. It almost reaches her knees.
Mari brushes her hair and braids it while Pete replaces the saline with blood to drip into Tilda’s IV.
The fact that Tilda didn’t stir through the entire process is terrifying. I pull a chair over to the side of the bed and sit. If she wakes up, even for a moment, I want her to know she’s not alone.
I don’t know when Carol and Pete left, but when I look up, they’re gone.
Maybe I thanked them, but I’m focused on Tilda.
