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Orion leans slightly into me, reaching out to trace her jaw lightly with his finger. “Lennon said she’d rather die than let Xav use her as a weapon and she meant it. She sounded so broken. Fuck, I feel like we waited too long to get her. Her pulse is slow and thready, I think she passed out from an adrenaline crash and shock,” he explains. “There’s more to what she told me… but it doesn’t feel right to tell just you. You all need to hear this, and I want Lennon looked at by the medic.”
“Hmm. It doesn’t matter if we’re quiet anymore, yeah?” I grunt.
My phone flashlight is still on and I can see Orion’s lips twitch. “Nah, bring us the cavalry with your big voice, Roark.”
Breathing deeply, I yell, “I’ve found her, and we need a medic!”
Crashing footsteps sound from all sides as people rush to us. “Yell again,” Greg calls so I do.
“Move your arse, Greg!”
“Ass,” Greg grumbles as he finds us, nudging us aside to look at Lennon. “What happened? Did she fall? Has she spoken to either of you?”
“Aye, Lenny said a lot, but she passed out when she saw me. Orion thinks it was because of shock. She didn’t think anyone would come for her,” I explain gruffly.
Greg flinches as if he was hit and he looks down at her. “Oh, beautiful girl, we were always coming for you. It just took us a little longer than expected, and I’ll be apologizing for that once you’re awake,” he says softly. Greg’s voice is full of sorrow and self hatred, even though it wasn’t his fault we had so many roadblocks.
Breathing deeply, he yells, “Medic!”
The medic shouts back that she’s coming, running towards us as Turner and Derek also find us. Pushing us out of the way, the medic checks Lennon over with a flashlight. “She’s covered in blood, but none of it appears to be hers. She’s shaking, there’s cold sweat covering her skin, and her blood pressure is very low. We need to get her moved, but I need to get her inside to scan her for the kill switch,” the medic explains. “How high is the potential that she has one implanted in her skin?”
Orion sighs, now standing as he looks down at her. Pulling on his hair, he thinks. “I believe he was bluffing, but I’m not willing to stake her life on it. I’d rather she thoroughly be checked over,” he growls and the medic agrees, standing up.
“One of you can carry her inside. Speak in a low tone, reassure her, because if she wakes up, she may panic when she recognizes that she’s inside of the hospital again,” the medic warns.
I gently pick her up, whispering, “I love you so much. Rest, and we’ll get you the fook out of here just as soon as we can, yeah? I’m so sorry you felt no one was going to come for you. We’ll always find a way, tiny Valkyrie. You’re so damn strong.”
Walking quickly, I stride through the woods with everyone flanking me. Greg is fisting and unfisting one of his hands as he palms his gun in the other, keeping his head on a swivel, just in case there’s anyone left that’s a problem.
Moments later, we are through the sliding glass door near the garden, walking towards an exam room.
“Wait,” Orion says, shaking his head. “Lennon has a lot of shitty memories surrounding an exam room, can you check her out in the living room or something?”
Orion’s eyes are filled with sadness and shared memories as he looks at Lenny and my heart cramps. “The man’s got a point,” I rasp. “I know it’s probably against protocol…” I start to tell the medic and she shakes her head.
“Fuck the protocol,” she says softly. “This entire rescue mission is something no one ever expects to be asked to do. I’m specialized in trauma management, which is why Greg asked me to come tonight, but even I can admit this is so much bigger than I expected.”
“Patty, I told you it was fucked,” Greg snaps as he changes directions, finding the largest couch and pulling it into place so it’s easier to lay Lennon down. “Xav is the bane of my existence, and it’s because he’s so well protected. I’m sure he’ll go to ground now that he’s no longer the apple of the government’s eye.”
Crew walks into the room, stopping abruptly as he sees me laying Lennon down.
The medic starts laying out her tools, murmuring that she’ll have to cut off her clothes.
“If you’ve never seen Lennon naked before, step out of the room immediately,” Greg says. “Crew, update me in the hallway,” he commands as he walks out of the room and closes the door behind him.
Orion doesn’t move and I don’t bother raising my eyebrows in surprise. He was there while she was tortured and then washed her up. Of course he’s seen her naked before.
Patty, the medic, cuts off Lenny’s clothes, searching for wounds before she runs the scanner for any embedded objects. I roll my lips in, biting hard to hold in any noises that want to escape as my eyes catalog the multiple bruises and cuts over her body.
Turner’s arm winds around my waist as we watch, and my eyes prick with tears. My breath hitches as I wonder what they did to her, and then I see the fingerprints and marks and gag as bile threatens to rise.
“Roark, look away,” Derek barks and I shudder as I hide my face in Turner’s shoulder.
“Lenny’s going to need warm clothes if she’s in shock,” I rasp, my skin feeling cold and clammy as I struggle to breathe.
“My mom left her blanket, I’ll get her another,” Derek says, and I lift my head in time to see him grab a blanket left discarded on a chair by the window.
“I know where I can find clothes. Roark, come take a walk with me, yeah? They’ve got this, and the medic may have to be thorough as she checks over Lennon. You don’t need to be here for this,” Orion says, surprisingly gentle as he starts to walk towards the door.
