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Talia thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Don’t bother. I want to hear it directly from Fleet. He told me before all this happened that he had shit to tell me about his past. I’ll be holding him to it.”
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
The first thing Fleet became aware of was being warm. It was a damned good feeling. He’d been so cold…
Shit.
Cold. Leaves. A hole in the ground. His brain snapped into awareness and his eyes popped open as he began struggling to sit up.
“Whoa, whoa! Hold on.”
Talia’s voice cut through his panic, and he blinked a few times and looked around.
White walls. Overhead lights. Talia’s beautiful face above him, and her hands on his shoulders gently pushing him back.
“Damn…” Fleet rasped. “I thought…”
“I know. I know. But it’s okay. You’re not in the woods any more. You’re in the hospital. You’re safe.”
“How long…? How is…?” Why the hell couldn’t he get his mouth to function? His brain was working just perfectly now that he’d fully woken, but he could only get one or two words to form on his tongue. He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, slowed down, and tried again.
“How…long was I in the woods?” he asked, taking an inordinate amount of time to form syllables.
“About three hours from what we can ascertain,” Talia told him, her hand on his shoulder as she smoothed his sheet back up over him with her other hand. “We brought you back in early this morning, and the surgeon took you into the OR right away. She opened your head back up to make sure there was no damage.”
“And?” Fleet prompted, looking up at a face he’d never tire of, but damn, she looked as tired as he felt.
Talia gave him a huge, reassuring grin that not only made his heart beat a little faster, it calmed whatever fears he’d been conjuring. “Everything was perfect in that delectable cranium of yours. So perfect, in fact, that she took out the plates and clamps so you’re all finished. You don’t have to undergo any additional surgeries.”
Fleet felt his chest relax for a moment until he remembered his earlier fears regarding the procedure. Slowly, he raised both hands and flexed them. He then jiggled his legs and feet. Everything seemed to be in working order. He was practically moved to tears.
“I can…” There he went again, trailing off his words. But this time it was due to emotion, not lack of larynx power. Granted, his voice was rough, but he blamed that on the breathing tube he’d probably had.
“Yes. You can move everything. You probably don’t remember, but your surgeon came into the recovery room, had you wiggle all your appendages, then poked you repeatedly with some kind of popsicle stick thingy, which you assured her you felt every time.”
“That’s…great news,” Fleet answered, closing his eyes against his onslaught of relief. He didn’t want Talia to see he was close to losing it.
“The best,” she agreed heartily. “And even better, they may even release you tomorrow if all your vitals remain stable.”
Now Fleet could truly settle down. Everything was—
Shit.Everythingwas notokay. Someone had tried to kill him, or scare him, or something really fucked up. He could only hope…
“Have you caught the person who brought me into the woods?” he asked roughly, able to string together words, but raspily. He figured it might be days until his vocal cords recovered fully.
“No.” Talia’s cheerful countenance stumbled. “We haven’t got a lot to go on, but we’re being extremely methodical with the information we have. Mason has split up the footage of the people coming and going from the hospital last night, and the team is sorting through it painstakingly. Welker, our forensics guy I mentioned previously, has his friend at the lab fast-tracking DNA samples they took from your room and from the tarp you were wrapped in.”
That’s right. He remembered Talia mentioning a tarp.
“They can rule your markers out, because they already have your blood from earlier, and they’re hoping to have something definitive within the next forty-eight hours. In the meantime,” she continued, her face remaining serious, “I’ll be sticking to your side, and Mason’s got squad members in rotation outside your room and on all the hospital entrances.”
Was he okay with that? He was, as long as it meant Talia would remain safe. He was pretty sure the attack on him was somehow related to him being with her, and he wouldn’t ever want to risk her life. “You can stop babysitting me now, you know,” he told her. “I’m awake, and if Mase has guards on me, I’ll be fine.”
Talia stuck out her bottom lip in a stubborn set he’d seen before. Fleet thought himself unyielding, but he’d been with Talia enough by now to know that he was a complete pushover compared to her.
He sighed. “You’re not leaving, are you.”
Her arms folded over her chest, and she looked satisfied he’d figured it out. “Not even close. I’m glued to you, Fleet, whether you like it or not. The only question is, where? You haven’t invited me up to your apartment yet, so I’m not sure of your amenities. Do you have a spare bedroom? A pullout couch?”
