Chapter Thirty-Two
Harley
"You banned Zade and Rafe from your hospital room? Really?" Levi clapped his hands over his mouth, but his eyes were positively gleeful. "I can't believe I missed that!"
Scott chuckled softly, stroking his thumb against my palm. "It wasn't as dramatic as it sounds, Levi. Honest."
We were sitting around the kitchen table, comfortably stuffed from the meal that Levi had insisted on preparing shortly after we'd arrived back at his and Zade's house. I yawned and leaned against Scott's shoulder as I tried to fight back my impending food coma.
"We should get some rest," Scott suggested, wrapping his arm around me and pressing his lips to my brow.
"Too early," I mumbled even though I was losing the battle to keep my eyes open.
Scott snickered and stood up, scooping me into his arms and holding me to his chest. "Sure it is, Har."
"His room is over there," Levi offered and I assumed he was pointing down the hall.
"Nope," Scott said with a soft laugh. "His room is out in the driveway, right, Har?"
"Mmhmm," I agreed, rubbing my face against the soft fabric of his shirt.
"We'll pop back in after he's rested for a bit," Scott said. "I know you've got security and all, but if you need anything.." he trailed off.
"I'll call you," Levi agreed. "Thanks." There was a pause. "You're different now, Scotty." Scott didn't answer, but I imagined him raising his brow because Levi continued. "You seem younger now that you've found Harley," he said softly. "You're more relaxed. Not as, well, stiff and formal as the night we met. I like it."
Soft fingers ghosted over my cheek and I knew the touch was Levi's. "Sleep well, Harley."
~*~
"Harley! Wake up!" Scott's frantic voice jolted me out of the nightmare world where I was fleeing from a horrible beast with a humanoid body and the horribly misshapen, oversized head of a wild boar complete with massive tusks dripping blood.
I jolted up in the bed, fighting against the sweat-drenched blankets twisted around me until large, strong hands peeled them away. The air I was gasping in was thin and stale with fear. My eyes darted around the interior of the van, searching each shadow for the beast that had been squealing at my heels seconds before.
"You're okay, Harley," Scott continued to speak softly, rubbing my back. "It was just a dream. A nightmare. It wasn't real."
Except, I knew better. I wasn't sure how, but I knew that the creature hadn't really been left behind in my nightmare.
"It was." I concentrated on controlling my breathing, knowing all too well that it was the fastest method of stopping the panic. "It was real, Scott. It is." Even in the dark I could sense his skepticism. I could smell it, if that makes sense. Except, of course it doesn't make sense.
"It's here," I pressed on, glancing out the window at the early morning sky. The deep blue was barely beginning to pale. "Out in the trees."
To his credit, Scott didn't huff in annoyance or humor me, he simply handed me the jeans that he'd peeled off me before our nap and reached for his own. "Show me."
Clinging tightly to Scott's hand, I started across the open grassland behind the house, uncertain where I was going but somehow knowing that I was headed in the right direction. The tall grasses began to give way to the scattered trees that announced the beginning of the woods and the shadows deepened. The air became heavier, almost damp, and the light breeze carried a scent that made me freeze in fear even though I didn't know why.
The path that we followed narrowed until it was barely recognizable as a trail and through a break in the trees loomed the outline of a ramshackle building hidden deep in the woods.
"There." I whispered. "It happened there."
"What did?" Scott stared at the roofline that was visible in the distance. "You mean.." He trailed off and tried again. "Is that where they took you, Harley?"
Scott's voice was too loud in the artificial hush of the woods around us. I turned to shush him, but I knew it was too late. The sentries had been alerted to our presence.
"We've got to get out of here," I muttered, turning to flee and yanking him down the trail with me. "They know.."
"Who does, Harley?" Scott dug his heels in, pulling me to a stop. "What do they know, Harley?"
Fear flooded me as a hissing snort came from behind us. Turning slowly, I drew in a deep breath and gagged on the foul stench that emanated out from the monster stalking out from the brush.
"They do, Scott," I managed to say as I tried to back away. "They know that we're here."