Chapter Two
Lucian
I’ve long since given up pacing the floor, and I’m slumped in a chair in the corner. Nighttime in a hospital emergency department is bustling. I’ve moved away from crying babies and loud-talking people too many times to count. On her last visit, my aunt pulled a chair into the hallway for me, knowing I had no desire to be in a group of strangers.
“Lia is bruised and banged up pretty badly. She has fractures to her wrist, fingers, and her nose. What we’re watching closely right now though is the small amount of swelling she has on her brain.” At the look of panic on my face, she takes my hand reassuringly. “The doctor believes we can treat her with medication as long as the swelling doesn’t continue to increase further. At this point, we are monitoring that.” I notice vaguely that my aunt looks tired; I know she’s working a double shift so she can be near Lia. I sent Sam, Max, and Rose home hours ago. I was in no mood for company, but I know they would be back in a moment’s notice if I said the word. I’ve lived for years, though, as mostly a loner…until Lia, and it’s something I’ve fallen back on for comfort today. “Luc…the old scar on her back…did he do that, as well?” I nod but don’t bother to elaborate. In her years at the hospital, she has probably seen more women like Lia than I can imagine. Very little shocks her anymore.
I try to stand up from my chair, knowing my aunt needs to get off her feet for a few minutes, but she motions me back down before squatting next to me. “We’re going to be moving Lia to a room in the ICU soon. One person can stay with her tonight. Have you reached any of her friends or family?”
I think briefly of Max’s revelation that Lee Jacks is quite possibly Lia’s biological father. That’s a bridge to be crossed another day, though. “She doesn’t really have any family.” Max has called her close friend Debra. She was out of town but is on her way back now. I don’t expect her until sometime tomorrow, though. If Debra was as upset as Max said she was, I figure she’s burning the road up trying to get to Lia.
“There is one piece of news I think you’ll be relieved to hear,” my aunt says softly. I just look at her, not knowing if anything other than seeing Lia will give me relief. “Luc, it doesn’t appear she was raped. There is no evidence to support it. If that was her attacker’s intent, then possibly he was interrupted before he could do it.”
I drop my head into my hands, feeling the urge once again to cry. My aunt was right; the feeling of relief is overwhelming. To know that Lia hadn’t been violated in that way is enough to bring me to my knees. The bastard hadn’t been able to take that from her. I have no doubt that she fought him with everything she had. The skin they removed from under Lia’s nails gave validity to that fact. When her stepfather is found, Lia will have collected the evidence during her struggle to lock him away. “Thank God,” I finally say. “Can I go to her now?”
When I feel a hand on my head, I look up in surprise. My aunt continues to run her hand through my hair. I stiffen at first because it’s been many years since she comforted me as she did when I was a child. Except for the rare occasion, I’ve always preferred to find my comfort in solitude, which was hard for her to accept for many years. “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”
I pull back sharply, causing her hand to return to her side. “What’re you talking about?” I cringe when the question leaves my mouth. I’ve played right into her hands. I should have walked away without comment, but I’ve opened the door now.
“I have never seen you this way over a woman. To be honest, you’re a complete wreck, which we both know isn’t you.”
I love my aunt, but I hate to be psychoanalyzed. I bite back my anger because I would have been barred from the hospital by now if not for her interceding today. She has also been my eyes and ears to Lia, breaking rules I know she normally wouldn’t for anyone but me. “We both know I’ve been here before. In this very hospital, actually, and I think it accurate to say I was off my rocker then, as well.”
My aunt is unable to contain her quick flinch at the reminder of my past. “That wasn’t the same thing, Luc,” she says quietly. “I’m not saying you didn’t love Cassie, because you did. You just were not in love with her. Lia, though—”
“Fae,” I interrupt her. “Please stop. I don’t have anything left in me for this conversation today. I’m hanging on to a fucking tightrope by one hand. If you want me to admit I care about Lia, then fine, yes I do. Leave it at that.”
She looks quickly at her phone when a text sounds. “That’s Sara. I told her to let me know when Lia was in her room.” As I jump to my feet, my aunt halts me before I get further. “Lia’s heavily sedated, Luc. Don’t expect her to wake at any point tonight and maybe not tomorrow, either. Right now, her body needs the respite to heal. After you’ve seen her, you should go home for the night and get some rest. She’ll need you more in a few days.”
“That’s not going to happen,” I say flatly. My aunt purses her lips in frustration but doesn’t comment. The thought of leaving Lia alone was enough to make my gut clench in agony. She had needed me earlier, and I’d been unable to go to her; that wouldn’t happen again. I can no more admit to myself how I feel about Lia than I could to my aunt. Truthfully, I have no clue. Love? Maybe obsessed is a more accurate word. From the moment we met, the driving need to have her, to possess her, has ruled my every action where she is concerned.
The double doors to the inner sanctum of the emergency department open for me this time with a simple swipe of my aunt’s ID badge. The irony that here she is more powerful than I am is not lost on me. I’m a rich, well-connected man, but that means little here. I am nothing compared to the heroes hurrying in these hallways, desperately trying to help those like Lia.
We reach a doorway to a room at the end of the hall, giving it a bit more privacy than the ones closer to the nurses’ station. My heart pounds loudly in my chest as I follow my aunt into the small, dimly lit space. My aunt walks straight to the monitors next to the bed, checking each of them before stepping aside and motioning me forward.
Then I see her…My chest feels tight, and my feet so unbelievably heavy as I take small steps until I’m next to her. “Oh, baby,” I whisper as I stand helpless at Lia’s bedside. I reach down and take her small hand into mine, careful of the IV line attached to it.
My aunt steps up, rubbing my arm reassuringly. “Most of what you see is just to monitor her. You can touch her, just be careful you don’t knock anything loose.” At my nod, she says, “I’m going to head home for the night. Call me if you need me for anything…no matter the time, and I’ll be here.”
I give her my thanks, and she tells me she’ll be back in the morning to check on Lia. I am strangely relieved when I hear the door close behind her; I need time to process what I’m seeing and feeling without her curious eyes on me. I turn on the bedside light and wince as Lia is almost fully illuminated. She is pale…almost translucent, making the dark bruises and red scratches marring her skin eerily visible. Her arm, which seemed at such an odd angle earlier now looks normal with the exception of another brace around the wrist area and bandages on her fingers. There are also bandages over her nose, which my aunt had already told me was broken.
The sheet is pulled up to just under her chest, making further examination difficult. At this point, I’m better off not seeing the full extent of her injuries. I pull a chair closer to her bed and drop into it wearily. Lowering the guardrail, I lay my head next to her side while holding her uninjured hand in mine. I just need to feel her body against some part of mine. After being terrified earlier that I’d never touch her again, I’m desperate to feel the proof that she hasn’t been taken from me. “I’m so sorry,” I murmur against her cold skin. “I’ll never let anyone hurt you again, baby.” I kiss her hand and am surprised when I feel myself growing sleepy. My adrenaline is crashing fast, and the stress of the day has depleted me both mentally and physically. Even injured as she is, being this close to Lia brings me temporary peace, and I allow myself to drift off while I hold her hand securely within mine.