Blackness Within (27 page)

“Let’s get her,” I encourage Zeus as we speed up.

We’re out here running for him. He needs it to get his strength back and he’s getting it back quickly. I see the determination in his face as he powers his legs and lengthens his strides.

This dog has become our house mascot. Zeus represents the fight we’re waging to get Natasha back. A slow ass fight that’s driving me insane, but a fight nonetheless.

Butch is in. Or as in as he’s going to be after four weeks. And now all we can do is wait and hold our breath. Eventually, Butch will find us a hole to work with and when he does, I’m all over it.

I never should have goaded Kid. She’s putting more and more distance between us.

“Slow up, Flash!” I yell.

She flips me the bird and kicks it up another gear. Pain in the dick, that’s what she is!

I dig deep and race after her, Zeus barking with excitement for the chase.

“Come on, Kid,” I gasp, almost catching up with her.

She looks back and rolls her eyes before striding away again screaming out, “Stop bein’ a pussy and grow a dick!”

With that, I stop and dissolve into chuckles. Panting and heaving while I grab my knees, I feel my phone vibrating in my pocket.

“Blake,” I breathe out, trying to calm down.

“Natasha’s in the ER at Saint Luke’s. Car crash. River,” he explains without detail.

I can hear Finn in the background growling and barking, much like Zeus, as car doors slam.

“On our way,” I assure him before hanging up.

I can see the shadow of Kid about to disappear over the slight rise in the road as I bellow, “Natasha’s in the ER!”

Kid halts on a dime, pivots and furiously flies at me. I turn without waiting for her and begin my own flight toward our house. We’re a mile away. I can make it in five minutes flat. Kid can make it in less and she’s going to prove it.

Our feet crunch and scrape as Zeus pads heavily. Kid only took about thirty seconds to catch me and now we’re pacing each other easily. We burst through the front door to be met with Kellerman and Cooper.

I don’t stop to talk. I drop Zeus’s leash and head straight for the garage. I can get Natasha out of a hospital. No way Roman Vojtech has a major hospital on his payroll. Not even
his
reach is that far.

I slide in the driver’s seat of my Mercedes and turn over the engine as Kid pops her head in the garage. I roll down the passenger window to see if she’s coming along.

“Nicky thinks I should stay. If you can’t get her, we don’t want Vojtech seein’ my face,” she yells over the roar of the engine.

That’s not going to be an issue, but it’s a smart plan. I nod in agreement before throwing the car in reverse and launching out of our driveway.

In the blink of an eye, I’m rumbling at a nurse to tell me where Natasha is. It’s nowhere near fast enough, but quickly, she leads me to a sliding glass door. When I enter the room, only Blake and Finn are in the room with Natasha.

Their eyes flick to mine as I settle on her. She’s unconscious with wires and monitors covering her. She’s breathing on her own and other than her lack of alertness, she looks completely fine. I breathe a sigh of relief before sitting in the chair seemingly waiting for me at Natasha’s side. Finn and Blake are sitting next to each other across the bed from me.

I gently reach out and cup her tiny hand in both of mine. I bring her fingers to my mouth and brush her knuckles with my lips before holding her skin to my face. I will not fuck up this time. I swear to everything, I won’t.

“What happened?” I murmur into her palm.

“Don’t know much yet,” Finn responds, his bright blue eyes twinkling at my tenderness with the woman before us. “The car she was in crashed off the New Paseo Bridge into the river. It sounds like one of the men with her pulled her from the car and swam her to shore. That’s about all we know.”

“Is she okay?”

“In a little shock from the cold. She took a good whack on the back of the head, but just a concussion according to the doctors.”

I nod into Natasha’s soft skin and peer across the bed at Blake.

It’s been six weeks since I met him and he already looks like a different person. He’s filling out. His skin is almost completely healed. His grey eyes are clear and alert all the time. He’s kind and funny. I like the dude and I’m heartbroken at his features right now. He’s gutted looking at his sister. If a doctor came in the room right now and said Natasha needed a kidney, Blake would grab a scalpel and dig his out for her.

He loves his sister. I know that love and how much that love can ache when the person you feel it for is in pain.

Natasha’s fingers curl around mine and I gasp. Blake mirrors my gasp before whispering, “Toshy.”

Natasha groans in response and winces as she opens her eyes. They land on Blake first and the tears flow from both of them instantly. Blake wraps his arms around his sister’s shoulders gently as they sob together. She holds her brother as best she can with one hand and when she moves to let mine go, I clamp down on her. I shouldn’t, but I do. I don’t want to let her go.

Her head tilts to the side and she locks her tear-filled eyes with mine. I squeeze her fingers and offer her a soft smile. She squeezes me back before closing her eyes and turning her attention back to her brother.

Blake pulls himself together and retakes his seat. He brushes Natasha’s light blonde hair from her face while they stare at each other.

“I’m so sorry,” she whimpers.

“No, I’m sorry,” Blake cuts her off from continuing. “We can apologize later. You need rest and we need to get you outta here. Then we’ll figure the rest of our shit out.”

“Am I okay? What happened?” she asks the room.

“You’ll be fine,” I assure her and she turns those beautiful pale grey eyes to me.

“Sully—”

“You don’t need to say anything to me. I’m a dick. I fucked up royally and I’m here to make that shit right. We’ll get you whole and then I’ll grovel at your feet. Just rest now, Grey,” I instruct tenderly.

“Grey?” she asks with a furrowed brow and crinkled nose.

“Your eyes,” I explain the nickname.

Those soft grey tornadic eyes have haunted and motivated me. It’s a fitting nickname. She must like it too, based on the sweet warm smile she’s gifting me. I pull her hand back to my mouth, kiss her palm gently and remind myself there’s an audience.

“Do you remember what happened?” Finn breaks our moment.

I don’t complain because I want the answer to that question too.

“It’s foggy. I remember bits and pieces. I feel like it’s my fault,” she mumbles sadly.

“Tosh,” Blake whispers.

“I chose to stay with Roman. I did it to save you. He was gonna kill you, Blake. I had to save you and I thought I could do it. I’m so confused,” she finishes shakily.

“He hurt you?” Blake grinds out.

Fuck, I don’t want to know the answer to this question. But I have to.

“No, Roman didn’t hurt me. He just mindfucked me into craziness,” she lies.

Natasha’s a shitty liar. I don’t push her though and neither do the guys. It’s not the time.

“Is Roman here?” she whispers.

“No,” Finn answers in a snap. She doesn’t need even a moment of concern and my boy knows that. Relief spreads across her face.

“I remember your face,” she says softly.

“Who’s face?” Blake asks for the room.

“Yours,” she responds, turning her head toward me. “It’s the last thing I remember. You were begging me to take your hand.”

“I’ve got you now,” I assure her confidently.

My heart’s fluttering in my chest and my breathing is picking up pace. I don’t know what to do with that so I do the only thing I can think of.

I climb to my feet and press my lips to hers. A gentle sweet kiss is what I intend, but Natasha works her lips against mine and fists my sweaty hoodie and I act. I lick across the seam of her succulent mouth and groan as her tongue darts into my mouth. I lap, massage, caress and drink from her. I slip my arms beneath her back, pulling her hospital gown covered body to mine as much as I can without hurting her.

She arches into me and then lets go of my hoodie to engulf my neck with her arms. I tangle our tongues so much so that I’m shocked I’m able to release her mouth when a throat clears. I’m annoyed at the interruption until I realize Blake and Finn are only a few feet from us and probably not appreciating the show.

“You saved my life,” she says against my mouth.

“
You
saved your life, Grey,” I respond, begrudgingly pulling away from her.

“No, Sully, it was you. When Roman kissed me the first time, I imagined I was kissing you and he bought it. He thought I wanted him and that’s kept me alive all this time. It was you. You saved me,” she insists.

I’ve stopped moving away from her. She imagined she was kissing me. Even after what I did to her that day in the backyard, she drew from me what she needed to stay alive.

“Grey,” I say softly before devouring her mouth again.

It’s shorter this time because Blake chimes in, “Quit makin’ out with my sister in front of me. I’m gettin’ nauseous.”

Natasha snickers against my mouth as I smile and respect his request. I kiss her forehead and retake my seat, interlacing fingers with her as I do. With a grin on her lips, Natasha closes her eyes and falls into an easy sleep.

“She’s here,” Blake says quietly.

“She’s here,” I agree.

We stare at each other and let the comfort of that information wash over us.

“I’m gonna go talk to the cops that were here earlier,” Finn informs us, climbing to his feet. “Good job callin’ dibs. Don’t you dare fuck it up this time.”

“I won’t,” I assert strongly.

He beams a smile at me and nods.

Once Finn leaves the room, Blake and I sit in silence watching Natasha sleep. I could watch her sleep for the rest of my life. I’m not freaked out by this realization. I’ve known it for some time. Not the sleeping part, but the rest of my life part. I won’t fuck up this time. I’ll keep her safe and at my side as long as she’ll have me. And I’ll do my damnedest to make sure it’s a lifetime.

Natasha

I wake up groaning in pain as a familiar voice filters into my ear, “I’ve got you.”

My wince dies as I let the dream hang on as long as it wants.

“That’s quite a smile, Grey,” Sully purrs.

I flutter my eyes open and search around the room. Sully’s here. Where the hell am I? My eyes dart around and I quickly realize I’m in a hospital. My mind is a jumble when I turn my gaze back to Sully.

“Grey?” I question and his brow furrows.

“Your eyes…I told you that earlier. You don’t remember?” he asks in a concerned voice.

“No,” I reply with a sleepy stretch, grimacing as I do.

I begin to immediately check myself over. I’m certain I have a concussion. My vision is double more often than not. I’m seeing flashers within that double vision. I feel nauseous. I’m dizzy. And I have a headache that won’t quit. I’m becoming concerned. My memory is struggling. I can’t remember what happened before the wreck clearly. I know I was in an accident. I remember water…screaming…Sully. I can’t quite get a hold of it all clearly. I feel like I’m trying to recall a dream and the harder I try to recall it the less clear it becomes.

I need a CT scan. Maybe I’ve already had one. I can’t remember. Fuck, I can’t remember.

“Sully, have I had a CT scan?” I ask with my eyes closed. It’s less painful that way.

“I’m not sure. Blake stepped out to talk to your doctors and Finn’s talkin’ to the cops. I’ll find out for you when one of them comes back. I don’t want you to be alone.”

He finishes with a brush of his lips over my knuckles. That feels so good. Okay, so Blake’s here and so is Finn. I think I remember talking to Blake, but it’s so damn foggy.

“I’m worried,” I whisper.

“I’ve got you,” he assures me with a firm squeeze.

I squeeze him back and fall asleep seconds later.

“Can we go with her?” Blake’s voice wakes me.

“No. We’ll bring her back as soon as we’re done,” an unfamiliar male voice responds.

I feel like shit. What happened?

Roman…crash…Blake…Sully…hospital. Jesus, I can’t grasp a hold of anything for long. I’m moving, rolling. I’m in a bed that’s rolling. The bright lights overhead hurt even though my eyes are squinted shut tightly. I put my palms over my face and recognize an IV in my hand.