Authors: Melissa Pearl
Tags: #Love, #History, #Paranormal, #adventure action
“You are not going near my daughter again!
You understand me?”
Harrison watched his mother frown at the
woman’s reaction and open her mouth to intervene. He held his hand
up to silence her.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Hart, but I can’t do that.
I’m staying.”
“No you are not!”
“Yes I am.” He kept his voice quiet.
Penelope’s nostrils flared. “How dare you
contradict me? You are nobody. Do you understand that? You are not
a part of my daughter’s future. Now leave!”
“No.”
Harrison wasn’t sure what swayed her
decision. It could have been the fact she didn’t have the energy
for the fight, it could have been the fact she saw in Harrison a
stubborn will that could not be broken. Most likely it was the fact
that a nurse from recovery arrived looking for him.
“Harrison? Gemma’s asking for you.”
He was too overwhelmed to feel smug. Without
a backward glance he followed the nurse to recovery. Gemma had
drifted back to unconsciousness by the time he got there, but just
seeing her chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm was enough.
Standing beside her bed, he ran his fingers gently over her hand,
relishing the soft flame warming his fingertips.
Oblivious to human traffic, he stayed where
he was. As he watched her sleep, his mind conjured up arguments
that would allow him to stay by her side, but the need was taken
away when a nurse arrived to transport Gemma to her own room.
“We’ve set up an extra bed for you.”
Harrison’s eyebrows rose with surprise.
“When she first arrived in recovery, she was
still unstable,” the nurse explained as they entered the large
lift. Pulling Gemma’s bed in behind her, she pressed the button and
watched the doors close. “She kept mumbling your name over and
over. When you got there she stabilized almost immediately. I
explained this to Dr. Hart and she said you could stay.” She gave
him a soft smile. “Your parents have gone home too. They’ll call
you in the morning.”
Harrison sighed with relief. The day had been
long and harrowing. All he wanted to do now was to lie in that bed
next to his girlfriend and watch her sleep. He knew there would be
more battles to face tomorrow, but right now he could rest assured
that there would actually be a tomorrow with Gemma in it.
Ponte Vedra Beach,
Florida - 2011AD
Soft beeping reached through the murky mud in
Gemma’s brain. It was a consistent rhythm, like the dripping of a
tap and it unnerved her. Gentle hands were pushing at her stomach,
dabbing something wet and cold against her flesh. Her insides
ached, her head pounded and her eyes burned. She wanted the feeling
to stop. She wanted the hands on her stomach to stop!
Her eyelids cracked open and she found the
light around her blinding. Two fuzzy hands cleared into view and
she looked down her nose as they wiped her belly and extracted a
fresh, white bandage edged in medical tape.
What are you doing? Get off me!
The words were screaming in her head, but she
couldn’t say them aloud. She struggled to move her sluggish muscles
and hit the hands away. She felt too weak and woozy to do anything
more than open her mouth and scream. “Harrison! Harrison, help
me!”
“Hey, calm down.” The cool hands tried to
hold her body still as she writhed away from their touch.
“Harrison!” She could hear her weepy voice
and didn’t recognize it.
What’s happened to me?
Tears welled in the corners of her eyes as
she felt the panic work its way up her body. As each limb came
alive with the urgency of fight, she struggled against the hands
that tried to hold her and felt a sharp pain sear through her
abdomen.
She heard the door behind her fling open and
the swift scuffle of feet approaching.
“Harrison!”
“I’m here. I’m here. Shhhh. It’s okay.” His
cool hands smoothed back her hair and her body relaxed as his face
came into view. His lips touched her forehead softly. “It’s okay,”
he whispered, drawing his head back so he could look at her.
His brown eyes were lathered with warmth and
relief. His cracked lips remained straight, but his eyes were
shining with a smile.
She reached up and gently fingered his
bruised face, confused. He didn’t flinch away from her.
“It’s okay. Everything’s fine,” he
whispered.
His thumb wiped at her tears. She closed her
eyes, still felt him beside her and decided to try again.
Opening her eyes, she took her time to survey
her surroundings. The hands that had been probing her stomach were
now packing away a clump of bloodied bandages. Gemma’s eyes came to
rest on the genteel face of what looked to be a nurse.
Laying a soft hand on her shoulder, the nurse
sent her an understanding smile. “It’s nice to see you awake, Miss
Hart. Sorry for the fright, I was just cleaning your wounds and
putting on some fresh dressings.” She looked down at Gemma’s bare
stomach then back to her face, a slight look of awe swirling in her
eyes. “I’ve never seen stab wounds heal so quickly. At this rate
you’ll be home tomorrow.”
Gemma could do nothing but give the woman a
blank stare.
“Thank you,” Harrison said.
“I’ll go tell your family you’re awake.”
Gemma nodded as she fought the confused
jumble of thoughts bouncing in her brain. Turning to her lifeline,
she grimaced at the deep bruising on his cheekbone and jaw.
“What happened?”
“We were mugged at the mall,” his voice was
steady in spite of the shaking hand that brushed a lock of hair
behind her ear. “You were stabbed. The perpetrator got away with
our wallets.”
Her eyebrows puckered with confusion.
“It’s just a story for us earthlings to
swallow.”
She smiled then winced at the sting from her
dry lips.
“Why do my chest and stomach hurt so
much?”
His eyes clouded with pain as he leaned
towards her.
“You took two arrows in the back while we
were climbing down the tower wall. We got you into surgery just in
time.”
Flashes flew through her brain… a tranquil
pair of eyes, a rushed escape, yelling, pleading, Harrison lying on
the stairwell, climbing down a stonewall. She let out a soft
gasp.
“The jail break,” she whispered. “Did he make
it?”
Harrison’s eyes swam with wonder as he took
in her expression.
“What?”
“You’re more worried about the man, than
about the fact you nearly died?” His voice broke on the last
word.
“What’s the point if we fail?”
He let out a soft chuckle and shook his head.
His tongue briefly flashed over his lips before answering,
“According to the history books, there was a stable hand that
escaped death and managed to flee to Ireland with his wife and two
children. He went on to work a small piece of land and if my
research is correct, he had another eight kids.”
“Eight.” Gemma smiled.
“He told his children the story of the angels
God sent to rescue him and its been passed down through the
family.”
Gemma studied his face as he leaned back in
his chair. He looked exhausted, the purple shadows under his eyes
throbbing in time with his pulse.
“You look tired.” She ran her thumb gently
over his fingers.
He chuckled and ran a hand back through his
unkempt mane. “I’ve been a little too anxious to sleep.”
“So you researched instead?”
He tipped his head and gave her a blushing
nod, finally pointing to the laptop resting on the bed beside
hers.
“I knew you’d want to know.”
“You didn’t leave me?”
The look in his eyes stole her heartbeat.
“I couldn’t.” His voice was raw with an
emotion she wanted to erase, but knew she never could. She had
nearly died and she saw the toll it had taken on him. Pulling his
hand to her lips, she planted a fierce kiss on his knuckles.
“I’m sorry.”
Jumping to his feet, he leaned over her and
brushed his hand down her face. Their noses were nearly touching as
he whispered, “Don’t be. You made it.”
“I had a pretty good reason to.” She lifted
her hand, running a finger down his jaw. “I love you,
Harrison.”
The look on his face made her wonder why
she’d waited so long to tell him.
“Ti amo, Gemma.”
The Italian words sounded sweet on his lips
and she didn’t need to ask what he had said. His eyes shone as he
lowered his head and met her lips with an exquisite kiss. The fire
was a warm lick of comfort as it curled around her heart and swam
down to her toes.
The only thing to shatter the perfect moment
was the sound of the door scraping open behind her. Images of
burning anger and shocked surprise swarmed her brain. Like wasps
waiting to sting, she heard them buzz into the room and hoped she
wasn’t allergic to what they had to say.
Ponte Vedra Beach,
Florida - 2011AD
Their lips pulled apart as her family bustled
into the room. Harrison felt the loss intensely and was pleased
when Gemma grabbed his hand as he allowed room for the tribe. He
sat on the chair by the bed and played with her fingers as she
turned to face her family.
She was no doubt remembering the black looks
they had rained on her when they noticed his presence in the
14
th
Century. She would have no idea about the pacing,
the shell-shocked silence and the quaking emotion. Harrison still
felt his muscles quiver when he relived Mr. Hart’s menacing
threat.
After Gemma had been moved to her own room,
Harrison had lain awake most of the night watching her chest rise
and fall in the even pace of sleep. His relief at her survival had
pulsed through his body, leaving him with a pounding headache.
Sleep had eventually found him in the early hours.
He’d stirred at the sound of quiet murmuring.
Gemma’s mother was hovering over her daughter, checking vitals,
flicking over her chart for the night. She hadn’t noticed his
perusal and didn’t bother to look at him as she left the room. He’d
drifted back into sleep once more and was awoken an hour later by
Ruby who was thrusting a hot coffee at him.
“Your mom called again. She wants another
update and Courtney keeps texting.”
He’d nodded his heavy head and thanked her
for the coffee before stumbling out of the room with his phone.
The day had dragged by with each member of
the family taking different shifts. His mother had popped in with
fresh clothes and his laptop and he spent the afternoon absorbed in
research, waiting for Gemma to stir. After his daylong vigil he had
finally popped out of the room to stretch his legs while the nurse
changed Gemma’s dressings and that’s when she’d decided to wake up.
A grin tugged at his lips.
You would have to wake when I’m out of the
room, wouldn’t you, Gem.
The sound of his name on her lips still rang
in the back of his mind. He had been down the end of the corridor
sensing he should return when he’d heard the faint call. It had
taken a second to register and then his legs had taken off. The
look on her face when she saw him said more than words ever
could.
The silence in the room was awkward. No one
seemed willing to fill it. Harrison wondered why they weren’t
gushing with all the emotion they had been living over the last
couple of days.
Gemma looked from face to face, obviously
struggling to find any words to begin. Her father stood at the end
of the bed just staring at her, his hand covered his mouth and his
eyes blinked at threatening tears. Dom’s eyes twinkled with a
smile, he looked as though he wanted to grab his little sister up
in a bear hug. Ruby stood next to him, her eyes were a slight
mystery, but from what he could tell she was still fighting a war
between relief and mistrust.
Harrison’s eyes finally flicked to Dr. Hart.
Her face wavered with strong emotion as she reached for her
daughter’s hand.
“It’s good to see you awake.” Her voice shook
and she drew in a deep breath. The efficient doctor persona from
the last 28 hours was slipping from her grasp. Standing on the
other side of the bed to Harrison was Gemma’s wrung out mother. She
brushed her knuckles down the side of her daughter’s face.
Gemma responded with a tired smile, which she
in turn passed on to her siblings and father.
“How you feelin’, slim?” Dom gave her foot a
gentle whack.
“Like I could kick your ass.”
The awkward tension in the room
shattered.
“Looking forward to it.” Dom chuckled.
“Well, you still need your rest.” Alistair
cleared his throat. “Dr. Hart here wants you to spend a couple more
nights and then we’ll take you home, where you belong.”
His eyes shot to Harrison for a moment before
flicking back to Gemma. She met his gaze with determination and
entwined her fingers more solidly within Harrison’s.
Her father’s eyes rose to the challenge, but
soon dropped to the floor. He looked up to send a silent message to
his wife, before ushering Ruby and Dom from the room. Gemma turned
to face her parents as her father stepped back in.
“This shouldn’t have happened. You shouldn’t
be here.”
“I know, Dad.” Gemma picked at the
blanket.
The silence was oppressive and only broke
when Alistair slammed his hand on the end table. “What did you
think you were doing? Exposing yourself on a wall that way? You
should have been in the stable where I left you!”
“I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing. We
got to the top tower and were trapped. I didn’t have a choice.”
“You did have a choice.”
“That wasn’t an option.” Her voice was like
steel. She met her father’s black look with one of her own. His jaw
went tight. Tapping the table with his knuckles, he put his hands
in his pockets and left the room, followed swiftly by his wife.