Reciprocity

CHAPTER 28

My eyes were still sealed tight, waiting for the pain, waiting for the nothingness to consume me. The concussive sound of the gun firing exploded in my ears. Warm droplets landed on my skin.

I waited.

One heartbeat…

Two heartbeats…

The beating continued on.

The ringing grew louder, making me cringe, then was gone, replaced by the thud of something heavy dropping to the ground in front of me.

My breath was ragged as my heart raced, still waiting for the bullet to hit me. I forced my eyes to open, half expecting to see the nothingness of death or the shiny leather shoes of my killer splattered with my blood.

I saw neither.

Vincent Marconi’s body lay sprawled out in front of me, his eyes open, the light fading from them. Blood seeped out of his chest, pooling beneath him. I wiped my hand against my forehead and found no hole, but thick, sticky, dark red blood instead.

It wasn’t mine.

Everything was silent, or seemed to be. I began to shake, my body trembling and convulsing. Pain radiated from my shoulder as I slumped to the ground, my head falling onto the packed dirt floor. Nathan called out to me.

“Drop your weapons!” someone yelled.

Men stormed into the barn, filtering in and disarming Vincent’s men. Shots fired off again, echoing in my ears.

Everything moved in slow motion, the sound muted by a tunnel. I saw the vision of a terrified Nathan sliding to the ground in front of me, then nothing.

My eyes flew open, and millions of blinding lights assaulted me.

Warm, large hands brushed over my forehead and then drifted through my hair, calming me. “Shh, it’s okay, baby.”

I groaned, my brow furrowed as my brain tried to wake from its groggy state. Where was I? The florescent light above me was familiar, and not in a good way. My heart raced, confusion and fear moving through me. I needed to run, flee…didn’t I?

“Nate?” Was he okay? What was going on?

My teeth clenched, and I hissed as a throbbing pain in my shoulder zinged into a sharp one. I blinked, my eyes straining to adjust and focus. Tiny caresses to the back of my head drew my attention and fuzzy mind.

I turned my head and found Nathan’s blue eyes staring at me. He was a mess.

“Hi.” His swollen and split lip twitched up into a smile. Added to that, there were bruises on his face, and it was also puffy.

The anxiety running rampant through me began to calm—he was all right. “Hi.” There was a twinge in my jaw as I tried to stretch it out.

“How do you feel?”

I frowned, still trying to remember how I landed in the fashionable blue hospital gown I was sporting. “I hurt. What’s going on?”

He pursed his lips. “Do you remember what happened? You’ve been out for almost twelve hours…I’ve been freaking out that you weren’t coming back to me.”

My shoulder hurt. It hurt a lot. “We made it out? How?”

His lips moved into a thin line, and I gathered he didn’t like my response. “Well, I have some news.”

I froze, unable to read from his expression if it was good or bad. “What?”

“For once in a very long time, it has a happy edge to it.” His thumb stroked the back of my hand. “Vincent Marconi is dead…I’m finally free.”

My eyes popped open wide. “Free? As in, he’s gone for good?”

He smiled and let out a relieved sigh. “Yes, gone. Never to return.”

“How?” I was still reeling.

“Noah. He shot him…just in time.” His jaw clenched and tears welled in his eyes. “Fuck, baby, for a split second I thought I’d lost you. I owe him everything.”

Noah? There was a vague memory of him standing in front of me, worried and knuckles white as he held a gun, but most of it was a blur after Vincent put the gun to my head.

“What happened after that? I mean, he’s dead, but what about the rest of them?”

He blew out a breath and tightened his grip. “Vincent was the one with the vendetta, and he was the leader. Between him being dead and the legal actions against his organization, I’m the least of their worries. The fighting over who becomes the new head will ensue and become the focus.”

I wasn’t sure I believed him or his bravado. It seemed sincere, the relief evident in his body language, and he wasn’t lying or putting on a front. My gaze moved around the room, and I noticed a cop standing outside the door. “Then why do we have an armed guard?”

“Noah did it just in case, but I’m not worried. One of Marconi’s guys got into a shoot-out and lost, and the other two are in custody.”

“Was it the one that followed us? Mack?”

He nodded. “Yes. He was Vincent’s favorite. They also caught Vincent’s son, Giovani, in a third car. Both had warrants out for their arrest and are in custody. Which is another reason I know we’re free.”

“Really?” Could it be true?

“You passed out from shock before that all went down. Paramedics came. It was a mess.” He let out a chuckle. “You missed all the bullshit of explaining what happened.”

“I’ll still have to.”

“Yeah.”

We were silent for a moment, simple comforting touches and light kisses.

“I’m tired of seeing you in a hospital bed.” Nathan’s voice was hoarse and he sighed.

“I’m tired of waking up in them.”

His lip twitched, and he placed a kiss on my hand. “I only want to come back here when you’re having my babies.”

I smiled. It hurt, but not as much as the pain from wanting to be in his arms. “How about we start now?”

He let out a scratchy laugh. “God, baby.” He leaned over and kissed my forehead.

“Get me out of here. I just want to be with you—only you.” I kissed my way down his jaw. I didn’t know if it was the meds or the situation, but I needed him.

His eyes lit up, and he hugged me, but very gently. “We have to wait until they release you.” The thick emotions in his voice seeped through, and he sounded on the edge of tears.

I wanted to squeeze him hard to my chest, but my arm was weak.

“I want to go home. Now.” I released him and looked into his eyes. “I want to be snuggled in bed with you, safe and warm.”

He stroked my cheek and gave me an empathetic look. “Me too. I want that so much.”

“Then let’s go.” I tried to sit up, but he placed a hand on my chest, stopping me.

“Not just yet. The doctor wants to keep you for the day.”

I let out a whine and shook my head, not liking his response. My bed filled with my office god was calling me, and I wanted the hell out. “Why? I’m fine.”

He cupped his hand under my chin, lifting my head up to look in his eyes. “I know you think you are, but my Honeybear is not the expert on this. They just want to make sure they know the extent of your injuries. We were tossed around in the car, then chased down and beaten. Your body’s not meant to be pounded that way.”

I smiled. “And you would know all about what kind of pounding my body can take.”

“Stop it.” He smirked and shook his head. “Rain check until we get you out of here.”

“It’ll be enough for now. A cock a few feet away from me and a man that loves and wants me, even when I look like shit.”

He laughed. “Doesn’t matter what you look like, because you’re mine and I’ll fuck you whenever I want to.”

I sighed, closed my eyes, and muttered, “I wish it was now.”

Nathan’s lips formed a hard line and his fingers flexed. All I wanted was to be surrounded by him. We both needed it, were desperate for it. My skin itched to touch his, to be reminded he was real and we were all right.

The door opened, and in walked a woman in scrubs. As the door closed, I caught a glimpse of a man in uniform standing guard.

“Good to see you awake, Delilah. I’m Annie. How are you feeling?”

I snorted. “That’s a loaded question.”

She nodded and gave me a small smile. “I bet.” She logged onto a computer and recorded some stuff from the machines I was hooked up to. “I’ll let the doctor know you’re awake and get you some food. I’m sure you must be hungry.”

“Thank you.”

The food came, and Nathan spent the next hour trying to spoon-feed me unappealing hospital food along with the worst lime Jell-O I’d ever eaten in my life. How could they screw up such an easy thing?

“I need out of here now, because if I gag on this shit and throw up, they’ll find it as another reason to keep me here.” I couldn’t express my loathing of hospitals in words. Three times in one year was way too many.

He groaned. “Just humor me.” He tried to give me one last scoop, but I smashed my lips together and refused to take any more of that crap.

A knock on the door interrupted Nathan’s next attempt. We both turned to see a young man standing at the door. “Hi there. I’m Dr. Yeung. How are you feeling, Mrs. Thorne?”

“I’m ready to leave.” My arm hurt, but I didn’t care. I was going to make a good show of being the very essence of health to get myself out.

“Your wound has been treated, and we couldn’t find anything else wrong while you were out, other than some cuts and bruising. Does your head hurt?”

“A little.” I ignored the throbbing at my temples. “It’s good.”

He pulled out his little pen light, lifted the top of my left eyelid and peered inside. He did the same to the other side, and I sat there, holding my breath, waiting. A quick check of my pulse and heartbeat on the many machines that monitored me was next, and he seemed pleased with their results.

“Is she good?” Nathan asked, his voice hopeful.

The doctor slipped the pen back into his jacket pocket. “The bullet shot clean through and didn’t hit any bones or vital areas. You’ll need lots of rest, and once the wound starts healing, physical therapy. Other than that, everything looks good. I would like to keep you for another day for observation. You were out for a long time. There’ll be some bruising and swelling that will go down in a few days.” He headed toward the door and gave us a smile. “I’ll check back in on you later, so relax for now. You’re safe.”

He left, and I sighed in relief, as did Nathan. Though I hated that I had to continue being in the hospital, it didn’t bother me so much, because Nathan was there with me and he was all that mattered.

The next day, the ride home was surreal. I was stocked full of pain meds, and my arm was in a sling. I still couldn’t believe all that happened. Everything that crashed down on us, we beat through.

“We made it,” I whispered to myself for what had to be the tenth time. It was still strange to be alive when I thought I was about to die. Now, nothing and no one stood in our way.

Nathan stroked my hair. “Yes, we did. Now relax.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’ll probably be days or weeks before that happens.” I wiggled in my seat to try and stretch my muscles out, and got a twinge. “There’s so much tension in my back.”

“From all the anxiety. We can go home, have a nice relaxing bath, and decompress.”

“I can’t get my wound wet yet.”

“True. Speaking of—how are you feeling?”

“The meds are helping with the pain.” I flexed the fingers on my left hand. The sling held my arm close to my chest, gauze wrapped all around my shoulder. A dull pain thumped through my shoulder, but I didn’t mind—it reminded me I was alive.

Nathan’s right hand rested on my thigh, and I gripped onto his pinky and ring finger. The angle was a little odd, but I reveled in the connection.

Stepping into our home was strange. Memories of all the turmoil, fear, and anger flooded me.

“Our sanctuary doesn’t feel the same.”

He chuckled. “Everything’s changing with each passing minute, Honeybear. The present is different than when we left two days ago.”

“There’s a calm, almost like the turbulence was never here.”

We clasped hands as we walked into the living room and stared at everything with fresh, new eyes. It was an almost foreign environment. All the fixtures were the same, but the atmosphere was different.

We let go of each other and wandered in opposite directions.

My chest ached as I breathed it all in.

A few moments later, Nathan stepped up behind me and kissed the top of my head. “Come on.” He linked his fingers with mine once again and led me to the couch. We sat down, and I leaned my head on his shoulder. Neither of us knew what to do.

Minutes passed, and we sat there immersed in our new reality. No more looking over our shoulders, no more demons in the shadows, and no more need for masks. We’d both been running for so long that we didn’t know how to take a breath, how to stop.

“So what’s the next step? What do we do now?” I leaned into him.

“What would you like to do?”

“Well, after this week, I’m officially out of personal time. That’s about as far as I’ve gotten.” I sighed.

He turned to look at me, staring. “What are you saying?”

“That since I met you, I’ve blown through almost three months of built up personal time.”

“Hmm, I see.” He cupped my face, his thumb caressing my cheek. “And if you could do it all again?”

“While being in a car accident and gun fight wasn’t fun, I wouldn’t change meeting you for anything in the universe.” I pressed my lips to his, but he didn’t deepen it like I thought he would.

He stared into my eyes, a mischievous glint in his. “What if giving me up would stop an alien invasion that would decimate all life on the planet?”

I shook my head. “You’re mine.”

“You’d kill everyone on the planet just to keep me?”

“They’d just have to take me with you, because I’m never letting go.”

“Me either.”

His lips met mine, and he lowered me down onto the couch. I adjusted my legs and he settled between them, caging my body in his arms to keep his weight off. I winced a little in pain, but it subsided. It felt so good to have him close that I didn’t care about the discomfort of my injuries.

“I can’t find words to tell you how much I love you, how happy I am that you’re alive.” He shivered beneath me, his eyes closing as his jaw flexed. “Seconds. If Noah…” He opened his eyes, and tears filled them. “I died the moment I heard a gunshot. Everything in me shattered.”

I ran my free hand against his face, soothing strokes to reassure him I was there. “I’m here. We’re both okay. We’re finally free to live.” My breath caught, and so did my mind. Not because I was free, but because Nathan finally was. After all these years—we were both free from the monsters that hunted us.

“To live, to love, to be happy.” He flashed a brilliant smile at me, and all I could do was swoon. “In fact, I was thinking…maybe it’s time we thought about buying a place of our own. I don’t need a hideaway anymore, I need a home. A place for you and me and our family.”

My hand trailed down his neck, touching and soaking in his body heat, his essence. “The same thought crossed my mind.”

“A house with a yard, maybe even a pool. Kids running around, family stopping by. Can you see it?”

I nodded and fought back a tear as I pictured it all. “It was a dream I once had.”

“We can make it a reality. There’s nothing and no one stopping us.” His lips ghosted mine.

“The hardest part will be getting pregnant.”

“Maybe. We’ve had a lot of stress over the last few months, and stress can hinder conception.”

I bit my lip. “Guess we’ll have to keep having lots of sex.”

“No objections here. Fuck you all the time and knock you up? All around winner.” He licked his lips and winked at me. His fingers flexed against my hips as he pushed his cock against my pussy.

Our lips met, and everything began to slip away as I melted against him. All the fear, anxiety, self-hatred, and negativity seemed to wash away from us both.

“Talk dirty to me?” I whispered into his ear.

He slammed his lips to mine, then pulled back, breathless. “Always.”

The End