Lift You Up (Rivers Brothers 1)

They didn't have to tell me; I knew there was brokenness.

But the next words preceded more unconsciousness, this time chemical.

Compound fracture.

Surgery.

Normally, the idea of being put under would have filled me with dread. But I was too tired to care.

And, besides, Kingston was there.

I was pretty sure nothing bad could happen to me if Kingston was there.

More wheeling, harsher lights, pokes and prods, blissful unconsciousness.

"Heya, sweetheart," King's voice said, low, soft. It was only then that I realized his hand was holding mine.

My head shifted on the pillow, finding him sitting in a chair off the side of my bed, body curled forward toward me, the large glass windows behind him dark.

Dark?

"How long was I out?"

"You woke up after your surgery for a while. In recovery. But I don't think you were fully awake. You were out when they brought you up here, only mumbling and grumbling when they moved you. I think that head wound - and the migraine after it - really did a number on your system."

"Do I have stitches?" I asked, not bothering to reach up.

"Sixteen," he told me, knowing it was cruel to try to sugarcoat the truth when I was only going to learn it eventually.

"Are they hideous?"

"They're badass," another voice broke in, familiar, making my head turn to find Peyton standing there in a skater dress covered in a print of little poison bottles, her tattoos on her bare arms and chest so much brighter in the harsh fluorescent light.

"And my leg?" I asked.

"You have pins now. You're part cyborg now. Which is also badass. How are you feeling?"

"Numb," I told her, feeling tingly all over. "Numb is good," I decided.

"What time is it?" I asked, looking back at Kingston.

"Just after eleven."

"Did you find Harry?"

"Harry has tried to get up here six times - and counting," Peyton explained. "Brought you a balloon and everything. But he has been thwarted by seven Mallicks and three Rivers."

"Three? Has Atlas finally climbed out from underneath whatever woman he's been under for the past few weeks?"

"Apparently, your near-death experience outweighed easy pussy," Peyton declared. "Shocking, I know. I thought it would take the Rapture."

"Have you been here all day?"

"Mmhmm. Where else would I be? Jamie was here for a while too, but just ran out to help Sugar with Padfoot and Hannibal. We're doggy sitting for a few days. Since I know there is no way this strapping man here is leaving your side."

"I'm not going to be in here a few days, am I?" I asked, horrified at the idea.

"Don't worry about the animals," Kingston assured me, giving my hand a squeeze. "Harry is under strict orders to give them the care they deserve until you are well enough to come back."

"I'm gonna be on crutches for a while, huh?" I asked, feeling the foreign heaviness of my leg, knowing that a cast was hidden under my blankets.

"Yep. And all the pain in the ass stuff that entails," Peyton told me. She was always a straight, no chaser kind of person. But she added, "Lucky for you, though, you have someone to wait on your hand and foot."

I didn't need the reminder to know he was there. His hand was still holding mine, squeezing almost to the point of pain. Like maybe he needed to prove to himself that I was there, safe, a little banged up, but not too much worse for the wear.

My gaze slid back to him, still seeing tension in his shoulders, jaw, around his eyes. My hand turned under his, lacing my fingers between, giving him a squeeze this time.

"On that note, I am going to let the worried masses know that you are awake and blessedly numb. I imagine I can hold them off for, oh, twenty minutes. Enjoy your alone time," she said, giving me a finger wiggle on her way out the door.

"I'm so fucking sorry, Savvy." His voice sounded wrenched from somewhere deep inside, somewhere raw and aching.

"Sorry? You didn't do anything. You saved me," I reminded him."

"Not quickly enough."

"There was no way you could have known that..."

"I should have known," he cut me off, voice rough. "I should have protected you. And I should have seen men lingering around, waiting to catch you alone. That is my job. And I failed. And you paid for it."

"One of them paid a little bit. Well, a lot a bit once you got a hold of them, I guess."

"I saw that bandage on his hand," Kingston agreed, giving me a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "You shouldn't have needed to fight them in the first place."

"You can't protect me from everything."

"I sure as fuck can try."

"I think we can both agree this was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing," I told him, pulling his arm up in what felt like slow motion, pressing a kiss to the back of his hand.