A man appeared in my limited line of vision. He gave me a comforting smile, but his gaze was on someone else rather than me. “Okay, on three—”
Tension ran through me as he counted down. And despite the drugs, the minute they moved me, a wave of pain hit and consciousness fled once again.
When I next woke, it was to the gentle beeping of a heart monitor and a wall of blue curtains.
“You’re in the hospital,” Belle said. “There’re no broken bones, no spine or neck injury, and no major cuts. You’re going to be black and blue, and as stiff as hell for the next few days, but all in all, you’re good.”
I carefully pushed into a sitting position, wincing as various bits of me protested, then hitched the ill-fitting hospital gown back into place. “Then why am I still here?”
“Because they’re hardly able to release an unconscious person.” Her voice was dry. “They want you in overnight for observation.”
“I can’t stay here—”
“You can and you will,” Belle said. “You’ve been unconscious for a couple of hours. They want to be sure nothing has been missed.”
&nb
sp; “But the vampire—”
“Won’t be aware you’ve survived as yet,” she cut in. “Besides, he’ll be too occupied with Karen to worry about us for the next couple of days.”
I opened my mouth to protest, and then shut it again. She was right. Becoming a vampire was the easy part of the whole process. Learning to cope with all the new sensory input, adapting to the hunger and the need to take human blood without destroying life, as well as understanding the restrictions that came with life as a vampire, would surely take weeks, if not months.
And while I doubted this vampire intended to give Karen that long, if he wanted to use her as any sort of weapon, then he’d have to give her a few days, at the very least, to gain some control and sanity.
Unless, of course, it was her insanity he wanted.
“That’s a definite possibility,” Belle said. “He did state he was here for vengeance.”
“Did Aiden give any indication he knew what that note meant?”
“No.” She grinned. “He’s been in to check on you several times, though, which is interesting.”
“No, it isn’t,” I replied. “He’s dealing with a magic-capable vampire, and—whether he likes it or not—we’re the local authorities on magic.”
“All true,” she said. “But he could simply have sent one of his subordinates. I’m thinking the man is attracted.”
“And I’m thinking you’re insane.”
Her grin grew. “Possibly. I have been hanging around you for a very long time now. That sort of thing can be catchy.”
I snorted and whacked her lightly on the arm—an action that probably hurt me more than her.
“The IIT also want to interview you once you’re out of the hospital,” she continued.
I frowned. “Why don’t they just interview me here and now? It’ll surely save some time.”
“I have a vague feeling Aiden had a word or two in friendly ears,” Belle said. “The doctors are refusing to let them in.”
“It would seem the rangers aren’t the only ones who dislike the IIT,” I said.
“It would be fairer to say no wolf likes the IIT,” Aiden said, as he came through the curtain. “They do have a tendency to ride roughshod over reservation sensibilities.”
“But they also have a job to do,” Belle commented. “And obstructing them is hardly beneficial to either of you.”
“Between the explosion site and the coroner’s report, they have plenty to keep them occupied for the next couple of hours.” His gaze came to mine. “The doctors said you were damn lucky.”
“It was certainly lucky I decided to dive for the desk rather than the corridor. Belle said the whole link came down.”