Dark Child (Wild Men 5)

“I love him.” I look up to find the sheen of tears in her eyes. “And I don’t care how long it takes for him to remember and to get better, I’ll be here. For as long as he wants me to.”

“I’ve always worried,” she says. About him. “Not that he’d have trouble finding a girl. God, no. he’s always been surrounded by girls, practically throwing themselves at him. But a girl who’ll give him what he needs, who’ll love him as honestly and openly as he loves. He’s an open book, easy to take advantage of. He gives his heart without reservations. It’s so easy to break him. I don’t think anyone realizes, seeing him. He’s confident, and strong, and a handsome devil, but he’s set his heart on you, and if you didn’t feel the same way…”

“I do.” I get up and go hug her. “And he’ll be fine. We’ll make sure of it.”

She nods, sniffles, gives me a quick smile and goes out, wiping at her cheeks.

I sit back down, place my hand on Merc’s chest, over the covers.

Aw shucks, this family. They care for each other so much. They stick together. Matt just left with Octavia to go back to their kids, Merc’s mom came by and sat with him for a while—I even think she sang him a lullaby—and then Gigi and Jarett stayed with him.

Now it’s my turn, and I feel as if I earned my place by him, like I passed a test, because they wouldn’t let just anyone sit with him.

It speaks to me, reminds me of my sister, and how much I want to see her, tell her about everything that happened.

Merc’s hand moves, covers mine, startling me.

“Hey.” Those long lashes lift, showing a glimmer of blue.

“Hey. Want some water?”

He licks his dry lips. “You told Gigi that you love me.”

I snort. “Silly boy, I told you that before. Were you eavesdropping as I talked to your sister?”

He grins. “I like hearing it. Say it again.”

“What, that I talked to your sister?” I stick my tongue out at him.

He tugs me down to kiss me. “No, the other part.”

“Were you eavesdropping—?”

“Cos.”

“I love you.”

His smile is huge and so is my heart. I don’t think he realizes just how in love with him I am. It’s scaring the crap out of me.

He hauls me down, right on top of him, and holds me tight. The feverish heat of his skin seeps through my clothes. “Cosie,” he whispers in my ear, “I’m remembering more.”

I try to pull up, see his face, but he holds on. “Merc?”

“It’s like, my body’s fighting it, doesn’t want me to remember. But it’s coming back to me, in bits and pieces, and I think…”

“Yeah?” This time his hold relaxes just enough that I can sit up, look at him. His face is flushed, hair stuck to his forehead and temples with sweat, his eyes are too bright with the fever, but there’s a new calm in his gaze.

“I think I know where I saw the ax.”

So we’re all sitting around Merc’s bed, this time—same gathering, different settings, waiting for Merc to tell us what he remembered. Although he’s still sick, he insisted he had to tell us.

Matt is relaying the story, on the phone with his cop friend who apparently took the news of a possible skeleton in Destiny’s backyard very seriously and has assembled a small police force to go and dig around in the woods by the stream.

This is all good, right? Things are moving forward, and if Merc’s memories ar

e real, the police may well find something.

I’m just concerned that he’s still unwell and afraid to know what else he remembered.