I stepped out from between his knees and began to climb into bed. “Are you sure you want to stay?” I asked, my voice raspy.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he told me as he covered me with the blankets. He straightened and wiped his face as he moved around the bed to his side. He climbed in on the other side of the bed. He seemed to take up the entire thing. He turned the light on to the lowest setting as I curled up on my side and watched as he shifted to get comfortable. His eyes met mine in the dim light. His gaze ran over my face as if he were memorizing it. He reached over and held my face in his large hand; his thumb moved over my cheek, wiping my tear tracks away.
“Come here,” he breathed.
I slid closer and closer until I was using his arm as a pillow. When I hesitated to move closer, his fingers stroked my shoulder.
“I need to hear you breathing,” he admitted in a whisper. I moved closer, until a breath separated us. My hands rested on his chest. Engine grease and leather surrounded me, making me relax. He moved his arm around me. He hesitated before slowly resting the heavy weight on me, his warm hand spread over the back of my ribs.
“Do you feel pinned down?” he asked, his voice full of warmth.
“Nope. It’s you.” I rested my forehead against his chest and breathed in the scent that was uniquely Zeke. “Safe. You make me feel safe.”
Lips touched the top of my head. “Night, Baby.”
“Night, Tough Guy.”
Chapter 16
Saturday Evening
I woke up slowly from a deep sleep. The smell of engine grease and leather surrounded me. Oh… what? I opened my eyes carefully. His face was buried in the hair at the top of my head, his breathing was still deep and even. Zeke? I woke up a little more and realized how carefully he was holding me to him. My knee was over his hip, his thick leg between my thighs, flush against me. One arm was still under my head while the other was wrapped around me. My cami had ridden up my ribs, his forearm was around my back, holding me to him. His fingers were spread wide, as if to take in as much skin on my ribs as he could.
I smiled. It felt good, really good. One of my arms was up around his neck. The other was around his waist, under the back of his shirt. I closed my eyes as my fingers ran over the hard lines of his back. My fingers found a thick, raised line. I stopped then ran over it again. Scar tissue? My fingers moved up his back and found a thick, deep, round scar almost the size of the tip of my finger. My heart ached as I found another long, thick scar not far from it. Did… did his dad do this to him? I slipped my fingers back down to the smooth skin of his lower back. I moved my other hand to the back of his neck and absently began massaging lightly. I floated there, content to simply be held by him.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His fingers moved over my back, sending warmth through me. His body stiffened against me.
He pulled his head back so he could look down at me. “I didn’t… I didn’t try to hurt you?” he asked, his voice still thick with sleep.
I pulled my hand from his lower back and ran my fingertips over his chin. “No, you didn’t,” I whispered.
He dropped his head back to the pillow and relaxed into the bed. Then his arms pulled me harder against him, his face buried into my hair. I relaxed against him and enjoyed his touch.
Eventually his grip eased, allowing me to breathe a bit easier. One arm stayed around me. The other hand ran down my arm, over my ribs to rest on my hip. “How’d you sleep?” Those sky-blue eyes ran over my face.
“No nightmares.” I gave him a small smile. “How about you?”
His lips twitched. “Better than I have in a long time.”
“Good,” I whispered as I became very aware of where his thigh was and where it was pressed. “Um… Tough Guy. Your leg…”
He cursed. He pulled away, carefully moving his thigh from between mine. “Sorry, you kept scooting down. I didn’t want to trigger you in your sleep.”
I pulled my leg off his hip and scooted to give him more room. He rolled over and turned the light on to its normal setting. I rolled onto my back and stretched with a small groan. Cold air brushed across my stomach. Looking down, I realized my cami was bunched up around my ribs. I pulled the hem down quickly and moved to sit on my side of the bed. I ran my hands over my face before getting up and going to the dresser to find something to wear today.
“I’ll come back to take you to breakfast,” Zeke told me.
“Okay,” I said, not really paying attention. I grabbed a new bra and clothes and hurried into the bathroom.
I quickly pulled on jeans and a slouchy hunter-green shirt after running through my morning routine. By the time Zeke was knocking on my door I was slipping my sandals on.
I stepped out into the hall and started moving. My mind was already on Isaac when Zeke grabbed my arm.
“Food first,” he ordered as he steered me to the stairs.
“But… what about Isaac?” I asked. “Those people were supposed to show today.”
“Eat first,” he repeated. He didn’t ease his grip until we reached the cafeteria.
Asher and Miles’ faces were dark when we reached Isaac’s door. My heart dropped.
“What happened?” I asked.
Miles came over to me and met my eyes. “He’s worse,” he said gently. “Dr. Zimmer has him on a heart monitor and oxygen now.”
My lungs grew tight. “Did those people show up yet?”
Miles shook his head. My eyes burned as I ran my hand down my face.
Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!
I took a shaky breath and tried to keep it together. I had to.
“Then they should be here soon,” I offered, trying to stay positive. “Get Francis to call them again.”
Miles nodded. His eyes were dark as they met mine. “Lexie, we need to understand that he might not make it—”
“No,” I growled, my heart hammering. “We are not losing Isaac.” I stepped around him and walked through the door into the smaller room. Craig was already there. I didn’t need his help to put on the microphone today as I fastened it then met his eyes. “If I suddenly look like I’m sleeping, don’t worry about it. But… don’t let me leave without splashing me with holy water.”
It was the only warning I gave before walking into Isaac’s room. My eyes immediately went to the bed and the machines. Isaac’s body looked wilted, as if he was empty. The demon grinned between hard breaths. Hades was staring at Isaac again.
Ethan looked like shit. His eyes were red, his face pale. He looked dejected. I squeezed his shoulder. “I’ve got him, Ethan.” He just nodded, got to his feet, and headed for the door.
I picked up the chair and moved it closer before I sat down next to the bed.
“Oh. Getting… cocky… are we?” he taunted.
I met his eyes and said nothing. He cackled. His heart rate was a steady beat in the room.
“I was waiting for you,” he said. “You, out of all of them… it would hit you the most… to watch him die.”
“Isaac isn’t going anywhere,” I growled.
He laughed, then coughed and gasped for air. The beeping continued. Tonight, he didn’t taunt me. Tonight, he just watched me and smiled. The beep of the heart monitor became loud in the room. I started tapping my foot to the beat. Help was going to be here any minute. I started talking to Isaac, hoping he'd hear me. I started with gossip, then moved on to fairytales. They'd be coming through that door any minute... My throat hurt, my voice began cracking. Any minute...
We sat there for… I don’t know how long, before he smiled a big smile. The beeping skipped a beat. My stomach knotted. I kept the rhythm with my foot. The monitor was slowing.
“Enjoy… watching… him die,” It told me before closing his eyes. Isaac’s body became covered in ribbons of blood.
No. No. NO!
I reached out with my will and drove that gold ribbon into his chest. I followed it down and my insides shook. I landed in the dark and threw a light into the air.