Watch Me, page 12
“It doesn’t matter. I’m here now.” Barad’s eyes softened when he looked at Keric. “You really don’t know when to quit, do you? Just had to add another set of scars to the ones you already have. Dumbass.”
“You know how he got his scars?” Tiffy studied Barad closely. “Just how long have you known him?”
“Yeah, I know about them.” He didn’t elaborate.
Robinson pulled out a notepad. “Do you know if he has any family?”
“A brother. Parents died when he was eighteen.”
Tiffy glanced at him. “His brother is dead, remember?”
Barad shook his head. “He’s the youngest of three, Tiffy.”
God, another brother. What would that one be like? Was he like Keric, or like Kell? “Apparently you know more about him than I do.”
He squeezed her hand. “Don’t hold it against him. He’s a good guy, but I understand why he didn’t tell you much.”
Keric had told her nothing. Obviously he didn’t trust her. Which she couldn’t blame him for, after she’d rejected him. She’d reacted without thought, had let the ties to Kell blind her to the kind of man Keric was. “He tried to protect me, even after I told him I hate him.”
“He loves you, what did you expect? I’m surprised he didn’t warn Zalin about this.”
Becca glanced at him. “I think he tried. Dale said something about a guy telling Thomas about some hunters, and told me to be careful. He said he tried to tell Zalin, but he wasn’t around.”
Barad swore. “Thomas wouldn’t pass on any message from Keric. He holds a grudge against him because of Kell. I tried to tell him he’s blaming the wrong guy for Gothrim’s death, but you know Thomas. He’s too pigheaded to see reason.”
“What’s Kell got to do with any of this?” Becca frowned.
“Keric is his brother.”
Becca gasped and stared at Tiffy. “Well you sure kept that quiet!”
“I tried to hate him.” Tiffy reached out and stroked Keric’s arm. “I couldn’t.”
“...glad...”
Her breath caught. Had she imagined it? “Keric?”
His lashes lifted slightly then a grimace of pain distorted his face. “Hurts.”
Tiffy took his hand and squeezed it. “I know. I’m so sorry.”
“Right.” Robinson got out of his chair. “I want all of you to leave now. I’m going to give him something for the pain, and to make him sleep.”
“I’m not leaving.” Tiffy clutched Keric’s hand. “I won’t disturb him, but I’m not going anywhere.”
Robinson sighed. “I really wish you’d get some sleep too, Tiffy.”
“Let...her...stay,” Keric muttered. His eyes were closed, but he tightened his hand around hers.
Barad got up, as did Becca.
“We’ll leave you to it.” Barad shot a knowing look at the doctor. “You won’t be able to keep them apart. Don’t bother trying. They’re destined mates.”
Becca’s mouth slid open. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.” Barad took her hand. “Come on. I’ll take you home.”
Tiffy wished them a good night and watched them leave, but didn’t move an inch from Keric’s side. When she looked back at the doctor, he stared at her. “What?”
“Kell’s brother, huh?”
Tiffy just nodded. She was tired of explaining.
“If you’d told me sooner, I might have been able to give him a transfusion and he wouldn’t have had to fight quite as hard.”
“Or you would have let him die.” She had no illusions just how deep the pack’s animosity ran, and she was as guilty as the next person. “I almost lost him. I couldn’t take the risk.”
“All right, stay. Don’t disturb him.” Robinson prepared a syringe and swabbed the skin on the inside of Keric’s elbow. “He’ll be out for quite some time.”
She wasn’t about to move. There was a little more color in his face now, and she took it as a sign he was recovering. Tiffy guessed he was in horrendous pain, but didn’t show it because she was here. She reached over to stroke his face. “Sleep. I’ll be right here.”
Keric nodded weakly and threaded his fingers through hers.
Tiffy stared down at their entwined hands, his so big and capable, and yet so weak right now. She’d acted just like everyone else at the mention of Kell’s name, and Keric had protected her nonetheless. Tears stung her eyes. He’d sacrificed himself for her, when she’d doubted and rejected him at every turn.
“Do you want the light off?”
Tiffy glanced at the doctor. She hadn’t even noticed him walk to the door. “Yes please.”
The room pitched into darkness and shadows.
“Try to get some sleep. I’ve given him some morphine. It should keep him quiet and out of pain. I’ll be back in a few hours to check on him.” He turned the light back on. “Do you have my number in your phone?”
Tiffy fumbled her phone out of the pocket of her sweats and checked. “Yes.”
Robinson smiled. “Good. If anything changes, call me right away. No matter what time it is.”
“I will. Night, Doc.” Her voice trembled, the thought of Keric taking a turn for the worse making her worry all over again.
He came back and squeezed her shoulder. “We’re not going to let him die, okay? There’s been way too much of that already.”
She just nodded, tears stinging her eyes. So close. So damned close. She could have lost him before she’d ever had him. “Thanks, Doc.”
He turned the lights off, and left.
Tiffy felt Keric’s hand relax and guessed the morphine had given him some respite from the pain. She leaned over and brushed her lips across his forehead. “Sleep. I’m not going anywhere.”
* * * *
Keric woke, pain radiating in his chest and his mouth felt as if he’d tried to lick a dry riverbed. “Tiffy?”
A soft touch on his arm made him smile. She was still here. She hadn’t left him.
“Do you need anything?”
“Thirsty.” He hated how croaky his voice sounded.
“I’ll get you some water.”
The room was in complete darkness, but he heard her move. Damn, how many more times would he be at death’s door? When the doctor had told him to shift after shooting him full of adrenaline, he’d almost been unable to do it. The agony had wiped him out and he didn’t recall much afterward.
Instead of water, Tiffy brought chips of ice. He loved her for it. The effort of lifting his head enough to drink would cost valuable energy. She fed the chips to him, slowly, allowing him time to let each one melt in his mouth.
“You scared me.” She brushed her hand across his forehead. “Can you forgive me for being an idiot?”
He’d forgive her anything. She could run him through with a knife, and he’d forgive her with his dying breath. His throat was dry and felt rough, despite the ice, so he just nodded. Talking would have to wait until later.
Tiffy held out another piece of ice to him and he turned his head away. “Enough?”
Keric nodded, too tired to make an effort. “Gonna...sleep...more.”
“Okay.” Tiffy moved off the bed. “I’ll–”
“Wait.” He didn’t want her to go. No matter how much he hurt, having her close made everything better. “Snuggle.”
Tiffy chuckled. “You know, our snuggling usually turns into something a lot more.”
Her reply made him suppress a laugh. Laughing would hurt, so he forced down his mirth. She had a point. Perhaps it meant she wasn’t going to stretch out next to him, he didn’t know. Keric cursed Earl and his damned elephant gun once more. Thanks to him he couldn’t move, could barely string a sentence together. He knew the doctor had pumped him full of morphine, recalling the feeling from his previous injuries. He also knew he had a lot of it in his system, since everything was hazy, but at least it kept the pain at bay.
Tiffy climbed onto the mattress and lay down at his right side. “Better?”
Better? No, it was fantastic. “Yes.”
“You’re such a sappy thing. Snuggle. Sheesh.” Tiffy cuddled against his side. “Some Alpha wolf you are.”
It made him smile, despite the pain. “Yeah. Sappy.”
“Go back to sleep.” She kissed his cheek, careful not to lean on him.
Keric wanted some sleep, absolutely, but not before he kissed Tiffy. Or rather, not until she kissed him properly. He sighed dramatically. “Lousy goodnight kiss.”
Tiffy laughed out loud.
“That’s funny?”
“Trust you to complain about me kissing you.” She raised herself, gripped his chin and made him turn his head to her. “Let’s see if I can’t do better.”
He smiled against her mouth, letting her do all the work. Then the tip of her tongue traced the seam of his lips, and he couldn’t resist any longer. The kiss deepened and he tasted toothpaste on her tongue as it twined with his. When she drew back, they were both breathless.
“Better?”
Oh yeah. Only his blood had vacated his brain for places where it had no business being right now, which amused him. He might actually pass out from having a hard-on. “I’m kinda...lightheaded...now.”
“Lightheaded?” Tiffy sounded panicky.
“Mhm.” Worse, he felt faint, and every thought was fuzzy, thanks to a raging hard-on. Down, boy. This really was not a good time for being turned on. “Gonna sleep.”
“Okay.”
He kept her hand in his, dozing rather than sleeping. Despite the morphine, his mind kept going over what had happened. The part he couldn’t work out was how he’d got here. There was no way Tiffy could have carried him, and she’d been alone. Keric felt her soft breaths brush the skin on his arm and knew she had fallen asleep. He wasn’t going to wake her.
For now he’d just enjoy having her with him, everything else could wait.
His insides hurt, but it was no longer the agonizing burn he’d experienced earlier. It had to mean he was healing. If Tiffy hadn’t brought him here so the doctor could stop the bleeding, the bullet would have killed him. Silver or not, even his Lycan constitution didn’t work so well when half his blood had poured out of him. It would take longer to recover, but not nearly as long as it would a human.
Then what? Keric glanced at Tiffy and smiled at the sight of her half open mouth, and the soft snore he heard. His smile faded. What would happen once he’d healed? Right now she stuck to his side like glue, but once he was up and able, she’d likely back off. He couldn’t bear the thought of leaving without her, and staying here was out of the question.
Even if Zalin allowed it, Keric wouldn’t feel comfortable in this pack. He’d never know who to trust, would always be on edge. Eventually he’d crack under the strain, and he couldn’t do this to Tiffy.
A quiet snick downstairs pulled Keric out of his thoughts and he was on full alert, until he remembered something about the doctor saying he’d return to check on him. The footsteps on the stairs where light, but audible. Even knowing it was probably the doctor, a sense of unease made it difficult to relax. Worse, the antiseptic smell in the room obliterated everything else. He couldn’t scent who was out there even though he tried.
A figure appeared in the doorway, taller and broader than the doctor, and everything inside him screamed in alarm. He remembered this silhouette only too well.
“So you’re still alive.” Thomas drawled. “An oversight, I’m sure.”
Keric felt Tiffy stir and wished he’d told her to leave.
“What’s going on?” She sat up and rubbed her eyes. “Thomas? Did something happen?”
From the look of it, Thomas hadn’t expected to find her here. He turned the lights on, and stared at Tiffy. “Why are you here?”
“Leave her alone.” Keric struggled to sit up, drawing on every reserve he had, hampered by Tiffy who tried to push him back down. “Tiff, don’t. If I’m going to die, I’m doing it standing up.”
“Die? What?” Tiffy looked from him to Thomas. “What’s he talking about? Did Zalin send you?”
There was no way he’d win this fight. Not in his current condition.
Thomas knew it too; the sneer on his face became a grin. “Not so cocky now, are you?”
Keric forced his legs out of bed and stood, swaying on his feet.
“Keric! What the hell are you doing?” Tiffy crawled across the bed toward him. “Get back in here.”
Oh God, he wanted to. His chest was on fire and he’d pulled the IV out of his arm, depriving himself of much-needed fluids. “Tiff. Leave.”
“No. Are you nuts?”
“He probably is, you know,” Thomas countered in a casual tone, mud-brown eyes glinting with hatred. “As nuts as his shitbag of a brother.”
Tiffy was out of bed in a heartbeat. “Why are you here?”
“Tiffy, please. Just leave. I’ll deal with him.” Keric didn’t dare take a step, for fear he’d fall flat on his face, but he didn’t want her to try and help. Didn’t want her to be forced to watch him die.
“Oh let her stay. It might cure her.” Thomas took a step forward. “She doesn’t deserve to end up with someone like you.”
“Excuse me? Stay out of my affairs, Thomas.” Tiffy glared at him.
“Zalin might not care about you wasting your affection on a bastard like him, but I do. I’m going to stop it. Once and for all.”
“You’ll have to kill me to make me stay away from Keric.” Tiffy sneered. “And I don’t think you will.”
“No. Not you.”
Tiffy paled visibly. “You came to kill Keric?”
“Tiffy. Go.” Keric stepped in front of her. “Now.”
“She stays.” Thomas blocked the doorway.
Tiffy went to the other side of the bed–never taking her eyes off Thomas–picked up a robe and slipped into it.
Keric frowned, not sure what she was doing, but determined not to let Thomas hurt her. “Thomas, let her leave.”
The man shook his head. “I want her to see what a coward you really are. I want her to hear you beg for mercy.”
“Thomas, if you think I’m going to stand idly by while you murder an innocent, injured man, then you underestimate me.”
Oh hell no. “Tiffy, if he comes at me, I want you to promise not to get involved.”
She smiled at him. “No can do. I defend what’s mine.”
Her words warmed his chipped heart. Hers. He didn’t mind being hers, but of all the times she showed her stubborn streak, this had to be the worst. Keric knew pleading with her would get him nowhere. She’d just ignore him. “I don’t want you to watch.”
“Oh, I won’t be watching.” Once more she stared at Thomas. “I’ll be kicking his ass.”
Yeah, he was afraid of that. She’d get hurt, and it would be his fault. He had to get her out of here, somehow, and when this was over–if he survived–they’d have a little chat about her tendency of placing herself in the firing line.
Before he could get his hands on her, she’d stepped in front of Thomas.
“Why are you doing this? What did he ever do to you?”
God dammit. Did she have no sense at all? Didn’t she realize Thomas would hurt her?
“I don’t have to explain myself to you.” Thomas grabbed her and yanked her against him. “But this will work too.”
Keric moved, each step agony, and realized he couldn’t protect her this time. “Don’t hurt her.”
A vicious smile appeared on Thomas’s lips. Tiffy struggled in his grip, trying to free herself. Keric’s eyes narrowed when he saw the flash of a blade, and his surprise was replaced by horror when Thomas lifted the knife to Tiffy’s throat. Silver. If it got into her bloodstream, she’d die. She stilled instantly, her eyes wide and terrified.
Fear for her life cost him precious energy. “Let her go.”
“Or what?” He jerked the knife up.
“You don’t want to hurt Tiffy.” Keric took another step toward him, hoping he wouldn’t startle Thomas into doing something stupid. “You didn’t come here for her. You want me.”
“True, but it’ll be so much sweeter to watch you die by your own hand.” Thomas’s eyes glittered with malice. “Your choice. You, or her.”
Tiffy cried out and wrapped her hands around his arm to drag the hand with the knife away from her throat, but only succeeded in making him hold her tighter. “No! No, Thomas, please!”
“Shut up! His brother killed my best friend, your father. Maybe you didn’t love him, but I did. How can you ever forgive him?” Thomas racked the knife up. “Our Alpha doesn’t trust me anymore, and it’s his fault.”
What the hell was he talking about now? “My fault? I’ve barely exchanged two words with Zalin.”
“Really. Then why did he yank me into lockup and interrogate me? He wanted you gone and I carried out his orders,” Thomas growled. “Only now it’s coming back to bite me. I should have killed you then. None of this would have happened.” He tightened his hand and Tiffy whimpered. “He believed Barad. Barad! He let the bastard go after he betrayed the pack, and threw me into the hole instead!”
Zalin had locked Barad up? That explained why he hadn’t answered his calls. Apparently he’d landed his friend in the shit, but whatever Barad told Zalin had made him change his mind and go after Thomas instead. How the hell had he got out? Or had Zalin let Thomas out? Possibly with new instructions to kill him? He didn’t want to believe it, but he didn’t trust Zalin either.
His trust issues would have to wait. Right now, he had to deal with the threat to Tiffy’s life and couldn’t waste another thought on anything else. He’d known Thomas hated him, but he hadn’t known why. By the sound of it, he’d taken the old Alpha’s death hard, perhaps harder than anyone else, but to take it out on Tiffy–his beloved Alpha’s daughter–proved the guy had gone off the deep end. “I’m not Kell. I don’t know why he did what he did, but I’m not him. I’m nothing like him.”
“He’s not, Thomas,” Tiffy said. “He saved my life. He took a bullet for me. Kell would never have sacrificed himself for anyone, but Keric did.”
“How can you just ignore what happened!” Thomas yelled at her, furious now. “Gothrim was your father, and here you are, cozying up to this bastard! Have you no shame?”
