SWNOVELS Before the Storm: Chapter 4
I can tell the moment she falls asleep by the way her breathing changes. It’s the only way I knew when she started to freak out as well, the way her chest moved up and down rapidly worried me because God only knows what they slipped her and the impact it could have on her heart and lungs. But as soon as I started comforting her, it settled something in both of us, and I’m not sure I’m ready to analyze that just yet.
I’ve never cared about anyone outside the family, with the exception of Everett and Tommy who have been like brothers to me, but there’s something about this small brunette that has grasped me around the neck and won’t let go. That’s why even though she fell asleep half an hour ago, I haven’t been able to drag myself away for longer than it took to call Snow.
The moment I hung up with my sister, I was back beside her, kneeling on the ground next to where she’s sleeping on the lounge in my office. I’ve never kneeled for anyone. Not my family. Not our enemies. And certainly not a woman. But despite barely speaking a word, this woman has changed something in me. The tales my brother and best friend have told me about the moment that changed their lives rings in the back of my mind. All the times that they’ve told me at some point there will be a little spitfire that makes my life hell but I let them because I wouldn’t have it any other way, are on repeat. But surely that’s not what’s happening here. How on earth can that be the case when I’ve known her for less than an hour and I don’t even know her name?
A quiet knock at the door drags my attention away from the woman who has solely held my attention from the moment I locked eyes on her.
“Come in,” I rumble, but I don’t move. I don’t want her to open her eyes and see anyone other than me. I called Snow because I thought being alone with me might freak her out but sharing her with anyone else already feels like an impossible task. What the fuck is happening to me?
My sister slips through the door, closing it quickly in the face of her own security. I’m surprised Elijah allowed her out the door without him, but my sister has that man wrapped around her little finger. He talks a big game, but the small blonde walks all over him.
Her eyes widen when they land on me kneeling beside the sofa before flicking to the woman I’ve called her here to look after. “Is she okay?” she asks quietly as she dumps her handbag by the door and takes slow steps toward us.
“I don’t know,” I whisper. “Doc hasn’t been yet and she passed out not long after I got her up here.”
Snow nods and kneels beside me. She uses the back of her hand to check her temperature and frowns as she pulls it back. “She’s burning up. How far out is Doc?”
“He should be here any minute. I had Candy call him but he was on the other side of the city on a call for one of Rayne’s guys.”
“I can sit here with her if you need to get somewhere.”
“I’m not leaving her.”
Her eyebrows raise but before she can say anything the door swings open and the only man I would ever trust with this kind of call appears in the doorway. Doc has been with us for a long time, and he’s the best of the best. He was a medic with the SEALs and has patched up more bullet wounds and saved more of our men’s lives than any of the hospitals in the area. He even sat in during Snow’s surgeries a few months ago because Elijah didn’t trust anyone else to not have ulterior motives.
The man in question has several inches on me, is built like a tank, and is covered head to toe in tattoos. If I didn’t value him so much as a medic, I would ask if he wanted to be a part of the team because we could use someone as intimidating as him.
Snow stands immediately, crossing to give him a quick hug before turning back to face me with her eyebrows furrowed and confusion dancing behind her blue eyes.
“Is this the patient?” Doc asks, placing his kit, a leather bag that looks like it’s been through a garbage disposal and come out the other side, down beside the couch.
“What do you think?” I growl. I don’t have time to deal with his stupidity right now. I just need him to tell me if the girl is going to be okay so I can work out what the fuck I’m going to do with her.
“Geez, someone’s snappy.” He smirks at Snow but a moment later he’s shoving me out of the way so he can kneel beside the sleeping angel.
I barely hold back the feral sound that climbs up the back of my throat, but I need to get a hold of myself. There’s a reason I’ve never had an interest in women, and it’s been proven over and over again as each of my siblings have fallen for their current partners. They’re a liability. They’re unpredictable, and my enemies will use them against me. But I can’t bring myself to focus on any of those things right now, all I see is her.
“Do you know what they gave her?” he asks as he carefully elevates her head with one of the black pillows I keep on the lounge for when I sleep here.
“No, but it knocked her out pretty quick,” I tell him.
My security team messaged me not long after I brought her in here and she had only been in the building for half an hour, and from what they could tell from the limited footage of the booth she was sitting in, she didn’t drink anything until she’d already been here for twenty minutes.
He checks her heart rate before using a light to check her awareness and I barely stop myself from snapping at him not to wake her. What the fuck is happening to me?
“What’s got into you?” Snow asks quietly.
“Nothing,” I snap. “I just want to make sure she’s okay.”
She watches me curiously for long moments before nodding. “Did you catch whoever drugged her?”
“Yeah, they’re in the tunnels,” I tell her. A year ago I would have scoffed at the idea of my youngest sister having any involvement in the dark side of our business, but when she married our enemy who is now our ally, things changed. Our whole organization changed the day Elijah became part of the family, whether I knew it at the time or not.
“Is Tommy questioning them?”
“No, they’re waiting for me,” I force the words through clenched teeth. Just thinking about those assholes with their hands on her makes me want to tear their heads off with my bare hands, but I can’t leave her. Not yet. I just need to make sure she’s going to be okay and find her somewhere safe to stay and then I’ll be able to go take care of business. Because I swore I would never allow a woman to get between me and the business, and it doesn’t matter that this one has quite literally fallen into my lap, I can’t allow myself to break that promise to myself.
Snow looks between me and the mystery woman being examined by Doc. I can’t imagine what she’s thinking right now, because hell, I don’t know what to think myself. “Are you sure you don’t need to leave? I can sit here with her if you need to go take care of business. Or I can take her back to the estate?”
“No,” I snap.
She bites her lip to hold back a smile and I wish I could begrudge her for it, but I’m certain this is only the beginning. When Rayne and Everett find out about my reaction to this woman they’re going to have a goddamn field day. And after all the shit I’ve given them, I deserve it.