Stolen (Wild Mountain Scots, #3)

Crippling pain broke my heavy sleep, and I twisted in my sheets, weight on one side of my body pinning me down. Flashes of memory hit me, of being driven too fast in a car, a crash, a rescue I could hardly comprehend.

A groan came from my lips, and I tried to open my eyes, the brightness of the room blinding.

“She’s awake. I think she’s hurting. Do something, please,” a voice demanded.

I didn’t need the use of my vision to know who watched over me.

Maddock was here.

A flurry of activity happened around me, fingertips on my body, a dull ache in my right hand.

The blackness took me under again.

A while later, I woke again. This time, I forced my eyes open and let the sting of daylight pass. I was in a hospital room, but not alone. In a chair pulled up to the side of my bed, Maddock slept. His auburn hair, a tiny degree longer than when I’d seen him in California, brushed his forehead, though it didn’t conceal the dark shadows under his eyes.

I wanted to reach for him, but further movement was out of the question.

Without words from a doctor, I knew something was wrong with me.

At every point I’d touched consciousness, my mind had registered almighty damage to my arm. Bulky, white bandages looped my chest. I didn’t dare move for fear of discovering the extent of my injury.

Worse, it was my left arm. In all things, I was screwed.

“Hey,” I croaked.

Instantly, Maddock jerked up. “You’re awake.” He pushed himself up. “I’ll get the doc.”

“Wait.”

At my single word, he stopped and lowered himself back down.

He’d changed from the mountain rescue jumpsuit he’d worn on the highway where I’d last seen him, and in a soft-looking T-shirt and jeans, he was unbearably handsome.

“You saved me.” My dry mouth garbled my words, so I tried again. “You rescued me.”

He tsked gently, his gaze skipping over my features. “Ye remember?”

“I think so. My head is so woozy. What happened to Johnnie?”

“The police have him. I’ll tell ye everything, but not now. Ye had a concussion from the crash. No exciting conversations allowed.”

“I was alone in it then you were there. How?”

He tapped his head, forced amusement in his smile. “Rory radar.”

My heart hammered and, by my bedside, a machine bonged.

“I’m totally in love with you,” I blurted.

Maddock’s smile dropped.

The door swung open, and a nurse bustled in. “Ah, Aurora, awake at last. How are you feeling, any pain?”

I dragged my gaze off Maddock to her. “A little. I haven’t tried moving yet.”

The nurse pulled a face. “I understand. The medication from your surgery can make you woozy. You’ll feel a lot brighter once you’re out of bed. Let me take a look at your dressings.”

“Be back later,” Maddock said.

Before I could ask him to stay, he was out the door.

Fuck.

My day was only about to get worse. The nurse called in a doctor to explain my injuries to me. My arm had been badly broken, as I’d expected, and metal pins supported it. But there was talk of nerve damage, too.

I thanked the woman for all she’d done, swallowing around my fear of what I had to ask next. “I’m left-handed. And an artist. Am I going to be able to draw again?”

The doctor gave me a sympathetic but professional smile. “The surgery was a success, but it’s likely that you’ll need physiotherapy, particularly with the length of time you’ll be in a cast. We would expect you to regain full movement, it just might take several months.”

I held it together until she’d left my room.

Then I burst into tears.

“Ah, sweetheart,” the nurse who was still with me uttered. “From what I heard, you’ve been very lucky. It’ll be no time at all until you’re back to normal. You heard the doctor.”

“I know, but…” I couldn’t finish my sentence.

The door opened again, admitting my sister.

“Rory!” she gasped. In a second, she was at my side and carefully cradling my free hand.

Tears struck anew.

“You never cry,” she informed me, once I’d calmed.

“I know. But this hurts, then I told Maddock I loved him and he ran, and the doctor said I’ll be out of action for ages. How am I going to look after my mother? How will I be able to work?” Horror struck me. “Your wedding!”

Elise stared at me with wide eyes. “We delayed the wedding. No biggie. Go back to the loving Maddock part.”

I squeezed my eyes tight shut. “Yeah, that happened. Guess I shouldn’t have announced the fact in the way I did. He probably thinks I’m insane.”

“And there was me trying hard not to butt in.” She shook her head. “I’ll find him and bring him back.”

“No, don’t. Please. I wish I’d never told him.”

Elise reluctantly agreed and brought out her phone. “Then let me be helpful in other ways. I tried to speak to your mom but didn’t get a reply. Your phone is with the police, otherwise I would have tried your aunt. If you give me her number, I’ll do that now. Plus I’ll contact your work. Not much chance of you being back this week.”

There wasn’t, and I had no clue how to pay the bills from now on.

Elise made the calls, and I resigned myself to my helpless state.

When I next woke, it was night.

Maddock hadn’t returned.

I dozed on and off again until morning, then after the doctors had done their rounds, I was allowed to leave. Elise and Cameron collected a large bag of meds for me plus took instructions on when I needed to return.

Incredibly, as promised in the autumn, all of my care was covered, and there was the assumption I’d still be here to have the cast taken off and further checkups done. My gratitude for the medical staff was unending.

At the crofthouse, I carefully climbed the stairs with my sister’s support, and sank into my soft bed. Exhaustion drew in, and resignation came with it.

If I’d have been able, I would’ve borrowed Cameron’s car and driven straight to Maddock’s place. Talked to him. Explained myself better.

But I was in no condition to do anything except rest.

My dreams filled with thoughts of him.

Max had told me his twin loved me. I’d seen emotion in Maddock’s eyes the last time we’d been together.

He’d flown in a helicopter to retrieve me, damn him.

This evening, I’d find him. I just needed a nap first.

A few hours later, I forced myself out of bed, my sling supporting my arm. In the bathroom, I managed a one-handed wash-up, my head dizzy though my determination strong.

I dressed, then carefully took on the stairs, finding Elise and Cameron in the kitchen. Outside, black night had fallen.

“Whoa.” Cameron strode over to offer me an arm. “What are ye doing wandering around by yourself?”

“Needed to get up.”

Elise stood poised, as if I was about to topple over. “You need rest.”

“I’ve been in a hospital bed for, what, two days? The only part of me injured is my arm.” I eased into a kitchen chair. On the centre of the table, my phone waited. I yelped in delight and reached for it.

“That got dropped off this afternoon,” my sister told me. “The police want to talk to you, but they’ll wait.”

I hit the ‘on’ button but got a black screen. “Could you please put it on charge for me?”

“Sorry! I should’ve thought of that.”

She grabbed a charger and plugged my phone in, and I turned to Cameron.

“Now tell me everything that happened.”

Cameron obliged, and in his calm way, filled me in on how they’d discovered I’d been taken, and how Maddock had masterminded my rescue.

“The men Johnnie was delivering ye to were waiting at his parents’ stately home. They were arrested, and Johnnie was, too. When he was being led away, he was squealing about giving them evidence and taped recordings in exchange for not going to jail. Seems unlikely, though.”

“And the money?”

Elise tapped the table. “Your aunt refunded the cash you sent almost as soon as it arrived, which is good because I bet the account has been frozen now the cops know about it.”

I blinked at her. “Why would she send back the money before she knew there was a problem?”

“She said that your mom’s medical bills have been taken care of, but you heard her wrong when you spoke.”

“How?”

She shrugged. “It’s a mystery to me. Call her when you’re ready and she can tell you.”

On cue, my phone woke up. I unlocked it, and messages loaded by the dozen.

I intended to discard them all, except emails from SpaceTechOne had arrived, too. I opened the last, my stomach dropping as I read the words.

When I’d been in hospital, I’d missed my opportunity to speak to the Chief Executive—the final hurdle to getting the internship.

They’d awarded the job to somebody else.

My chance was over.

My hopes were crushed, but even with that, there was still something more important I needed to do.

With a tremble taking my good hand, I gestured between Elise and Cameron. “Have you seen or heard from Maddock today?”

“Sorry, no. He vanished earlier,” Cameron replied. “I tried calling him to say ye were heading home but had no answer.”

I swallowed around a lump in my throat. “I need a ride somewhere. Then possibly a hug after if this goes horribly wrong.”

I needed to find Maddock, whether he wanted me or not.