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As she filled the basin with fresh, clean water, mixed more of the magical poultice and grabbed another clean cloth, she squared her shoulders and called herself a fool for falling into bed with a stranger.
With her mental pep talk fresh on her mind, she entered her bedroom.
Gryph lay on the bed, the sheet covering all the right places but it was tented.
By the goddess.
Selene nearly dropped the basin. Her hands shook so badly and her body burned, craving to be beneath the sheet sporting the evidence of his desire.
“You don’t have to do this,” he said.
“If I don’t, your wound will get infected and you could die.”
“So?” he said. “You don’t owe me anything.”
“I owe you human kindness. I’d take care of anyone injured as badly as you.”
“Anyone,” he said softly. “Selene, what happened a moment ago—”
“Don’t.” She set the basin on the nightstand. “Let’s forget it ever did.”
“Problem is...I can’t.” He nodded toward the tented sheet.
“You can and will.” She refused to glance at his groin, focusing on the injured shoulder. “It should never have happened.”
“Because I’m different?”
“No, because I am.”
He frowned and opened his mouth to say something else, but the cell phone in the kitchen rang, saving Selene from further argument. She didn’t want to explain why she was different. How would any man like to know she could read his thoughts? What if she could project her thoughts? What if all of Gryph’s desire could be a manifestation of what Selene was feeling? Her gift was being able to connect to other’s minds. A telepathy of emotions and images.
She ran from the room and grabbed her cell phone.
“We need you at the hospital,” Deme said without preamble.
“Why?”
“The victim is awake and we don’t know for how long. Hurry.”
“I can’t leave right now.”
“Brigid is already on her way. She should be there to pick you up in less than two minutes.” Her sister sighed. “I don’t like you being alone in that apartment with that man.”
“I’m fine.” Selene’s gaze shifted to Gryph. “He’s not going to hurt me.”
“We’ll know more as soon as the woman can tell us. We need you here for that, in case she can’t speak.”
“But—”
“Come, or I’ll tell Brigid about your guest.”
Her hand clenched around the phone. Her sister wouldn’t understand Selene’s trust in a stranger. And for that matter, Brigid was more likely to throw a fireball first, ask questions later. With the threat of letting Brigid in on her rescue, Selene had no choice. “Fine. I’ll come.”
Selene clicked the phone off and scooted back to her bedroom, grabbing her jeans from the floor. “I have to go.”
“When will you be back?”
“I don’t know.” She jammed her legs into her jeans and pulled them up over her hips. Her hands hesitated on the robe. “You won’t go anywhere, will you? You’re not healed enough.”
His gaze met hers, the heat of those golden eyes warming her body all over again. He gave a brief nod. “I’ll stay until I’m better.”
Selene dropped the robe, without breaking visual contact.
His golden eyes flared, his lips tightened and a low, rumbling purr rose from his chest.
Then she pulled a T-shirt over her head. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Chapter 4 (#ulink_82c1d6f5-e439-520b-a6d0-c9e6f3636057)
“I don’t know why I had to come.” Selene couldn’t help worrying about the stranger she was forced to leave behind in the bed, back in her apartment. Alone, injured and sexy as hell.
“I’m sure Deme had good reason. Probably because you can read minds better than any of us.” Brigid parked her Harley in the visitors parking area outside the emergency room and kicked the stand down to hold up the big machine.
Selene climbed off, pulling the helmet over her head.
In her biker leathers and with her badass attitude, Brigid was hard enough to stand up against. To keep Brigid from asking questions or entering her apartment, Selene left without inviting her sister in, claiming they’d better hurry. Her Chicago police special detective sister didn’t need to know about the man. She’d go ballistic, possibly even fling a fireball or two, if she even knew Selene had him in her apartment.
In the dark hours just before dawn, Selene and Brigid slipped in through the emergency entrance to the hospital. They headed straight for the elevators and the ICU floor where the injured woman was being cared for.
As they rode up in the elevator, Selene let her guard down and stretched her thoughts out, gathering in emotions, thoughts and fears of the people in the hospital. Most were asleep, some dreaming, some having nightmares. Those who lay awake in their beds worried about their loved ones or whether they would live to see another day.
The overall feeling was one of worry and sadness, with one exception. A dark malevolence slithered through Selene’s thoughts, skimming at the edges, slipping in and out like a thief. One moment the darkness took shape, the next it pushed her away, making her head hurt with the pressure.
A hand on her elbow made her open her eyes.
Brigid stared at her, her brows furrowed. “Are you all right?”
Selene hadn’t realized she’d closed her eyes. Nor had she realized the elevator door had opened onto the ICU floor. She blinked and forced a smile. “Yeah.” Then she stepped out onto the highly polished tiles, rolling the strain from her shoulders. Surely she’d imagined the darkness. “Let’s get this over with.” That way she could get out of this hospital and back to the man called Gryph, lying semiconscious in her bed.
As she rounded the corner of the elevator bank, Selene saw Deme and Cal, Deme’s fiancé, standing at the nurses’ station, consulting with a doctor.
Deme looked up, the strain in her face easing slightly when she recognized Selene and Brigid. “I’m glad you came.” She introduced them to the doctor, who immediately excused himself, leaving the four of them standing beside the nurses’ station. Deme tipped her head to the right. “Let’s go somewhere we can talk. I could use some coffee.” She led them back to the elevator and down to the cafeteria that remained open 24/7.
“Was the woman able to identify her attacker?” Brigid asked.
“The victim’s name is Amanda Grant,” Cal said.
Selene leaned forward, her breath lodged in her chest. “What did she say?”
Deme’s gaze connected with hers and she continued without looking away. “We had a sketch artist draw from her description. Show her what we got, Cal.”
Cal Black, the tall, handsome Chicago police officer, pulled a white page from the folder he held and handed it to Brigid. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Me, either,” Deme said, her gaze fixed firmly on Selene.
Brigid whistled. “What is it?”
Selene leaned over, her heart beating so fast, it pounded against her eardrums. When the page came into view, she gasped.
Lion eyes stared out at her, and a full mane of hair encircled a half human, half lion face. The same face she’d seen when Gryph had suffered severe pain and changed into something she’d never encountered before. Selene swallowed the lump in her throat. “Miss Grant said this was her attacker?”
Deme nodded. “About that time she passed out. She’s been unconscious since. The police chief has a copy of this and will be circulating it to the press.”
That dark spirit flitted through Selene’s thoughts again and she winced, pressing her fingers to her temples.
“Are you okay?” Deme leaned forward and grabbed Selene’s wrist. “What the hell?” She stared down at where her fingers touched Selene’s skin. “Where did you get these bruises?”
Selene pulled her hand free. “Must have hit my arm against my stair rail.”
“Like hell you did.” Deme reached out and pulled her close to study the marks. “He did it, didn’t he?”
“He who?” Brigid closed the gap between them and took Selene’s hand from Deme. “Who did this?”
“No one.” Selene glared at Deme, wishing she’d shut up and left Brigid out of it.
“Selene and I found a man down by the river and took him to her apartment,” Deme announced. “Against my better judgment.”
“He was injured.” Selene tried to pull her hand free form Brigid’s grip. “I only wanted to help.”
“And a hospital wasn’t good enough for him?” Brigid snorted and let Selene have her hand back. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest. “What am I missing here?”
“Yeah. What are we missing?” Gina, followed by Aurai, stepped into the cafeteria. Now all of her sisters were here. “The nurses’ station said we could find you here.”
Selene stared across at Deme. “You called everyone?”
“I got the feeling this was something that could potentially involve all of us.”
“It doesn’t. It only involves me.” She spun around and paced away from her sisters, turned and marched back. “I only needed assistance getting him into my apartment, or I wouldn’t have asked for your help.”
“Thanks.” Deme’s lips twisted. “I thought we were sisters. Aren’t you the one always preaching that we shouldn’t keep secrets from each other?” she demanded. “What is it about this man that has you ready to lie by omission to your family?”
With her four sisters staring at her accusingly, Selene had no other choice but to tell the truth. “He’s different.”
Brigid shook the paper with the sketch at Selene. “Just how different?”
“He...” She shook her head, the dark, painful consciousness stabbed through her mind, closer this time. Selene gasped, clutched her head in her hands and doubled over.
“Selene?” Deme grabbed her arms and helped her straighten. “What’s wrong?”
“Something dark...” She pressed fingers to her temple to stop the pain. “Evil.”
“Where? At your apartment?”
“No.” She looked up, her gaze turning toward the hallway outside the cafeteria. “Here.”
“Here? Something evil in the hospital?”
Selene staggered toward the door. “Amanda...must get to her.” Without waiting for an answer, she ran to the elevator, stabbed at the button and then waited, her hands twisting together as the elevator made its slow descent to the cafeteria, every second stretching excruciatingly. When the doors finally opened, Selene fell in and jabbed the button for the floor where the ICU was located. Cal jumped in with Deme, Brigid, Aurai and Gina close behind before the doors closed.
“Hurry,” Selene whispered as the elevator whisked upward.
“What is it? What do you sense?” Deme asked.
“Amanda’s in trouble.” The elevator door opened and Selene darted out.
“Selene!” Cal called out. “Wait. Let me go first. It might be dangerous.”
Selene couldn’t hear him for the roaring in her ears, the pounding of her heart nearly beat out of her chest. The pain throbbed with so much intensity that her breathing grew shallow and she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs. She dropped to her knees, clutching at her throat.
“Selene.” Cal reached her first.
She pushed him away, pointing to a hallway, unable to push any air past her vocal cords because she couldn’t get air into her lungs. When he wouldn’t go, she pushed him again.
Brigid squatted in front of her. “What is it, Selene?”
She pushed her away, too, her vision dimming, her head getting light. “Amanda—”
Brigid’s eyes widened and she sprang to her feet. “Something’s happening to Amanda.”
“I’ll stay with Selene, you guys go!” Aurai dropped to the tiled floor with Selene and slipped an arm around her sister. “Breathe, Selene. You can do it. Please. Pull yourself out of Amanda and come back to me.” Aurai turned Selene’s face to her. “Look at me.”
Selene stared into her sister’s pale blue eyes. The overhead lights glowed off her bright gold hair, almost blinding her with the intensity. A light, a bright light to follow, to drift toward.
“Selene!” Aurai shook her head. “Snap out of it.” She raised her hand and slapped Selene across the face.
The contact brought Selene back from the light, back to the cool hard tiles of the hospital floor. She stared into her sister’s eyes, seeing her for the first time, kneeling on the ground beside her.
Selene gasped in a huge breath and let it out, her breathing returning to normal, her vision clearing. Then the malevolent presence wavered in her mind, making her jaw tighten and her temple ache. “He’s getting away.” She lurched to her feet, holding on to Aurai.
“Who’s getting away?”
“The one who attacked Amanda.” Selene stumbled down a hallway toward a stairwell.
“You can’t go after him, Selene.” Aurai grabbed her arm and held her back.
Cal ran out of an ICU room shouting, “Get a crash cart in here!” Gina, Deme and Brigid joined him.
Critical-care nurses raced for the woman’s room and for the equipment necessary to save her life.
