Chapter 36

Holly felt as though she were struggling to come out of a black abyss. No, not an abyss, but something like black tar. The harder she tried to get to consciousness, the more difficult it became.

Then cold fear washed over her. She had to get out of the tar. She had to get out of the blackness. It paralyzed her. She had to reach consciousness so that she could fight. Her ears were roaring with white sound, her head humming. She would not let them . . .

Holly's eyes opened and she jolted upright. A hand grabbed her wrist, and she pulled away, lashing out, desperate to fight off her attacker.

"Holly!" a deep male voice said. She recognized the voice. Aiden. It was Aiden. It had to be a figment of her imagination because Aiden couldn't be here. He didn't know where she was.

Huge arms wrapped around her. She struggled to get away, and then caught a scent. Aiden. It was Aiden. She quit struggling and inhaled deeply again to make sure she wasn't dreaming. The scent was raw, hard, and male. Her hands tracked over the big chest covered with a soft shirt against her cheek, and then the buzzing in her ears and head began to clear, and she heard his voice, felt the rumble in his chest as he spoke.

"Shhhh, baby. I have you. You're safe, Holly," he said quietly into her hair. "You're safe, baby."

Holly felt the fight drain out of her, the fear subsiding. Tears of relief began streaming down her face, and they quickly turned into wracking sobs. She grabbed the t-shirt in her fists and pulled herself closer to the big chest. She didn't know how long she fisted that t-shirt, but she felt like it was her lifeline to safety and sanity.

Eventually, she let go and realized she was in her room at Thaddeus's house, and that she was also naked. She pulled away from Aiden and brought the sheet up over her exposed breasts. She looked around the room again, and eventually met his eyes.

"Would you like some water?" he asked in a quiet voice. She nodded.

He went to the bureau and poured water from a pitcher into a tall glass. "Just drink a little at a time. I don't want to see you sick."

She thought of a smart-ass comeback about how she was the one with the degree in medicine, but she didn't have the strength to spit it out. She didn't have the strength to do much of anything but lay back against the pillows. God, she was tired, and her body felt like it had been put through a meat grinder. Her mind felt slow and sludgy.

She sipped the water, memories snapping into focus in her mind. Walmart. The abduction. Waking up in that room. Wondering where Myla was.

"Myla?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

Aiden shook his head slowly. "Holly . . . "

Holly felt the tears start again. "Tell me, Aiden."

"We found another female vampire there, Holly. Not now, but we need you to do a picture I.D."

"What did she look like?" Holly said, tears rolling down her face.

"She was tall and thin with brown hair that came to her chin."

The rolling tears turned into a gushing river, and Aiden pulled Holly close and held her.

After a while, Holly sat back and closed her eyes. Those males. What they had said they were going to do to her. How she would be rutted over and over, having babe after babe that would become the future of the race that would rule humans.

And the fighting. She remembered taking a few good hits, and that was probably why she was so sore. Then they had pinned her down and put needles into her, and she had slipped into the blackness. Oh, sweet Jesus.

She wracked her memories for some clue on what had happened after the needles, and came up with nothing. She didn't know what was worse: not knowing and hoping that they hadn't touched her, or knowing that they had and dealing with that. She felt Aiden's arms come around her again as he lifted her from the pillows and held her to his chest.

"I . . . I don't know what they did to me," she said in a raspy voice that was barely audible.

"Holly, listen to me," Aiden said as he held her by her shoulders. "Look at me."

She opened her eyes, meeting that light brown gaze that seemed to warm the room.

"Baby, we had a doctor come in. He examined you while you were unconscious." Startled, she felt her eyes widen.

Aiden shook his head. "He's a friend of Thaddeus. He is one of our kind, a doctor at a hospital in Texas. Thaddeus had him flown in. Those fuckers didn't touch you in the way you're thinking. You're bruised up all over, but there wasn't any . . . "

Holly closed her eyes again and leaned back in the pillows. She hadn't been raped. Relief washed through her.

As she remembered their hands on her, she realized she wanted a shower. She wanted to scrub her skin raw to get them off of her. As the drug wore off, she became more aware of her body. She could place where every slap, every fist connected with her skin. The need for soap and water was so intense, but she didn't have the energy to stand up, let alone walk across the room and stand in a shower.

"You want to get cleaned up?" Aiden asked. It was if he could read her mind, know her thoughts, her wants and needs.

She opened her eyes and nodded.

"I'll help. Wait here."

He went to the bathroom and ran warm water in the tub. He didn't want it too hot because some of those abrasions were a little deep, and they would sting in the hot water. He then found some bubble bath in the cabinet and poured in half the bottle. Gardenia scent quickly filled the room. He looked at the mirror, which was across from the tub. He thought Holly probably wouldn't want to see herself, so he lit some candles that cast enough light to see around the space, but not enough to illuminate it. He then turned off the light and went back to Holly.

Without a word, he gathered the sheet around her and lifted her up as if he were carrying a pillow. He strode back to the bathroom.

"Can you stand?" he asked.

She nodded, and he gently put her down and then turned his head.

She let the sheet fall, and stepped into the tub. The water burned in spots, and she hissed. When she was fully submerged, she felt the bubbles begin to wash away everything. She looked up at Aiden, who still had his back turned.

"Let me get you some food," he said, heading for the door. She couldn't imagine eating, but maybe, just maybe, after her bath she would be able to manage it. That was if she could get past the nausea caused by Myla's death.