When the van finally came to a stop, Grecia relaxed her body and inhaled deeply. Seconds later, the seat popped open.
Dawson leaned over her. “I’m so sorry. That couldn’t have been comfortable.” He helped her stand on wobbly legs and lifted her out of the compartment.
Elias grabbed the backpack.
Grecia was beyond aware of her engorged breasts, but she needed to see Jeremy before anything else. She glanced around to see they were in similar surroundings to the bunker. Parked among some trees with a field stretched out next to them.
It was daylight now, and the natural light made her squint after so much time underground.
Dawson wrapped an arm around her waist and nearly carried her out into the planted field. She wondered where the secret door to the bunker would be and why they were standing between rows of corn.
Suddenly, they stopped. Stuart leaned down, brushed hay and grass away from a handle, and lifted the hatch.
Elias hurried down the stairs before turning to help Grecia. She was shaky enough that she nearly fell into his arms.
Dawson and Stuart brought up the rear while Elias turned to punch in the code to the second door. It popped free with a beep and swung toward them.
The next thing Grecia knew, they were once again inside a bunker. Gray concrete walls, floor, and ceiling. Safety.
She breathed easier now that they were once again secure and out of sight. Stuart passed them up in the hallway, and they all hurried after him at a fast clip.
Someone came out of a side door and pointed farther down the hall. “They’re in the infirmary.”
Grecia had no idea who the man was, but he obviously knew who they were. Furthermore, Stuart knew exactly where he was going.
They took several turns. Enough for Grecia to realize this bunker wasn’t as large as the one she lived in. She’d been told that, but she hadn’t had any idea exactly what to expect.
The two bunkers were obviously of similar construction, but she knew all the other bunkers that belonged to The Wanderers were smaller and housed fewer people.
Stuart came to a door and slid to a stop, knocking. There was a keypad, but he either didn’t know the code, or didn’t bother taking the time to type it in.
The door swung open seconds later, and Tarin greeted them. He drew Stuart into his arms immediately, hugging him tight. “I’m fine.”
Tarin and Stuart moved into the hallway to get out of the way.
Dawson angled around the two reuniting men, pulling Grecia by the hand. Elias had his hand on the small of her back.
She gasped as they rushed toward a hospital bed where Jeremy was flat on his back, eyes closed, his body limp in sleep or perhaps from medication.
A man stood on the other side of the bed. He looked up and smiled. “He’s going to be fine.”
Grecia let out a shaky breath, not taking her gaze off Jeremy as she pushed between Dawson and Elias to get to him. She grabbed his hand and held it tight.
“He’ll be asleep awhile. I had to give him something to knock him out. He was in a lot of pain, and he needed stitches.”
“Is anything broken?” Dawson asked.
“No. He was damn lucky. An inch farther in any direction and he would have broken both femurs or severed a major artery. The sharp edge of the dash caved into his thighs and cut through his jeans and into his legs. I was afraid he would bleed out before I could close the wounds.”
“Jesus.” Elias set a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder. “How long will he be asleep?”
Jeremy looked pale and very gaunt. His hand was clammy and cold.
Grecia lifted her gaze to the man she’d never met.
He smiled and held out a hand. “I’m Dario.”
She lifted her free hand to shake his. “Grecia. You’re one of Maya’s partners, right? A doctor?” All of Maya’s partners were doctors.
“Yes. We take turns visiting other bunkers. I’m glad I happened to be here yesterday.” Unspoken was the fact that Dario saved Jeremy’s life. If he hadn’t been here…
“He’s so pale…”
Dario nodded, holding Grecia’s gaze. “He’ll heal much faster with a blood transfusion.”
“Can you do that?” She glanced around. “Here? Underground? Do you have the supplies?” She didn’t know what that entailed.
“Yes. But we don’t store blood. It’s not practical. We have to take it from a living person when we need it.”
“Oh. Doesn’t it have to match?” She didn’t have much education, but she was grateful she’d learned to read and had read every damn thing she could get her hands on in the women’s shelter. Boredom had driven her to check out books. Curiosity had driven her to educate herself.
“Yes.”
Grecia glanced at Dawson and Elias. They were staring at the doctor. She shifted her attention back to him. “How do you know who matches?”
“Sometimes we don’t. This time we do.”
She shifted her weight. “Me?”
He nodded. “Yes. His blood is rare. You’re a match.”
“How do you know?”
“Rush tested yours when you first arrived at the compound. You were so weak from the birth. He thought you might need a transfusion. Luckily, you didn’t. It would have been hard to find a match. A needle in a haystack.”
Her eyes went wide. She looked at Jeremy, lying there so still and pale. “What do you need me to do? Let’s do it.”
Elias had a hand on her back. Dawson set his on top of Elias’s. Neither man said a word. All they could do was provide physical contact in support.
Dario nodded and turned toward a cot along the wall. “You’ll be most comfortable if you lie on the cot.”
She lifted Jeremy’s fingers to her lips and kissed them before leaning over and kissing his cheek next. “Hang in there.” She rushed across the room and lowered onto the cot.
Dawson was immediately at her side. When he leaned over to kiss her, she winced. His forearm stroked over her breast. She needed to pump desperately now.
“How long does it take?” Dawson asked Dario.
“Not long. Ten minutes probably.”
Elias set the backpack down. “Can you wait that long, sweetheart?”
She nodded. “Can I get some water?” She was so thirsty.
“Of course.” Dario grabbed her a bottle from the counter behind him. “I’ll have someone bring you some juice and crackers too. You’ll need lots of fluids to replenish the blood.”
“She’s nursing too. Is that okay?” Elias asked. “She needs to pump soon.”
“It will be fine. She’ll just need to be sure to drink as much as she can and eat a big meal soon.” Dario pulled a tray of supplies and a chair up next to her and held out her arm. He tapped the bend in her elbow in several places before using an alcohol swab to clean the area.
Next, he wrapped a rubber hose around her upper arm. “This will feel tight. It helps the blood flow out quicker. I’ll remove it in a bit.”
She winced when he tied it off around her upper arm.
“Can you make a fist for me?”
She did so.
“Good. Pump it like that for a minute.” When he reached for something else, she opted to look away.
She held her breath and squeezed her eyes closed while he inserted the needle.
Dawson rubbed her leg. “You’re doing great, hon. It’s working.”
“It won’t take long,” Dario informed them.
“Then what do you do?” Elias asked.
“Basically, the same thing. I’ll set up an IV and let this bag of blood run into Jeremy’s arm.”
Elias stood close also, his hand on her shin. “Breathe, sweetheart.”
She nodded and drew in a deep breath. “I’m good.”
Seconds and minutes ticked by with all of them hovering. It probably didn’t take as long as it seemed, but it felt like an eternity before Dario declared, “That’s it.”
She closed her eyes, not wanting to watch him as he removed the needle, and the next thing she knew, Dawson was holding a cotton swab tightly over the puncture.
“Don’t try to sit up yet,” Elias said.
Someone Grecia hadn’t seen yet stepped into her line of sight and handed Elias a glass. “Juice,” the man murmured before disappearing.
Elias helped Grecia slowly swing her legs around to sitting and handed her the juice. “Drink this, sweetheart.”
She downed it fast. She was thirsty and hungry. After glancing toward Jeremy where Dario was setting up the IV and Dawson was watching over the patient, she turned back to Elias. “I need to pump before anything else.”
He pulled everything out of the backpack and set it on the cot next to her before pulling the chair in front of her and sitting on it, blocking her from the view of anyone who might walk into the room. Her men were nothing if not thoughtful. Or maybe they just didn’t like the idea of strangers seeing her breasts. Either way.
She wanted to be with Jeremy, but he wasn’t awake yet, and she needed to take care of herself first.
Twenty minutes later, they stored the pumped milk in the mini-fridge and joined Dawson where he stood watching over Jeremy.
Jeremy had much better color, but he still hadn’t stirred.
“He’s fine. I promise,” Dario informed them with a smile. “The transfusion will make his recovery much faster.”
Grecia was nervous. “Are you sure?”
Dario set a hand on her shoulder. “Positive. The cuts were long and needed a lot of stitches, but like I said, nothing was broken and no major blood vessels were severed. With this infusion and antibiotics, he’ll heal quickly. He’s only asleep because of the pain meds. He’ll wake up soon.”
“How long will it take to heal?” Dawson asked.
“The stitches can be removed in about a week. He’s going to be sore and bruised for a while longer than that, but he shouldn’t have any trouble walking as long as he takes it easy.”
“When can we move him back to the main compound?” Elias asked.
Grecia was glad they were asking all the good questions. She couldn’t get her mind to work fast enough.
Dario nodded. “Tomorrow probably. Mostly because he’s going to be groggy today.”
Grecia was relieved. Any longer than that would be stressful. That was a long time to go without seeing Amelia. Even though she was the mother, she knew Dawson and Elias were thinking the same thing.
Elias pulled the chair up next to the bed and guided Grecia to sit. He handed her another bottle of water and a protein bar. “Eat, sweetheart. You need the calories and the fluids.”
She was famished and scarfed down not just the one bar but another after it. She also drank enough water to float away. Thirty minutes later, she felt much better. Stronger. No longer lightheaded.
The blood transfusion was finished. Now they simply had to wait for Jeremy to wake up.
Grecia had no idea why she was so damn nervous. Until he opened his eyes and smiled at her, she couldn’t relax. No matter what the doctor told her, she was stressing.
She gripped his hand and stared at his face, willing him to wake up. She couldn’t sit any longer. She needed to be able to see him directly.
It seemed like forever before Jeremy finally groaned, his head rolling back and forth slowly as he blinked his eyes open. He squinted under the lights, meeting Grecia’s gaze first even though all three of them were hovering.
He licked his lips. “I guess I lived.”
She smiled and leaned closer to hug him as best she could. “Scared us to death though. Don’t ever do that again.”
He chuckled and slid his free hand up her back. “I’ll do my best. What’s the damage?” he asked as she rose up off him. He glanced at Elias and Dawson. Dario had stepped out of the room.
“You managed an impressive number of stitches and blood loss without doing any real damage,” Dawson informed him. “Lucky for you, Grecia has the same blood type. You’d be sporting a fantastic headache and be quite weak right now without her.”
Jeremy’s eyes widened and he shifted his attention back to her, squeezing her hand. “You gave me blood?”
She nodded, her cheeks heating. “Of course. Do you think I would just let you lie there and suffer?”
He pulled their combined hands to his cheek, rubbing her knuckles on his slight stubble. “Thank you,” he murmured.
Elias chuckled. “She feeds strangers’ babies. I’m pretty sure she would give up a body part without blinking for someone she knew and loved.”
Grecia choked up, tears brimming in her eyes. She looked toward Elias and then Dawson and then Jeremy. “He’s right, you know.”
Jeremy grinned. “You’d give me a limb?”
“Yes, but more importantly, I love you. All of you. So much it makes my chest tight and my knees week. I almost fainted when Stuart came to tell us you’d been in an accident.”
“I love you too,” Jeremy said in a soft deep voice.
“I love you too,” Dawson added, reaching across to grab her other hand.
Elias was next to her, and he cupped her neck under her hair. “I love you too, sweetheart.”
She leaned into him, letting him support her weight.
“Where’s Amelia?” Jeremy asked a few moments later.
“With Ariel and Kester,” Dawson informed him. “Back at the main bunker.”
“Good. I wouldn’t want her outside of that compound. Ever. Not ever, ever. Not until she’s ninety. Maybe if we never take her outside, she won’t know what it’s like and she won’t miss it and crave it. Can we do that?”
Grecia shrugged, glancing down. She’d had similar thoughts before. It was a tough situation.
“I don’t even like her out of my arms,” Elias agreed. “You won’t get any arguments from me.”
Dawson shuddered. “She’s not even leaving the apartment.”
Jeremy chuckled. “You don’t think that’s overkill?”
Grecia smiled. “Maybe a little.”
Elias shook his head. “She’s female. She’s our daughter. She’s not leaving our sight ever. We’ll take turns.”
Grecia rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure you will alienate her by the age of four if you suffocate her.”
“No one is going to suffocate her. We’re going to spoil her and smother her with kisses and love. That’s all,” Jeremy added.
Grecia leaned in and hugged Jeremy close again, resting her weight against his chest. She was so grateful that he wasn’t injured worse. So very grateful that all her men were here together, able to joke and hug and share their love. She would never take this opportunity she’d been given for granted.