Exhaustion threatened to pull Rafe under, but he pushed away from the wall and stepped up to the bed to smooth the strands of Reagan’s hair that managed to escape her braid. Ann had tamed her long hair before securing it under the surgical cap almost twelve hours earlier. It had been an act of compassion, and strange as it sounded, that small gesture had gone further to convince him Montana was the place to move than anything he’d been promised.
“You’re dead on your feet, man. Get some rest. I’ll sit with her.” Rafe turned to find Taz Ledek filling the door frame. It was a testament to how tired he was that he hadn’t realized the other man was so close, because he was a fucking giant. “You won’t be in any shape to make good judgements if you let my clumsy ass sneak up on you.” Rafe chuckled. If there was one thing Taz Ledek wasn’t, it was clumsy. Hell, he had more martial arts training than anyone Rafe had ever met. And, as a former Navy SEAL, he was as stealthy as a jungle cat. There was a reason their new wife referred to the brothers as Ninjas.
“Thanks. I think I’ll take you up on that offer. She’s settled in the past hour.” It had taken forever for the post-op pain management to kick in—no doubt she’d been given so much after the attack her tolerance was sky-high. “I asked the staff to set up a room for me next door.” Taz frowned, but didn’t respond. “Call me immediately if you need anything. The staff has been great, but I can be an intimidating bastard.”
Taz lifted his brow, and Rafe realized how absurd he’d sounded. There were very few people around more intimidating than the six-and-a-half-foot Native American brick wall standing in front of him. “Goddess, man. You’re hard on my ego. A pansy-assed city boy and you think you’re more intimidating that I am. That’s just plain insulting. I’m going to have to start scaring small children and kicking puppies to beef up my rep.”
Rafe shook his head and grinned. “I’m going to tell Kodi you said that. That woman has your number, my friend.”
“Don’t I know it. She owns me. Now, get the hell out of here before I hug you or something. Damned woman is making me soft.”
Rafe turned back to Reagan and brushed his fingers over her cheek. She needed to stay sleeping on her stomach, and he doubted the position was natural for her when she continued trying to roll despite the obvious discomfort. “She isn’t comfortable on her stomach, but she needs to stay put. If that becomes an issue, the staff can secure her.”
“Yeah, because I’ve never tied a woman to a bed. Fuck me. Get out of here before you tell me how to breathe.”
Fatigue was sweeping through him, and Rafe was self-aware enough to realize he wasn’t helping at this point. He gave Reagan one last glance, flipped Nate off, and walked out of the room.
“He’s gone, doll. You can stop playing opossum now.” Taz had known the moment he stepped into the room Reagan was awake. As an empath, he’d felt her rioting emotions before he’d entered. Pain was battering her like a ship in high seas, but she’d somehow managed to maintain the illusion of sleep. “I’ll give him five to get out of the hall, and then I’m calling for the nurse. Don’t fight it, Reagan. You of all people should understand how important it is for your body to heal unencumbered by pain.”
“I know you’re right, but I was sure he wouldn’t leave unless he thought I was resting comfortably.” Her voice was thready, but he heard the sincerity in her tone. Taz shook his head. Goddess save me from well-meaning submissives.
“I can assure you, Master Rafe is much more concerned with your health than an extra half-hour rest. As your friend and employer, I want you comfortable so you’ll recover as quickly as possible. But as Rafe’s friend, I appreciate your concern for him as well. I’ll make you a deal. I won’t throw your sweet ass under the bus if you promise to ask for the help in the future when you need it.”
When she’d agreed, he reached forward and pressed the call button. Once they’d sent the nurse for the medication, he pulled a chair close and sat down, putting himself in her line of vision. Anxiety was coming off the little sub in waves, and he didn’t think she would rest properly until he got to the bottom of the problem. He’d seen soldiers fight the strongest narcotic painkillers until they were able to set aside whatever was occupying their thoughts.
“What’s on your mind, Reagan?” Her eyes filled with tears, and Taz felt like he’d been hit in the chest with a blast of sorrow and fear. Holy shit.
“I’m going to lose my job. I’ve been trying to do everything I could to hold on, but this will be the excuse they need to cut me. I don’t have enough money saved up to make it through the winter. And that was before all these medical expenses.” Fuck it all, she was breaking his heart. “And I’m whining. I hate it when people whine. It doesn’t ever help anything…not ever, really. And I’m still doing it.”
“Stop. Take a deep breath, doll.” Taz was certain she’d respond to the command in his voice and was pleased to see her eyes widen and her mouth snap shut. “Good girl. One of the interesting things about pain killers is they often act as truth serum. Even if they aren’t managing the pain, they can drop all the shields we keep in place. The little bit you’ve been given is scattering your thinking, even if it isn’t keeping you comfortable.”
Reagan’s eyes were clouded with confusion, and he could feel waves of fear pulsing from her. “I want you to talk to me without falling over the emotional edge you were teetering on—not because I can’t handle it, but because I know you’ll regret it later. You’re a valued employee, Reagan; more importantly, you’re my friend, and I don’t want that between us once you’ve recovered. Do you understand?”
Tears slid from the corners of her eyes, soaking the sheet beneath her face. “Don’t cry, doll. Kodi will skin me alive if she finds out I caused your tears.”
“I’m just overwhelmed. I don’t know what I’m going to do. Going back to Texas isn’t an option.” Taz nodded in silent agreement. Unbelievably, the damned Major at the prison where Reagan had been a volunteer still held his position. From what Taz had heard, the man was also making discreet inquiries trying to find out where she’d moved. He made a mental note to ask Phoenix Morgan to give the fucker something else to think about. Maybe if he was busy trying to repair his crumbling credit rating or returning thousands of dollars in sex toys, he might not have time to think about the woman he’d almost gotten killed.
“Right now, you have one job, and that’s to heal. If you lose your position at the cargo company, that means the Universe wants you to go in a different direction. Nate and I had already been tossing around a couple of ideas related to the expansion, and we’d planned to talk to you about them next month.” He gave a shrug he hoped would appear nonchalant, but her skeptical expression said he hadn’t been successful.
“Don’t create a job for me out of sympathy, Taz. That would just make me feel worse.” He raised his brow at her in surprise. She’d never called him Taz, always using Sir or Master Taz when she was working. He appreciated the shift and told her so.
Before they could continue their conversation, the nurse was back and, with a quick press of the plunger, sent Reagan into a blissful slumber. “She’ll rest now. Dr. Morgan expected her tolerance level to be high. Thank you for alerting us. I hate it when our patients think toughing it out is the way to go.” He grinned at the woman who obviously had a big heart.
Settling back in his chair, Taz pulled his phone from his chest pocket and fired off a quick text to his brother. I’m sitting with Reagan while Rafe gets some rest. He was dead on his feet & only left because I insisted. She belongs to him, even if she doesn’t know it yet.
Nate’s response was immediate. Does Rafe know?
Yeah, I think so. Hard to tell when he was about to fall asleep standing up.
You tell her about her job at the cargo company? The owner had called them asking if they could put her on full-time. It sounded like he regretted having to let her go, but when Nate reminded him the road to hell was paved with good intentions, the man had disconnected the call. Thank Goddess he couldn’t cancel her insurance until the paperwork was done.
No, but she knows it’s coming. I’ve mentioned we want to talk to her.
But she thinks it’s charity.
Something like that. Did you get Kodi to make an appointment? They’d been trying to knock up their beautiful bride since the moment she’d agreed to marry them. But so far, each time they’d thought they’d succeeded, they’d been wrong. They were encouraging her to see a specialist, but so far, she’d managed to keep herself too busy. Since he could hear her thoughts, Taz understood her fear, but the ostrich approach wasn’t going to get her the baby they all wanted desperately.
Yes, but she is spitting mad and standing to finish the final edits on her new book. And before you crawl up my ass—charming her wasn’t working. She needed to be pushed, and I obliged.
You’re an ass.
Not news. You can be the hero when you get home.
Count on it.
Kelsey glared at her boss’s retreating back. After informing her Reagan wouldn’t be returning, the old coot had the audacity to say he expected Kelsey to add her former co-worker’s duties to her own. Was he insane? Kelsey had shifted her own work to Reagan over the past several months and enjoyed having extra time to spend on her own little sideline venture. But now he expected her to pick up the entire workload? Access to the airport and cargo flights was critical to her enterprise, so she needed this job. But she needed to be able to slip the packages on the flights, and that wasn’t always easy.
Perhaps it was time for a little financial insurance. Scrolling through her contacts, she found the name she was looking for. A couple of drinks and Reagan had spilled the beans about the reason she’d left Texas. It hadn’t taken Kelsey long to uncover the details, and she’d saved the man’s contact information for just such an occasion. Let’s see how badly he wants to know where his obsession landed.