Betrayals
Page 40

My eyelids fluttered open. I was staring at … white.
A clatter sounded beside me. A hand gripped mine, the touch as familiar as that grunt, and I turned as he leaned over, and I smiled and said, “Gabriel.”
Gabriel took me through the events of the night before. No, two nights before. It was now Wednesday morning. I’d lost Tuesday entirely. I also lost about half of his narrative, as I kept mentally fading and needing to ask him to repeat himself, which he did, with astonishing patience.
“A flood tunnel?” I said.
“Yes, and I don’t know why it was open. Clearly such things should be sealed, because if you’d continued down it, who knows where you’d have ended up.”
“But I didn’t.” I smiled at him. “You saved me.”
He ducked the smile. “The platform saved you. Or whatever it was.”
“So, we were in something like a cave? Lying on rock?”
“Concrete.”
“Right, but it would have felt like …” The dream rippled back. Gabriel and I in the cavern, lying on the ledge and … My cheeks heated.
“Olivia?”
I shook it off. Obviously I’d been aware enough of my surroundings that the memories of Gwynn and the cavern had merged with Gabriel and the tunnel, and since Gwynn and Matilda used that as their secret make-out spot, I’d done some mental editing myself.
Another shake, and I looked at Gabriel and … “What are you wearing?” I said with a sudden laugh.
“You’ve been unconscious for a while,” said a voice from the doorway. “Gabriel joined the Saints. He’s even got the jacket right there.”
Ricky pointed to his jacket, on the back of the bedside chair.
“Put it on,” I said to Gabriel. “This I have to see.”
“I’m afraid that would violate club rules,” Gabriel said. “Ricky only lent it to me under extreme circumstances, to alleviate my hypothermia.”
“Oh, I won’t tell anyone,” Ricky said. “Go on. Humor her. She’s had a near-death experience. She deserves a treat.”
When Gabriel ignored us both, Ricky leaned in and whispered, “Don’t worry. I may have photographic evidence.”
“What?” Gabriel said.
I pulled Ricky into a quick kiss. He added a second to my forehead before setting a mocha on my tray.
“Wow,” I said, taking it. “Now that’s timing.”
He shrugged. “I had a hunch you’d wake up soon.”
As I lifted the cup to my lips, he took it and replaced it with a glass of water.
“Better start with this,” he said.
“Tease.”
“Drink all the water. Slowly. Then you can have the mocha. But if the nurses come by?” He jerked his thumb at Gabriel. “He brought you coffee.”
I propped up the pillows on the bed, shifted over, and patted a spot for him to take.
He perched on the edge, giving me plenty of room. “So where in the story are we?”
“The rescue,” Gabriel said.
“Ah, good. Keep going, then. This is your part.”
“I mean the part where you rescued us.”
“Found you. The rescue was the bring-Liv-back-from-the-dead part. Which is totally yours.”
“Back from the dead?” I said, rising.
“He’s being dramatic,” Gabriel said. “It was CPR.”
“I stopped breathing?”
“Oh, he skipped that part, did he?” Ricky said. “The doc will tell her everything, Gabriel, so you might as well fess up. The whole story. Leave nothing out.”
Gabriel went still. An odd look crossed his face, and he shifted, his gaze escaping to my pillows, which he fussed with, grumbling that I needed to keep my head supported.
“He saved your life,” Ricky continued. “He just doesn’t want to admit that, because it totally blows his tough-guy rep. Fine, then. He brought you back to life. Meanwhile, I …”
Ricky finished telling the story. Then he detailed my injuries. When he got to the stab wound, Gabriel said, “That is my fault.”
“Uh, no,” I said. “Pretty sure you didn’t stab me.”
“He means he’s taking responsibility for the fact he didn’t realize you’d been stabbed and therefore didn’t tend to it right away. Which, as the doctors have pointed out, wouldn’t have made a difference.” Ricky mock-lowered his voice. “He’s not quite himself yet. I’d take full advantage and ask for a raise.”
When Gabriel gave him a look, Ricky said to me, “It’s the hypothermia. The paramedics said it causes mental confusion and poor decision making. Luckily for both of you, he only had the confusion.”
Gabriel shifted back and sipped his coffee. I opened my mouth and then paused. A thought had slipped through the periphery of my mind. Something important.
Speaking of mental confusion …
“Aunika!” I said. “The last we saw …”
“I’d love to tell you she’s all right,” Ricky said. “But honestly, I don’t know. I went by the center yesterday, and I managed to get a girl who works there to talk to me.”
“Was she about twenty? Dark hair? Sleeve tattoos?”
“That’s her. She finally admitted she hasn’t seen Aunika since Monday. Aunika did text her, though, saying she was fine and needed a couple of days off.”