He returned my grin. “Not if I can help it.”
“I need it pretty warm.”
He turned on the water, tested it with one hand, then adjusted the temperature and plugged the drain. “So…what exactly are we doing? I know you’re covered in blood, but I’m assuming this is about more than hygiene?”
“Yeah.” I held up my cast. “We’re soaking this bitch, so we can cut it off.”
“Faythe…”
But I interrupted, wishing it wouldn’t hurt to cross my arms beneath my bra. “I’ll have to Shift to heal this one, anyway.” I held up my throbbing, stinging left arm. “So it only makes sense to heal them both at once, right?” He started to talk again, and again I rushed to cut him off. “And don’t tell me I shouldn’t Shift at all. I’m not staying behind, and you guys need to know I can take care of myself when we go after Lance. Otherwise I’ll be a distraction and a hindrance. I’m doing this, no matter what you say.”
His grin was back. “I was just going to tell you you’re brilliant.”
“I—” I blinked. “You were?”
“Yeah. If I knew how to get the damned thing off, I’d have suggested it before you climbed up the deer stand and nearly got yourself killed.”
“Oh.” Well, that was a pleasant surprise.
“But, you know you’re going to have to Shift several times, right? Like, a dozen or more. And it’ll hurt like hell, assuming it even works on a broken bone.”
He spoke from experience. But if he could handle the pain, so could I. “I know. Let’s get this over with. And hey…you know Marc’s gonna be mad, right?”
Jace shrugged. “He stays pissed at me.”
I laughed. “Yeah, me, too. Help me out.” I turned my back to him and released the front clasp of my bra with my right hand, then let him slide it carefully over both arms. Then I used that same hand to push down first one side, then the other of my black boy shorts until they fell to the floor.
The tub was only a few inches full, but I stepped in, anyway, because that was better than standing there naked while he tried—and failed—not to stare at me.
The hot water felt great on my legs, but I had to scooch down to submerge my cast as the water ran. I set my left arm carefully on the edge of the tub and glanced at Jace as he settled onto the closed toilet seat with one ankle crossed over the opposite knee, guy-style.
“How long has Marc been gone?” I swished my cast in the water and wiggled my toes in the flow from the faucet.
Jace glanced at his watch. “About twenty minutes. How long do you think it’ll take him?”
“Normally I’d say about an hour, but he’ll rush this time. We may have another half hour.” I swished my arm faster and willed the tub to fill. “I think we’ll all be a lot happier if I’m out of this cast—and the tub—before he gets back.”
“No argument there.” Jace frowned. “Not that I can’t take him. This just isn’t really…”
“I know. And I don’t want you to take him. Or vice versa. Which is why I need this to work fast.” I wiggled my fingers, trying to work water into the cast from that end, to speed up the process. “Your new phone has Internet, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Can you find out how long it’ll take to drive back to New Mexico from here?” Because we couldn’t just knock Lance out and drag him onto the plane.
Jace dug his phone from his pocket and spent the next five minutes typing with his thumbs. “Shit.” He glanced up, and the bad news was obvious in his expression. “Twenty-three hours, if we drive straight through. Which we can do, if we drive in shifts, but…”
“But that means we can’t wait until dark to go after Lance.”
He shook his head. “Not if we want to get there while Kaci’s still breathing.”
I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the edge of the tub as the water lapped at my navel. “Okay, so we go as soon as I’m healed.” Or at least healed enough. “But we’ll have to get Lance alone. We can’t take them all on at once.”
“Yeah. We’ll think of something.” He started to put his phone away, but I shook my head.
“We should call my dad. I’ll talk to him, if you want. He’s probably gonna be mad, too, but I can leave you out of this. I won’t tell him you helped me.”
Jace shook his head, and his gaze held mine with a substantial weight. A determination I almost didn’t recognize in him. “I’m in this with you, Faythe. The whole way. This is the only option we have. He’ll see that. And if he doesn’t…” Jace shrugged and grinned again. “We’ll both be in trouble.”
My heart beat so hard it ached. He wasn’t supposed to be like this. Jace wasn’t supposed to be so…wonderful. Distancing myself from him wasn’t supposed to be so hard…
I was starting to think that giving him up would be like giving up air—and I already felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“Okay. Call him.”
Twenty-Two
Jace autodialed, and I stirred the water with my cast. When my father answered, I turned the faucet off with my foot. The bath wasn’t as deep as I like it, but it covered my arm, and I wanted to be able to hear both sides of the conversation.
“Hey, Greg, it’s me.”
“I need it pretty warm.”
He turned on the water, tested it with one hand, then adjusted the temperature and plugged the drain. “So…what exactly are we doing? I know you’re covered in blood, but I’m assuming this is about more than hygiene?”
“Yeah.” I held up my cast. “We’re soaking this bitch, so we can cut it off.”
“Faythe…”
But I interrupted, wishing it wouldn’t hurt to cross my arms beneath my bra. “I’ll have to Shift to heal this one, anyway.” I held up my throbbing, stinging left arm. “So it only makes sense to heal them both at once, right?” He started to talk again, and again I rushed to cut him off. “And don’t tell me I shouldn’t Shift at all. I’m not staying behind, and you guys need to know I can take care of myself when we go after Lance. Otherwise I’ll be a distraction and a hindrance. I’m doing this, no matter what you say.”
His grin was back. “I was just going to tell you you’re brilliant.”
“I—” I blinked. “You were?”
“Yeah. If I knew how to get the damned thing off, I’d have suggested it before you climbed up the deer stand and nearly got yourself killed.”
“Oh.” Well, that was a pleasant surprise.
“But, you know you’re going to have to Shift several times, right? Like, a dozen or more. And it’ll hurt like hell, assuming it even works on a broken bone.”
He spoke from experience. But if he could handle the pain, so could I. “I know. Let’s get this over with. And hey…you know Marc’s gonna be mad, right?”
Jace shrugged. “He stays pissed at me.”
I laughed. “Yeah, me, too. Help me out.” I turned my back to him and released the front clasp of my bra with my right hand, then let him slide it carefully over both arms. Then I used that same hand to push down first one side, then the other of my black boy shorts until they fell to the floor.
The tub was only a few inches full, but I stepped in, anyway, because that was better than standing there naked while he tried—and failed—not to stare at me.
The hot water felt great on my legs, but I had to scooch down to submerge my cast as the water ran. I set my left arm carefully on the edge of the tub and glanced at Jace as he settled onto the closed toilet seat with one ankle crossed over the opposite knee, guy-style.
“How long has Marc been gone?” I swished my cast in the water and wiggled my toes in the flow from the faucet.
Jace glanced at his watch. “About twenty minutes. How long do you think it’ll take him?”
“Normally I’d say about an hour, but he’ll rush this time. We may have another half hour.” I swished my arm faster and willed the tub to fill. “I think we’ll all be a lot happier if I’m out of this cast—and the tub—before he gets back.”
“No argument there.” Jace frowned. “Not that I can’t take him. This just isn’t really…”
“I know. And I don’t want you to take him. Or vice versa. Which is why I need this to work fast.” I wiggled my fingers, trying to work water into the cast from that end, to speed up the process. “Your new phone has Internet, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Can you find out how long it’ll take to drive back to New Mexico from here?” Because we couldn’t just knock Lance out and drag him onto the plane.
Jace dug his phone from his pocket and spent the next five minutes typing with his thumbs. “Shit.” He glanced up, and the bad news was obvious in his expression. “Twenty-three hours, if we drive straight through. Which we can do, if we drive in shifts, but…”
“But that means we can’t wait until dark to go after Lance.”
He shook his head. “Not if we want to get there while Kaci’s still breathing.”
I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the edge of the tub as the water lapped at my navel. “Okay, so we go as soon as I’m healed.” Or at least healed enough. “But we’ll have to get Lance alone. We can’t take them all on at once.”
“Yeah. We’ll think of something.” He started to put his phone away, but I shook my head.
“We should call my dad. I’ll talk to him, if you want. He’s probably gonna be mad, too, but I can leave you out of this. I won’t tell him you helped me.”
Jace shook his head, and his gaze held mine with a substantial weight. A determination I almost didn’t recognize in him. “I’m in this with you, Faythe. The whole way. This is the only option we have. He’ll see that. And if he doesn’t…” Jace shrugged and grinned again. “We’ll both be in trouble.”
My heart beat so hard it ached. He wasn’t supposed to be like this. Jace wasn’t supposed to be so…wonderful. Distancing myself from him wasn’t supposed to be so hard…
I was starting to think that giving him up would be like giving up air—and I already felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“Okay. Call him.”
Twenty-Two
Jace autodialed, and I stirred the water with my cast. When my father answered, I turned the faucet off with my foot. The bath wasn’t as deep as I like it, but it covered my arm, and I wanted to be able to hear both sides of the conversation.
“Hey, Greg, it’s me.”
