Abandoned (23 page)

Daniel groaned and turned away. “You slay me.”

“Whatever. Obviously not enough to get you to change your mind about leaving this room.” She shrugged into her clothes, choosing jeans and a light sweater over her bra and panties. As soon as she finished slipping on her shoes, she returned to the bathroom to comb through the curls in her hair. “I haven’t worn makeup in days.” She stared at herself in the mirror.

“I love you that way,” he said as he came up behind her and watched her work. “You’re so pure.” He stroked a finger down her shoulder until she shivered.

She rolled her eyes at him. “Bet that’s what you tell all the girls.”

“Only the ones I’m mated to.”

He was stiff. His usual jovial self completely absent this morning. She hadn’t noticed that last night when he’d come in. But on the flip side, she’d been rather preoccupied the entire time she’d been awake in the darkness. Something must have happened yesterday to put him on edge. And whatever it was, he wasn’t in a mood to share it right then.

Allison followed him from the room, glancing at the coffee pot and wishing she’d at least had one cup before heading to the mess hall.

Daniel held her hand as they walked. He didn’t stop at the dining room, however, and she sighed, wondering when he was going to snap out of it and feed her. Instead, he walked at a fast clip until he came to a building she hadn’t been in before. He opened the door and wrapped his arm around her until they reached what looked like a doctor’s office inside. “Sit over there.” He pointed to two adjacent chairs. “I’ll be right back.”

She watched him speak to the receptionist quietly while she nodded and replied just as softly
.

Allison could hear better than any human. All shifters could. But the only words she managed to pick out were appointment and her name.

Daniel headed toward her, but just as he reached her side, another door opened behind him and a cheery woman popped out. “Allison Watkins?”

Allison flinched. She narrowed her gaze at Daniel. “What are we doing here?” she whispered.

“I have some concerns,” he replied without any details. “Don’t worry. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

They followed the kind woman with the dark ponytail to a room. Allison couldn’t wait for her to leave so she could pounce on Daniel-the-silent and drag answers from him.

Instead, the room they entered next already had someone in it. And that someone turned around to greet them as Dr. Wilburrow. His smile was too big as he shook hands with first Daniel and then Allison.

“I haven’t mentioned to her what I found,” Daniel said. “I didn’t want to scare her unnecessarily.”

Dr. Wilburrow turned to Allison, who could feel her face turning beet red. They were discussing her as if she were a child or not in the room. “Found what?” She transferred her gaze from the doctor to Daniel and back.

“Remember last night when I came in late?”

“Yes.” How could she have forgotten that?

“I found a scar on your neck that you didn’t know anything about.”

She reached her hand under her hair to feel her neck, a tingling running down her spine and threatening to let her collapse as his words shook her to the core. “I’ve never had any injury to my neck.” She’d tossed his words out the door last night, thinking he was seeing things. She would know if she had a scar, wouldn’t she?

“May I take a look?” the doctor asked.

Allison turned around and lifted her hair with the shakiest hands she’d ever experienced. Even Daniel’s normally calming touch on her shoulder didn’t soothe her. What the fuck was going on?

Dr. Wilburrow poked the spot in several places, making her flinch. “Does it hurt?”

“Only when you hit it just right.” Inside
,
her heart was racing. Daniel stepped in front of her
,
and she leaned her bent head against his chest for support. He took over holding her hair
,
and she let her arms fall to his waist. She felt light
-
headed. It would be a miracle if she didn’t pass out.

Subtle movements from Daniel told her he was nodding at the doctor as they engaged in a silent conversation of facial expressions.

Allison didn’t move, even though the doctor stepped back. She was afraid to see either of their faces.

Finally, Daniel lifted her face and met her gaze. His cheeks were red. His brow scrunched, his lips tight. “We think they implanted something inside your neck.”

“What?” She meant to scream the word, but her voice came out more of a crackly interruption. She slumped forward, and Daniel caught her.

He lifted her onto the narrow bed in the office and laid her on her side. He smoothed her hair from her face and held her bicep firmly. “We have to get it out. Whatever the hell it is, I don’t want it in you another minute.”

She nodded, her mouth dry, her head pounding, her vision blurring. She tucked her hands between her legs to keep from shaking.

He did his damnedest to console her, but she could only hear groups of words that didn’t seem to go together as he spoke. She concentrated on breathing, but it seemed she wasn’t inhaling enough oxygen.

“She’s in shock,” the doctor said. He slipped something over her head and pulled it across her face to nest under her nose.
Oxygen
. Thank God. She was choking.

And then papers were being passed around. Daniel signed some forms. He never took his free hand off her, anchoring her to this world as best he could. Not enough
,
though. She was going to float away. She could feel her body lifting off the bed and then moving. She widened her gaze to find out it wasn’t an illusion. They’d moved her to another gurney and were rolling her down a long hall.

“Look at me, baby.” Daniel’s voice was firm, in control. Freaked the fuck out. “It’s going to be okay,” he said next, even though she hadn’t glanced his way.

Allison stared instead at the ceiling as she rode down the hall. She wanted to count the tiles, but they were moving too fast. Everything was in high speed
,
and she needed to slow down. The tiles… How many had there been? She needed to know.

“I love you,” Daniel whispered in her ear.

That was the last thing she heard before darkness descended.

•●•

Something heavy was weighing her down. Allison tried to lift her arm but found it trapped. Her eyes were too heavy to open. Her mouth was dry. She couldn’t control her tongue to lick her lips. And her head was pounding.

Movement to her left made her turn her head a fraction, but it hurt too much and she winced.

“Allie… Baby… You’re okay. Don’t move yet. You’re just coming out of the anesthesia.” Daniel’s voice filtered into her mind, but where was he? She couldn’t see him.

Oh, right. Her eyes. She blinked them open finally and found him hovering over her.

She found she could wiggle her fingers, but her arms still wouldn’t obey her commands
,
or she didn’t have the energy to lift them.

Daniel stroked her forehead and smiled at her. His smile was fake, but she noted relief that hadn’t been there earlier. What had happened? It was coming back to her. The doctor… The scar on her neck… Something was inside her…

She shivered. “Did they get it out?” she finally managed to mutter.

“Yes. Easy peasy. No problems.”

She scented another man as he entered the room. Her gaze wandered to the newcomer. Dr. W-something or other.

“Hi. You did great.” He smiled at her and patted her leg. “You’ll be fine in a few minutes. Just let the anesthesia wear off
,
and you’ll feel much better.”

“I can’t move my arms.” She tilted her gaze down, not wanting to risk moving her head again.
Oh
. Heavy blankets covered her.

“You were so cold, baby. Just rest a minute.” Daniel stroked her arm through the layers. At least she could feel his touch.

“What was it?”

“A chip. They must have been using it as a GPS.”

“That’s all?” She stared at his face, gauging his response. If he lied to her…

“Yes.” He didn’t flinch. “Promise. Nothing more than a tiny GPS locater. Nothing drug related.”

She swallowed hard, and Daniel reached for a cup of ice on the side table. He set a few small chips on her lips
,
and she moaned around the cool
,
melting water. “More.”

“Take it slow at first,” the doctor said. “Some people have difficulty keeping things down after anesthesia.”

She nodded, regretting the act immediately. “Are you sure there aren’t more foreign items inside me?”

The doctor lowered his notes and met her gaze. “Positive. We did a full-body scan to make sure. That was the only one. It was very close to the surface. You were never in any danger. The tiny cut I made didn’t even need more than a butterfly Band-Aid. It took two minutes. The only reason you feel like you do is from the anesthesia. I didn’t want to risk keeping you awake without knowing for sure what I was dealing with.”

Allison took a deep breath and closed her eyes to center herself.
You’re okay. It’s out
.

She still shivered at the thought of the invasion.

And then her eyes shot wide open. “Shit. Now they know where we are.” She glanced at both men, having declared something they both already considered.

Dr. Wilburrow, that was his name, smiled. “Yeah. Can’t be helped. If we’re lucky, they haven’t specifically tracked you here yet. The second we removed the chip and examined it, a team of men took it and left. Hopefully it will buy us some time, leading the Romulus in another direction. The longer we can keep them thinking you’re somewhere else
,
the better.

“Hopefully, they will believe you came to Seattle to meet with The Head Council and then left by car to go somewhere else. They’re going to drive that chip around all over until we can pick a good place to stop and lure the bastards in.”

Allison swallowed. It was a good plan.

The doctor patted her leg. “I’m going to leave you now. I’ve got rounds to make. Take it slow, but as soon as you can get around, you’re free to leave.”

“Thank you,” Daniel managed. He stood and shook the doctor’s hand before turning back to her.

“I thought only a handful of people knew what was going on?”

“Yeah, well, Dr. Wilburrow is now a member of that group. Everyone is doing their best to keep it small, but it’s growing by the hour. Not much can be done to avoid it. Within days, they’re going to have to put full
-
time military troops in place and arrange for any eventuality.”

Daniel gave her another spoonful of the ice. His face grew serious as he spoke. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything to you before we got here. Part of me hoped I was full of shit and overreacting. The other part was afraid of how you might react when you found out there was a foreign object in your neck.”

“Under the circumstances, I’m going to thank you, but please don’t coddle me, Daniel. I’m a grown woman.” She finally managed to lift her arm and draw it toward her chest. She rolled her head gently from left to right.

“I know. Sometimes I think you’re stronger than me.” He frowned. “Especially when it comes to anything related to your health and safety. I freak out a bit.”

She squirmed her arm free and grabbed his hand. “I understand. Just know I feel the same way about you
,
and keeping details from me that involve me won’t win you any favors.” She pushed the covers down to find herself in a hospital gown. “If it was no big deal, why all the ceremony?”

“We couldn’t be sure. Just in case there were any complications.” Sweat rose on his brow as he watched her move around.

“You were really scared.”

“Out of my mind, baby.”

“Help me sit.”

“Are you sure you’re ready?”

She rolled her eyes. “I had a tiny piece of metal under the surface of my skin. I think I can sit.”

Daniel kissed her forehead and helped her ease off the bed, supporting her back with one hand and grasping her arm with the other.

She swung her legs around to hang off the side. “Did you undress me?”

“With the help of a nurse. I was all butterfingers.”