Combust: A Devil Chaser's MC Romance (3 page)

I feel myself being lifted again and placed on something soft, and my body sighs with relief. I try once again to open my eyes. I need to see my angel one last time before I go. Something in my gut tells me she’s the only one that can release me from my nightmare. I fight with all my remaining strength, but I feel myself drifting away from consciousness. I panic. I have to see her… have to know that she is really here. I force my eyes open, and I can barely make out her face as she leans over me. Her piercing green eyes command me to stay with her, and for the first time since I landed in that water, I actually feel hope.

I try to take a deep breath, but the agony is just too much. The pain sears through my body, burning me to my soul. I can see her lips moving as she tries to talk to me, to reassure me, but it isn’t enough. I can’t fight the darkness any longer. As much as I want to stay here with her, there is nothing more I can do. I have no more fight left in me. I close my eyes, and the darkness devours me.

Chapter 4

Ana

My heart aches as I look at the stranger’s motionless body lying in my bed. My room doesn’t even look like the same place. I’ve done my best to prepare for the upcoming surgery, disinfecting everything he may come in contact with. Dad has already removed his clothes and laid a sheet over his lower body. He helped me clean and wash him up, removing all the muck from the lake. I wipe his chest down with betadine as I carefully examine his wounds. I am relieved to find that they aren’t as bad as I’d thought. I’ll be able to remove the bullets without being too invasive. 

“He’s lost a lot of blood, Ana. There’s no way he’s going to make it through this.”

“I’m not giving up on him yet, Dad. I’m going to need some antibiotics,” I tell him.

“I’ll see if Sue can help us out. She’ll ask questions, but we can trust her. I’ll see if she has any painkillers, too. He’s going to be in a world of hurt if he wakes up. Call me if you think of anything else.”

I know that my dad has been dating Sue for several months, but he hasn’t actually told me about it. The silly man lights up like a Christmas tree every time he talks about her, though. She runs a small clinic in town, and she’s a really great doctor. I know she’ll have everything we would need. I only hope that she’ll give it to us.

I grab the IV kit and one saline drip from my medical bag and walk over to him. I gently place the IV needle into his arm, so I can start a blood transfusion. He will need the extra blood before I can try to remove the bullets from his chest. My blood type is O negative, so I don’t have to worry about him rejecting it. I give him just enough to stabilize him for the surgery, and then I remove the line from my arm. I replace the tubing so I can attach the saline drip. It will help increase his fluids and make it easier to give him his medications when they get here.

After scrubbing my hands with disinfectant, I reach for my scalpel and begin removing the first bullet from his chest. I’m immediately surprised at how shallow the bullet wound is. Luckily, something must have blocked it from going any deeper into his skin. A few more inches and it would have punctured his lung, leaving no chance that he would have survived.

The second bullet is much more difficult to remove. It is lodged in his lower abdomen, extremely close to his left kidney. After a great deal of work and two deep incisions, I’m finally able to extract it. He’ll have a major scar, but it will heal with time. Thankfully, neither bullet struck any of his vital organs.

I’m still stitching him up when my dad walks back into the room. “Got the antibiotics. Sue wasn’t sure what you would need, so she sent everything she could. She also sent two extra saline drips and extra pain medication.”

“Thanks, Daddy. I owe her one. Just put them on the dresser,” I tell him as I tie off the last stitch. I don’t have any time to waste. He needs to start the antibiotics before infection sets in. I inject the medication into his IV along with a dose of morphine that Sue sent. Dad is right. He’s going to be in pain when he wakes up… if he wakes up. That thought scares me a little. I don’t quite understand my overwhelming need to save this man, but I plan to do whatever it takes to keep him alive.

“How’s he doing?” Dad asks.

“Better than I thought, actually. His blood pressure is low, but his heart rate is strong. He should improve quickly now that the bleeding has stopped. Hopefully the meds will help with the rest,” I explain as I check the IV.

“So, what happens now?”

“We wait,” I explain. “It’s going to be awhile before we know anything. You can go home, Dad. There’s no reason for you to stay. I doubt he’ll even wake up for several days. I’ll call you if something changes.”

“I’m not leaving you alone, Ana. I wouldn’t feel right leaving you alone with this guy,” he huffs.

“Don’t be silly. Go home and get some rest. Seriously, I’ll be fine,” I tell him. I motion my hand over to the lifeless man resting in my bed and say, “It’s not like he’s going to wake up any time soon. I’ll keep an eye on things and let you know how it’s going.”

“What about Steven? You planning on telling him about your little project?” he asks, pointing over to the bed.

“Hmm… I’m not sure what I’m going to do. Let’s just see how this all plays out.”

“Ana…. Be careful,” he warns.

“I will,” I promise.

“I’ll be back in the morning to see how things are going. Just so you know, I don’t feel good about this,” he says. “I’ll call later to check on you.”

I nod and watch as he turns to walk out of the room. I should be nervous about being left alone with a stranger like this, but I actually feel relief as my dad’s truck pulls out of the driveway. Then again, it’s not like he’s going far. The farm is just a few miles down the road. Steven still lives next door, so I have plenty of help if I need it.

I sit on the edge of the bed and take a minute to look around the room. It’s a complete disaster. There are bloodstains everywhere, and I know it will take me all night to clean up the mess. My attention is drawn away from the havoc in my room to the handsome man that lies in my bed, fighting for his life. I quietly watch as his chest rises and falls with each breath he takes. I lean over and run my fingers through his sandy brown hair. My eyes roam over the muscles of his chest and arms, while I try to make sense of all the tattoos scattered over his body. They’re really quite beautiful and filled with intricate detail. It’s like they’re telling me a story… his story. I wonder if he might explain them all to me someday.

I get up and start to clean the monstrous mess I made. Every few minutes, I stop to check his vitals. Thankfully, he’s still doing well. His heartbeat is stronger than the last time I checked, and his color is coming back. I am beginning to think that I might actually be able to pull off this miracle.

After I give him his next round of medication, I decide to take a break. I grab a sandwich and go sit on the sofa. I turn on the TV, and just as I am throwing a blanket over my legs, my cell phone begins to ring. I reach over and answer it, assuming that it’s my dad calling to check in on things.

“Hello?” I wait for a response, but there is nothing. Only silence. The same silence that I’ve been getting for the past month. I look down and see the same number from the hospital.

“Why do you keep doing this? Why don’t you stop being a fucking coward and say something?!” I shout into the phone. I listen hard, hoping to hear some kind of response, but I can hear only the faint rustle of someone’s breath. I end the call and toss my phone down on the table. Shit! I drop my head back onto the couch and try to calm my racing heart. I don’t know why I don’t just give up. I know there is very little chance that they will ever call me back to work, but it is so hard for me to let go of that part of my life. I've wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember. I don’t want to let them win without a fight.

I turn on the TV and start flipping through the channels. I finally decide on the cooking channel and am just about to doze off when the phone rings again. I pick up the phone and check to see that it is actually my dad calling before I answer.

“Hey.”

“You doing okay over there?” he asks.

“I’m fine,” I say, trying to reassure him.

“Any change in your John Doe?”

“Not lately,” I say, sitting up on the sofa. I probably need to go check on him again. “He was still asleep the last time I checked on him.”

“Call me when he starts to come to. I don’t want you to be left alone with this guy when wakes up,” he says firmly.

“Okay, but I don’t expect that to be any time soon.”

“It could be any minute, Ana. Just keep an eye on him.”

“I will… promise,” I assure him.

“Good. I’ll be by first thing in the morning.”

“Okay, Daddy. Goodnight.” I hang up the phone and throw my blanket to the back of the sofa. I walk down the long hall to the bedroom and stop cold when I notice the set of blue eyes looking back at me. I move a few steps closer, just to be sure that I’m not seeing things. His eyes lock on mine for a brief moment before they flutter shut again. How is he already waking up?

I walk over and sit on the edge of the bed. I run the tips of my fingers across his forehead, brushing his hair to the side. He feels warm to the touch, so I check his temperature. He has a low-grade fever, which concerns me. I’m afraid to leave him before the fever breaks, so after placing a cool washcloth on his head, I pull a chair over to the side of the bed. I prop my feet up on the edge of the mattress and lay my head back on the chair. It isn’t the most comfortable way to sleep, but I like being there with him. In some crazy way, it makes me feel safer just having him there beside me.

I spend the next two days watching over him just like that, never leaving his side. There is something peaceful about watching him sleep and listening to the steady rhythm of his breathing. Being in the room with him seems to ease some of the tension I’ve been feeling.

Chapter 5

Sheppard

The sun coming through the blinds is so bright that it makes it hard for me to open my eyes, and every fucking muscle in my body feels like it’s on fire. I don’t want to move, and I sure as hell don’t want to open my eyes. Unfortunately, the overwhelming need to take a piss is forcing me to wake up. When I finally make myself open my eyes, I realize that I don’t have a clue where I am or how the hell I got here. I glance around the room and can’t help but smile as I find my guardian angel asleep beside me.

I thought she was just a dream, but sure enough, here she sits. Her long blonde hair falls loose around her shoulders, framing her angelic face. She has a plaid blanket over her legs, but I can still see the bright red letters that spell out Louisville on her grey t-shirt. She is sound asleep, totally unaware that I am even looking at her. I watch as she takes slow, peaceful breaths and find myself wishing she were sleeping in the bed next to me instead of that stupid chair. She looks so innocent resting there, and her full, pouty lips are just begging to be kissed. I want her to wake up and open her eyes, so I can see if they are green like I remember.

Without thinking, I turn my hips, trying to move my legs off of the bed. My entire body tenses with pain, and I can’t stop myself from shouting out, “Fucking hell!”

“Shit!” she screeches as the blanket flies off of her legs, and she races to the doorway. She stops herself before she actually leaves the room and turns back to look at me. Her beautiful eyes widen as they roam over my body. Her face turns pale like she’s just seen a ghost. She keeps staring at me like she’s trying to decide if I’m really here or just some figment of her imagination.

I try to clear my throat and ask, “You got a name?”

“Ana,” she says as a hint of red begins to blush her cheeks. Damn, she’s cute.

“This your place, Ana?” I ask.

      “Yes.”

“Are you the one that did this?” I question as I point to my bandages.

“Yes.”

“You a doctor or something?”

“Ummm...” she starts as her eyes drop to the ground. “Kind of.”

“You think you could help me to the bathroom?” I ask as I toss the covers off of my body.

Her eyes dart down to my waist and train on my hard cock. I note a spark of curiosity flashing through her eyes as she bites her bottom lip. It’s like she’s seeing me as a man and not a patient for the first time, and my cock twitches with arousal to her reaction. She quickly turns her head, avoiding eye contact with me. I decide not to embarrass her any more than I already have and try to get out of the bed. Pain soars through me as the bullet wound in my gut twists and pulls, forcing me to stop moving.

“Stop!” she shouts and runs over to the bed. “You’re going to hurt yourself!” She places both of her hands on my chest and pushes me back against the pillows. I thought she was beautiful before, but up close, she is fucking amazing. Her green eyes glow with intensity as she urges me to stay put.

“Babe, I gotta take a piss,” I tell her boldly.

“Sorry, I had to remove your catheter last night. Give me a minute, and I’ll bring you a bedpan.” She releases me and starts towards the door.

“Fuck that. I’m not using a damn bedpan… now or ever. I’m getting up now…
with or without
your help,” I snap. There is no fucking way I am going to use one of those goddamn things. I try to pull my legs over to the side of the bed, but I don’t have the strength to move them more than a few inches.

“Holy hell! Stop acting like a caveman and just be still! You have not one, but
TWO
bullet wounds, and it wasn’t exactly easy to keep you from bleeding to death, so I’d
appreciate
it if you wouldn’t screw up everything I did to save your life!” she huffs as she throws an empty plastic bottle at me and walks out the door.

I have an overwhelming urge to grab her and throw her over my knee. I think I’d enjoy teaching her a lesson about that sassy mouth of hers, but I can’t do anything about it now. I shake my head in frustration as I grab the bottle and use it to take a piss. I don’t like anything about this fucking situation. I hate the thought of anyone having to take care of me, especially a woman that looks like her. Why does she have to be so fucking beautiful? I need to get back on my feet and get the hell out of here. I cap off the bottle and try to sit it on the floor, but I can’t reach.