Oh, what the Hell?
“Put me down,” I said, trying to lift my head, but it felt funny. Like it weighed a ton.
“Oh, I’m not putting you down.” His steps were long and quick. “You just passed out and I really don’t want to have to catch you again.”
Confusion swamped me. “I...I didn’t pass out.”
“You really going to argue with me when you just dropped like a sack of potatoes?”
Sack of potatoes? That was...flattering. “I’ve never passed out in my entire life.”
“Well, there’s a first time for everything.”
I tried to see where we were, but there weren’t enough lights. “Where are we? Where’s Nicolai?”
“He went ahead to get Thierry. I have no idea where a hospital is in this place. If I did, that’s where your ass would be.”
Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried to not think about the fact that I was being carried by Zayne, who wasn’t just the most attractive guy I’d ever seen but also—
“You...smell.”
“What?” I gasped through gritted teeth as my eyes flew open. We were under lights now—floodlights—and Zayne was staring down at me as he strode forward. “I’m bleeding to death and you’re taking the time to tell me I smell?”
“I thought you were fine?” he said.
“I don’t... I don’t smell.”
“You do.” He sounded confused. “You smell like...ice cream.”
I blinked, thinking the blow to my head had messed up my hearing. “What?”
“You do.” A short, unsure laugh shook Zayne. “I didn’t even know it had a smell, but it does. Vanilla and sugar,” he went on, and I couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not.
“I do not smell like ice cream,” I grumbled. “And put me—”
“Trinity!” Thierry roared my name so loudly I was sure the heavens heard him, and then he was there, beside us. He touched my cheek. “Dear God, bring her inside now.”
Zayne didn’t need to be told twice. He climbed the steps and we went through the open door, into the well-lit house. I caught a brief glimpse of Matthew. He was rushing forward with his bag of hopefully really, really strong meds.
“Was it Clay?” Thierry asked.
Zayne tensed. “Who in the Hell is Clay?”
My heart jumped in my chest. Would he have done this because of me kicking him through a window? I thought about what he’d said at the pit. One of these days. That was kind of a warning.
“I...I don’t know.” I wasn’t sure how much I could answer in front of Zayne, and I had no idea where Nicolai was. “I didn’t see who it was, but he’s not...” I trailed off, meeting Thierry’s stare, willing him to understand what I couldn’t say.
There was a slight widening of his eyes, and I knew Thierry understood. “Oh, Trinity,” he whispered. “Where did this happen?”
I told him where and then whispered, “I’m sorry.”
“What did I tell you before?” he said, touching my brow.
“I don’t know,” I whispered. “You’ve told me a lot.”
Thierry’s chuckle was hoarse. “I’ll ask you again later, the next time you apologize for what you cannot help.”
Then Matthew was there, edging Thierry aside. His gaze roamed over me, lingering on the arm smushed against Zayne’s chest. “What have you gotten yourself into this time, Trin?”
“A little trouble.”
The corners of Matthew’s lips curved. “A little trouble just finds you, doesn’t it?”
“Always,” I whispered.
“You can help her?” Zayne interrupted, and my gaze shifted to him. I looked up and I couldn’t... I couldn’t look away. He was staring down at me, the strong line of his jaw hard. “Because I really think she’s bleeding to death all over me.”
I started to frown. He didn’t need to sound so...put out about it. “I didn’t make you pick me up.”
“Should I have just left you out there, lying on the ground?”
“Yeah,” I said defiantly. “And I wasn’t lying on the ground. You nearly knocked me over.”
“You ran into me.”
“Because you were hiding behind a wall!”
“Now, you know I’m not the one who hides behind things.” Zayne’s striking face was perplexed. “So, you’d prefer me to have left you there?”
“It beats you bitching about me bleeding on you.”
“You’re so...annoying.”
I glared back at him. “I hope I stained your clothes.”
His lips twitched as the cool eyes warmed. “Confident that’s been accomplished.”
“Perfect,” I muttered.
“Well, I can see she’s not at death’s door if she’s arguing. Bring her into the kitchen,” Matthew ordered. “Easier to clean up in there.”
Zayne followed Matthew down the hall, and I still... I was still staring up at him. And he was... He was still staring back down at me. I had no idea how he didn’t walk into a wall or anything.
“Where’s Misha?” Thierry demanded from somewhere behind Zayne.
Zayne blinked and his gaze shifted up.
“He’s...he’s busy,” I said.
“That’s unacceptable.” Thierry stormed ahead.
I finally dragged my gaze away from Zayne. “It’s not his fault—”
“He’s supposed to be with you,” Thierry roared, causing me to jerk. “He has one job.” He slashed his hand through the air. “One! That is all.”
Zayne’s arms tightened. “Maybe take it down a notch?”
The Duke’s head swiveled toward him. “Excuse me?”
“I don’t think yelling is helping Trinity right now.” Zayne held the Duke’s disbelieving stare, and I decided in that moment that he wasn’t as irritating as I’d formerly thought. “You have her flopping around like a dying fish.”
Okay. He was still freaking irritating.
Matthew was suddenly in my line of vision, shoving two chairs out of the way. “Zayne’s right, Thierry. There’s time for yelling later. Place her down here.”
“On the floor?” Zayne hesitated. “A bed or at least a couch would be more comfortable.”
“It would be, but I need her on the floor,” Matthew reasoned. “Now.”
“It’s okay. The floor is fine,” I said, my eyes glued to the medical bag on the chair.
For a moment I thought Zayne wasn’t going to listen, but then he was kneeling. He carefully placed me on what felt like a blanket. I expected him to back off at that point, but he didn’t. Surprise flickered through me as he stayed kneeling at my side.
“Okay. I’m going to try not to hurt you, Trin,” Matthew said, but I was back to staring at Zayne’s face again. “I just need to check out your arm and then...?”
“Her head,” Zayne answered for me, and then I was falling into those pale blue eyes. There were fathomless, and they...they suddenly reminded me of someone else’s eyes. I couldn’t quite grasp whose, but I realized I’d seen eyes like his before. Or it was blood loss making me think that. “Her head is bleeding and so is her nose.”
“Thank you.” Matthew’s fingers were gentle and quick, peeling away the ruined sleeve. “Oh, hon. This is going to need stitches.”
Zayne’s gaze lifted mine. “God. She’s been... She’s been clawed.” A muscle popped along his jaw as he looked up to where Thierry stood by my head. “Why would she have been clawed here?”
“Call Misha,” Thierry ordered to someone I couldn’t see. “Find out what in the Hell he’s so busy doing. I need someone to find Clay and make sure he’s still...here. And get a team out there, by the park, to clean up the blood now.”
“Clay?” Zayne demanded again, his gaze narrowing on mine. “Was he that Warden at the Pit giving you a hard time?”
I didn’t answer.
“If it was him, he’s no longer anyone’s concern,” Matthew commented quietly.
Zayne didn’t respond to that, because I think he knew what that meant. If it had been Clay, he was deader than dead. Matthew slipped his fingers under my head and felt around. I winced and squeezed my eyes shut as pain flared.
Thierry ordered, “And you. I need your clothes now.”
“What?” Zayne exclaimed.
“I really don’t want to repeat myself. I need the clothes off you now. They must be destroyed.”
Oh, wow. I opened my eyes, because if he was going to disrobe, I was going to be just like Peanut. No shame. If I died from blood loss, at least I’d die getting to look at whatever was underneath that shirt.
I was a horrible person.
“Why do my clothes need to be destroyed?” Zayne asked.
“Do as he said,” Nicolai interrupted, and wow, I’d forgotten he was here to witness all of this. “I’m sure he’ll provide you with something to wear and some answers.”
I didn’t think they were going to get the answers they sought.
“I don’t feel anything too concerning in your injuries, but I’m going to need to stitch this arm.” Matthew eased my head back down and reached for his bag. “I’m going to give you something that will knock you out, all right? You don’t need to be awake for this.”