She pokes her head back in and out again, this time concern is marked. “Don’t leave, Maddoc,” she whispers before she disappears.
As soon as she’s gone, I allow myself to fall against the wall.
Fuck, man.
I take a deep breath, attempting to settle myself.
I was only gone for a few weeks, how much could have really happened in that time?
Does she hate me?
Even as I think it, I laugh at myself.
Yeah fucking right, that’d be too easy.
My baby, she’ll forgive me.
Or worse, she won’t even be mad. It’d be easier if she was.
I have no fucking clue what happens now. All I know is we’re done listening to others, we’re done taking orders. They promised this town to my brother and Raven, we’ll fucking show them how strong they are. We’ll stand at their sides – a king and queen and their knights.
They did what was asked of them, and they were hurt after.
No fucking more.
With us or against us, period.
Our town.
Our people.
Captain’s girl?
My back slides against the wall, my ass hitting the floor.
Fuck.I groan, my hand lifting to my hair, but something keeps it from extending. I blink several times, trying to focus and slowly, the white walls come into view.
My eyes jerk down, finding I’m in a fucking hospital bed, tubes in my arms.
My jaw clenches and I slam my head against the pillow, grinding my teeth when it causes a slight pain in my shoulders.
I close my eyes, replaying what I last remember in my head – the maid, the girl, the crash. Leo and Vienna.
Maddoc.
I gasp, shooting up in the bed.
My eyes scan over every inch of the room but only Victoria is here, sleeping on a little couch in the corner.
Maddoc.
Maybe I imagined his voice, his hands.
I bite into my cheek, shaking my head.
Angry and confused, feeling like a weak and lonely bitch, I tear the tape from my skin and tug the stupid ass IV from my arm, pushing the tape back down as best it’ll hold. I bend my elbow to help stop the bleeding and I throw the blanket off me, finding my body is fine. Bruises, but at this point, I might as well get ‘em tattooed on.
I reach over, turning off the monitor beside me and remove the blood pressure cuff, peel the little stickers stuck to my chest, and tug the one free from the dressing around my ribs.
I swing my legs over the edge of the bed, giving myself a second to take a breath, and then slowly stand.
Once I’m sure my feet are steady enough, I take the four steps to Cap’s bed.
His eyes open when I pull at his blanket. They fly to mine, worry followed by sadness clouding the color in them. He lifts his arms so I can climb in, covering myself with the blanket.
“Are you okay?” he whispers.
“Stop asking me that, Cap. I’m always good,” I rasp. “This isn’t new to me, the trouble. This is what my life has always been, one problem after another. It’s different, but not new.”
“That’s a shitty way to live, Raven.”
I nod. “Yeah, but I’m alive, right?” My chest tightens. “Captain, so many people have been hurt because of me. All I had to do was be born, keep breathing and it ruined so many people’s lives.”
“You were important, worth the risk even if they didn’t know you.”
“And that’s some bullshit, no?” I pick at the blanket covering us. “Brayshaw demands loyalty, earns trust and respect, yet I was a fucked-up kid, being a dick and running around the streets getting high, putting myself in danger I never even balked at, while these people who require so much from others, gave so much for a girl who didn’t know they existed. A girl who wouldn’t have fucking cared if she did.”
“You were Brayshaw.”
I shake my head, squeezing my eyes closed. “Raven... interesting name, isn’t it? Only one letter short...”
Cap tenses beside me, his fingers finding my chin after a few seconds. He brings my eyes to his. “Raven?” he broaches, eyes tight.
“That’s what my mother said to me before she died. One letter short.” I swallow. “How could I be so blind? How could we not have put it together?”
“Raven...”
“Graven.” My nostrils flare as I fight to keep control I don’t possess. “She named me after them. She hated me, Cap.”
“No—”
I lift my hand, giving a small smile. “No, don’t. Don’t say things you don’t know. She honest to God, if there is one, did. Why would she run away, leave them, and then name me after them?”
He stares at me, not quite following.
“She wouldn’t, Cap. There is no fucking way she ran.”
“We’ll find out,” he promises. “But we need to get out of here. They’ll let me leave soon, couple more days at the latest.”
“You’re still on an IV.”