Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39161 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39161 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
“Yes.” I gave a miserable sniff. I really wanted Jax here for this. I don’t know why. This wasn’t anything compared to what would come next if the leukemia had returned. I met Blade’s gaze. “Why would this happen now? Why?”
“First of all, sweetheart, we don’t know that anything’s happened. All we know for certain is that you have a slight fever and body aches. Which could be any number of things other than leukemia.”
“Yes, but the last time --”
He cut me off. “The last time you’d been feeling bad for a month and a half. Let’s not borrow trouble. OK?” Blade was firm but gentle. “First thing we need to do is get some testing started. Some of it I can get started now, some of it I’ll have to take to my pathologist. But I promise you, in twenty-four hours, I’ll have a definite diagnosis.”
I nodded and was about to surrender my arm for him to draw blood when there was a deep rumble in the background that intensified to a bone-jarring roar.
I put my hands over my ears and looked at my dad. Wrath had been leaning against the wall, looking out the front storm door. Which was when the windows on the house started to rattle. It felt like I was in the middle of the biggest, hardest, rock festival in the history of the world.
“What’s going on?” My mom had to yell to be heard over the horrible noise.
Wrath chuckled. At least that’s what it looked like. I couldn’t hear a fucking thing. He held out his hand to me, beckoning me over beside him. As I stood and made my way around the couch to the door, he pointed out the window. There, in the courtyard just beyond the houses, a huge-ass military style helicopter was slowly touching down in the grass.
“What the hell is that?” I tried to ask my dad, but he just shook his head and pointed to his ears. He couldn’t hear me.
A couple minutes later, the thing settled for a brief moment, then lifted off again. The helicopter went straight up, then banked as it turned and left the way it had come. Off in the distance, I saw a lone figure jogging from the courtyard toward the house. And I’d recognize that wonderful figure anywhere. “Jax,” I breathed.
“Yeah, baby girl. Looks like your boyfriend knows how to make an entrance.”
“He got a ride on a freaking Black Hawk?” I wanted to lash out at Jax even though I knew it was unreasonable. But it felt like Jax had been out having fun while I was scared out of my fucking mind. On the other hand, he’d definitely made an entrance. As well as gotten here in the fastest way possible. “I guess this is why he said if he couldn’t answer when I called, he’d be on the way.” I sounded disgruntled when I was really happy to see Jax. I was falling back on old patterns, needing to deflect my fear by being angry at Jax.
Wrath chuckled. My dad had an odd sense of humor because I didn’t see anything funny about the situation.
Dad held open the door when Jax approached. The man was focused on one thing and one thing only. Me. “Holly!”
The second Jax reached me, I struck, smacking at his chest. “You left me!”
He looked like I’d slapped him. “I just went to work for the day, baby. I was comin’ right back.”
“Work? You were joyriding in a freaking helicopter!”
“Honey, I bullied my boss into having a teammate bring me home ASAP. We had to file all kinds of flight plans and pull strings that didn’t exist to get permission. Hell, I’m not even sure Cain got permission so much as he got some higher up somewhere to ignore the big ass military bird flying in civilian airspace.” He looked panicked as he looked from me to Wrath and back.
“That’s some… creative maneuvering there, boy.” Wrath grinned and scrubbed the back of his neck with his hand. He shook his head and chuckled. “You hijacked a Black Hawk to come to your girl when she needed you. Color me officially impressed.”
I sniffled and Jax scooped me up, sitting on the couch with me in his lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Hush.” He kissed my temple and hugged me tight. “Don’t apologize. You’ve got nothing to apologize for.” He held me like that for several minutes while Blade filled him in on what was happening. I didn’t pay much attention because I was too busy soaking up Jax’s strength. I was going to need it to get through this.
“Listen to me, Holly.” Blade pried my hand loose where I’d curled my fingers in Jax’s shirt. He gripped my hand in both of his and leveled a look on me. “You’re gettin’ way ahead of yourself. I’ve got a bunch of tests to do, but, like I said, I’ll have an answer for you in a day. Maybe less. Can you give me that long? Can you keep it together? You’re scaring Jax. I’m not dealing with that pussy when he goes all caveman on me because I have to draw your blood.” I knew it was nonsense to get so worked up, but I think I was having PTSD or something because all the memories from my childhood came rushing back.