The woman set the tablet aside, lowered her leg, and leaned forward with a look of concern. “How are you feeling?”
“Thirsty.” Her mouth felt sticky and gross and there was still a slightly acidic taste on her tongue from the venom that had dripped from her fangs earlier. While it didn’t affect her it didn’t exactly taste good either.
With a nod, Perrin grabbed a cup with a straw in it off the nightstand and held it to Lark’s lips while she took several greedy pulls of the lukewarm water. Pulling her head back once she’d had enough, she settled back against the pillows. “How long was I out?”
“This time? Only about an hour. The doctor said you’d tire easily for a while.”
Lark nodded. God, she’d been shot in the head. Her hand rose to the spot on her forehead that continued to throb dully. She couldn’t remember the mission she’d been on. Kong said she’d lost time – several weeks.
She had to have considering she’d somehow forgotten that guy who’d been here earlier. Gorgeous, tall, muscular, with a metal prosthetic arm – not exactly forgettable in any way. He’d called her Sleeping Beauty…
Lark cleared her throat and dropped her hand to look at Perrin. “Is that guy still here?”
“The doctor?”
“No.” What had Kong said his name was? She’d been having a tough time focusing and her head had been swimming from moving so fast after lying prone for the duration of her recovery. The doctor had said she’d been in a coma for two weeks. He’d been surprised she’d been able to move much at all.
“Oh, you mean Grady. I’m sure he’s still kicking around close by. The guy hasn’t left your side since he brought you home. I thought I was going to have to wrestle you away from him when he carried you out of the helicopter. He refused to put you down.”
“Really?” Something in her chest seemed to flutter at the thought. “Were we…” Lark cleared her throat. “Were he and I involved?”
Perrin eyed her carefully. “You never said, but I think things might have been moving in that direction. He’s certainly given that impression.”
Another flutter and then her belly clenched as a sudden anticipation raced through her. “Tell me about him,” she demanded eagerly, attempting to sit up.
Perrin reached over to help her and stuffed several pillows behind her back. “First, are you in pain?”
Her head ached and still felt a bit stuffy, her vision was slightly compromised too as if she was seeing the world through some sort of filter, but she’d been worse off plenty of times growing up. This was nothing she couldn’t manage. All of them had a high pain tolerance. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
Perrin nodded. “The doctor left you some medicine if that changes.” She waved toward the nightstand and Lark spotted the orange bottle but was far more interested in hearing about the mystery man she may have been cozying up to before she’d been injured.
“Okay. Tell me about Grady. Leave nothing out.” She wanted to know everything.
Perrin grinned. “Look how eager you are.” With a smirk, she picked up her cell phone. “I’m going to text Jayla and have her fix you some food. You need to eat.”
Lark narrowed her eyes, recognizing the delaying tactic for exactly what it was. “You’re evil.”
Perrin cackled at the complaint but then reached forward and took Lark’s hand. Her eyes were still twinkling with merriment, but there was a soft warmth in her expression that rarely made an appearance on her oftentimes harsh face. “Glad to have you back, Song Bird.”
Annoyingly, her curiosity had to wait. It ended up being Grand Central Station in Lark’s room. Jayla and Lynx arrived with food, ready to gossip and tell her everything they knew about Grady, but before they’d gotten to anything good, Kong had strolled in, and in typical Kong fashion, had begun to tease Lark unmercifully about how lazy she was being still lying in bed eating food like a pampered queen instead of getting to work. After all, he’d pointed out dryly, she’donlybeen shot in the head. From there, more visitors arrived, everyone eager to ask how she was feeling as they hugged her tight. It didn’t take long for exhaustion to hit, and before she knew it – before she’d learned anything more about the handsome man who had refused to leave her side while she was recovering – she’d fallen back to sleep.
Chapter Sixteen
WhenLarkopenedhereyes again it was to discover that night had fallen. The soft light from a lamp on her bedside table was the only illumination. Kong was the one in the chair this time around, but Lark hadn’t forgotten her quest for information. She just hoped this time she could stay awake long enough to get some answers. With that in mind, she got right to the point. “Tell me about Grady,” she demanded in a sleep-roughened voice.
“Well, hello to you too, sunshine,” was Kong’s response. “I’m fine, thank you. So glad you asked. How are you?”
She glared at him, but as usual, he only grinned unabashedly at the proof of her ire. Knowing he wouldn’t let it go, she took stock of her body and any aches and pains. The headache was still there but mild, so things were getting better there. Her vision had cleared and she wasn’t feeling anywhere near as foggy.
“All good.”
Kong nodded. “I’ll have someone fix you some dinner.”
As he reached for his phone, Lark’s hand snapped out and she grabbed his wrist. “Tell me about Grady,” she repeated.
He raised a brow at her clamped fingers restraining him. “Looks like your reflexes are close to normal. That’s good.”
“Grady.”
