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The room froze, awaiting an answer that never came.
Chapter 37
Scythe
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Like a gnat, the sound buzzed around me, never staying in one place. My eyelids felt heavy, weighed down. Opening them took focus and an amount of fortitude I didn’t ever recall needing. My head pounded if I tried to think too hard, each heartbeat thudding behind my eyes. Awareness slowly creeped over me, the bright lights and vomit-colored walls coming into focus.
Looking down, my body was covered in thin blankets that did nothing to ease the bone-deep chill hospitals caused. Someone was speaking, but none of it processed, nothing penetrated through whatever medical hold I was under. Then, like a freight train, images started rushing through my head, one after another.
Bull. Eyes closed. Blood pooling in the grass.Gunshots. Reaper’s lifeless form.
Blue eyes.
With a groan, I pulled myself upright, startling the doctors and nurses hovering around me.
“Lilah!” I croaked. My voice sounded gritty, like I had gargled with glass. Clearing my throat, I jerked when I felt a hand on my shoulder, trying to push me back down on the bed.
“You’re going to start bleeding. Please calm down!” A soft-looking man in a doctor’s coat was trying to hold me back, looking apoplectic at my attempts to move. Eyeing his hand, I was about to see how much help he would be able to give without one of those fingers.
Something akin to a snarl left me as I pushed forward, trying to see how far the doorway was. The doctor yanked his hand away, eyeing me with a look of horror as I continued to ignore their pleas. Dismissing the IVs in my arm, I pulled the medical tape off, ready to get that shit out of and off me.
“Eliot.” I froze at the sound of my name. That voice…It was the only thing I wanted to hear. It felt unreal, like finding water after getting caught in a drought. Suddenly, I couldn’t move.
What if this is a dream? What if she isn’t really here?
“My demon man. Finally, you’re awake” Closer this time, her soft hand on my cheek. My body responded before I could, turning into her palm.
“I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.” Her face filled my vision, her tearful gaze emphasized by the heavy bags under her eyes. And Lilah’s pale complexion contradicted the calm expression on her face. Even exhausted, she was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.
“Will you let them check you out now? For me?” she asked, and I couldn’t argue, my body sagging back to the bed—the only acquiescence she would get from me.
Lilah hovered next to me, never dropping my hand. The doctors and nurses moved around her as they ran their tests, checked my vitals, and rebandaged my wounds. I kept losing the thread of what they were saying, catching every third sentence before it slipped away again. Just as they were leaving, she reached for a chair to sit in, but I wouldn’t let her.
“Next to me.” I slid over as much as I could, daring any of the medical staff to complain once Lilah settled herself next to me. She was careful to avoid any of the medical equipment, and a piece of me finally calmed once she was in my arms.
“Reaper?” I asked when we were finally alone. The constant beeping and thrum of machines created an uneasy ambiance, preventing sleep or any sort of peace.
“He’s alive. He had to have surgery. The bullet nicked a bone in his leg. The one in his chest missed everything vital, but he was bleeding…A lot. He needed transfusions. He may need more.” She chewed on her lip—that telltale sign of nerves.
“He will need to use a wheelchair and undergo intensive rehab. I’m not sure what the recovery process looks like…I’m sorry I don’t know more.”
“That’s plenty. What about Bull? Atlas?” I asked, and her face softened.
“They’re both alive. Atlas has already been discharged, and Bull is down the hall.” It was a lot to take in. Every explanation blurred into the next until Lilah slowed down and repeated herself. Pressing her hand to my lips, I kissed it, not wanting to separate our entwined fingers for even a second. Needing to get closer, to touch her in any way I could.
“I’m so happy you’re here, Angel.” I pressed my face into Lilah’s hair, inhaling her scent.
“Never been so scared in my life,” she whispered. Her face was hidden from me, but I could feel her tears, warm against my chest.
“I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you. When we’re together, it’s like everything makes sense. Every step I ever took was worth it because it brought me to you.” Her breath hitched, her hand fisting in the hospital gown I was forced to wear.
“Please don’t leave me.” Like a whispered prayer, she muttered it against my chest, an arrow straight to my fucking heart. I hated seeing her in so much pain. The worst part was that I didn’t know what to say. Danger was always going to be part of my life—our life. The shit with Crow wasn’t anywhere near to being over…It was just starting.
