Amber Eyes (Amber Eyes #1)(20)

Carefully he lowered her to the cushions and knelt in front of the couch.

“Whatever you’re thinking, stop,”he ordered. “We’re stunned. Even wondering a little about our sanity, but we’re not going to turn you out.”

“But will you tell?”

Jericho growled and settled onto the couch at her head. His hand brushed across her silky locks and smoothed over her cheek.

“Of course we’re not going to give away your secret, Kaya. You can trust us.”

But would she offer them her trust again? Hunter was afraid to have the answer to that question. All he could remember was shooting over the cougar’s head and how she ran, fear and adrenaline lending her incredible, reckless speed.

“I hurt,”she whispered.

Hunter’s chest tightened, and he leaned forward. “Tell us how to help you, Kaya. You should be in a hospital, not here with us.”

Her eyes flashed, and she looked at him in panic. “No! I can’t go. They’d know. They’ll take me away.”She struggled even as the words spilled from her lips.

“Hunter, goddamn it,”Jericho swore. He reached down and carefully pulled Kaya against his chest, his arms tightening around her to keep her still. “Listen to me, honey. We’ll figure this out, okay? No one’s going to take you anywhere you don’t want to go. Now talk to us, and tell us how to help you.”

Slowly her struggles diminished, and she lay limply against Jericho, her face creased in pain. Hunter stood. He could do nothing right when it came to this woman. He pulled her close and pushed her away, never said or did the right thing. It was better to leave her to Jericho.

Jericho glanced at Hunter as he turned away. He could damn near see the shutters closing as Hunter withdrew. Hot and cold. Hunter didn’t know what the hell he felt for Kaya, and he was fighting it tooth and nail.

With a shake of his head, he turned his attention back to the woman in his arms. He was horrified by her arm. Swollen, bruised and misshapen. It looked to be a clean break, but then how could he tell? His medical training was limited, though he’d seen enough bloodshed to last a lifetime. But that was different, somehow more distant. This was here and now, and he was frantic over how to fix it.

“Tell me what to do,”he whispered. “How do I help you?”

“I have to set it,”she said in a shaky voice that vibrated with pain. “If it’s set, then it will heal quickly. My kind does.”

Across the room, Hunter swore and turned back around, his eyes brooding. “She can’t set her own arm.”

Kaya nodded wearily. “You’ll have to do it for me.”

Jericho closed his eyes. God, he didn’t want to hurt her, and there was no way to set a break like this without causing her agony.

“Just do it, please,”she begged softly. “I’m so tired, and I need rest.”

Jericho blew out his breath and then eased out from underneath her slight body. When he was sure she was comfortable on the couch, he strode toward Hunter, his expression tight.

“You have to help with this,”he said when Hunter met his gaze. “It’s going to hurt like a bitch. You can hold her or you can do the setting. Which is it?”

Hunter hesitated then looked beyond him to where Kaya lay. “You hold her. She’s easier around you. I’ll…I’ll do the setting.”

It was on the tip of Jericho’s tongue to call Hunter a coward, but what would that solve?

“I’ll get some linen strips and something to brace her arm. You rustle up some of that whiskey left in the cabinet. It might not help much, but maybe it’ll relax her.”

Jericho turned, not waiting for Hunter’s acceptance, and went to collect the items they needed. He had a sick stomach over what must be done, but he swallowed against the rising nausea and methodically gathered the supplies.

A few minutes later, he returned to find Hunter settling down next to Kaya and offering her a tall glass of whiskey. She murmured a protest, but Hunter was insistent. He pillowed his arm underneath her neck and raised her enough so she could drink without choking. She coughed and sputtered, but Hunter managed to get all of it down her throat.

She sank weakly back against the cushions, her injured arm tucked protectively against her side. Her liquid eyes found Jericho, and he was astonished to find trust burning a warm, golden glow.

Hunter stood and set the empty glass on the floor a few feet away. With brusque movements, he took the strips and the two pieces of wood from Jericho and gestured impatiently for Jericho to go to Kaya.

Jericho took position at her head, lifting her gently and positioning her so that she lay across his lap and rested her head on his chest. He smoothed her hair from her face as Hunter knelt on the floor in front of the couch.

“Cry out all you want, honey,”Jericho murmured against her head. “This is going to hurt like a bitch.”

Hunter tensed as his fingers moved nimbly over her arm. Jericho turned away, unable to bear the sight of the arm being set. His grip tightened around Kaya as he prepared himself for her screams.

But she didn’t make a sound. She coiled like a nervous rattlesnake, so tight that he could feel every quiver of her muscles. She buried her face in his chest, and when Hunter forced the bone back into place, her hot tears soaked into Jericho’s shirt.

It was worse than any cry she might have made.