Echoes at Dawn (KGI #5)(27)

To reinforce his point, he put another spoonful to her lips and she sucked it in, savoring the burst of flavor.

After that one, he shifted position so that he was angled toward her instead of side by side.

“You need to drink plenty of water,” he said in a gruff voice. “You haven’t been hydrated and I don’t want you getting cramps again.”

Automatically, she reached for one of the opened bottles of water on the tray and took a long series of swallows. Once she started, it was as if she couldn’t stop. She was starved for water. Nothing had ever tasted so good.

Rio carefully pulled the bottle down until she held it to the side. “Careful. You’ll make yourself sick. I want to get some nourishment in you as well.”

As he continued to slowly feed her spoonful by spoonful, his other hand crept over her free hand. His thumb rubbed over the tops of her fingers. Just his touch soothed her, made her relax, and some of the terrible tension knotting her neck muscles began to disappear.

“Good?” he asked.

“Wonderful201, and,” she breathed. “I don’t think anything has ever tasted so good.”

“Tell me when you start to get full or if you start feeling sick. I don’t want you to overdo it.”

She was already at that point, but she ate a few more bites because it was too damn good not to. Finally she leaned back with a sigh. “I’m good. No more.”

Rio scooted back on the bed, slid off and then reached back for the tray. Wordlessly, he ambled out of the room, leaving Grace alone in the silence. She strained to hear any other sounds in the house. The other men. But it was completely quiet.

They’d probably all gone to bed. She felt a surge of guilt thinking back on just all they’d sacrificed to get her here safely. Were they for real? She had so many questions to ask, more than her tired mind could even process.

She glanced back up when Rio reentered the room. He hesitated a moment and then said, “I promised you we’d talk and we will, but I’d like to jump in the shower if that doesn’t bother you. I’ll be out in five. Think you’ll be awake that long?”

Again, she felt guilt that he’d put her before everything else, even his comfort. He was still wearing the same clothes he’d been in for as long as she’d been with him.

“Please do,” she said quietly. “Take your time. I’ll be awake. It’s important to me to know what’s happened to Shea and how she’s doing.”

Rio nodded. “Okay, give me five and I’ll be back.”

He went to his chest of drawers, pulled out a change of clothes and then disappeared into the bathroom. She heard the shower come on through the closed door and she sank farther down into the bed, hoping she hadn’t been lying about being able to stay awake.

WHEN Rio came out of the bathroom, exactly four minutes later, he was still toweling his hair. He hadn’t wanted to stay gone long because Grace had looked like she was about to fall over at any second.

He smiled when he glanced toward the bed and saw that she was indeed asleep, her head and body tilted precariously to the side of the mound of pillows propping her up.

Tossing the towel aside, he walked silently to the side of the bed, eased onto the edge and gently shook her awake.

“Grace,” he murmured. “Wake up, honey. Just long enough to get you under the covers and comfortable, okay?”

Her eyes flew open and her breath ended on a gasp. He could feel her pulse racing against his fingers resting on her wrist.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

She righted herself, pushing back against the pillows so she sat farther up. “No, it’s okay. I didn’t mean to fall asleep anyway.”

“It’s probably a good idea if you get some rest. You’re dead on your feet.”

Her face fell. “You said we’d talk.”

“I did,” he said gently. “And I will. Just maybe not tonight. You’re exhausted, Grace. I don’t know how you’re even conscious right now. Any normal person would be damn near in a coma.”

Her lips tightened into a stubborn line. “I’m okay. I want to know about my sister. I’ll go to sleep after we talk.”

“Okay, but I want you to get comfortable first.”

He held out his hand to help her off the bed and then he turned down the covers, arranged her pillows and motioned for her to crawl back in. Once she was setce hetled, he walked around to the other side and sat at the opposite end of the bed on top of the covers so they faced each other catty-corner.

“How do you know my sister?” she asked before he could open his mouth.

“She helped an American soldier escape captivity several months ago.”

Grace nodded. “Yes, I know. I was sort of there when things got bad. I was worried that Shea was going to get hurt. Using telepathy for any prolonged period of time weakens her, and then there was the fact that she was absorbing all his pain.”

Rio cocked his head. “Shea swears she’s very different from you. She says she can only temporarily take away a person’s suffering but she can’t truly heal anyone.”

“It’s true,” Grace said quietly. “We’re different in some ways. But the same in others. Shea’s abilities are random, a fact that has always frustrated her. She never knows who she’ll connect with. Who she’ll hear. Who will be able to hear her.”