No Place to Run (KGI #2)(14)

So many questions. The smart thing would be to call Sean and get Sophie to the hospital. She was hurt and she was pregnant. But every time he looked toward the phone, he remembered the fear in her eyes and the conviction of her words.

She certainly wasn’t lying about a threat. Whether it was to her, him or both of them, he couldn’t afford to take chances with her life—and her child’s.

He crawled onto the bed, piling more covers over her cold body. He lay on his side and pulled her carefully against him, giving her the benefit of his body heat. Then he pulled the covers tight around them, sealing in the warmth.

Gradually she stopped shivering and seemed to settle. Her lips parted against his chest, and a breathy sigh escaped. She tried to nestle closer but whimpered when her shoulder bumped against his body.

“Careful, honey,” he whispered and pulled her hand down to wedge between their bodies so he could render her immobile.

“C-cold,” she murmured restlessly against his skin.

“I know. You’ll get warm. Just lie still so you don’t hurt yourself.”

“S-sam? Is that really you or am I still dreaming?”

He wasn’t quite sure what to make of her confusion. Shock and cold—not to mention a bullet wound—could make a person pretty damned “off.” Suspicion crept into his mind even as he wanted to discount it all as some bizarre coincidence.

Only an idiot ignored the obvious. Coincidence, my ass.

“It’s me, Sophie. I’m here. You’ve been hurt. I need to get you to a hospital. You need to make sure your baby is okay.”

It took everything he had not to interrogate her then and there. Only the knowledge of how very fragile she was restrained him.

She shook her head against him, then moaned low in her throat.

“Don’t move. It’ll only hurt worse,” he cautioned.

“Can’t go to hospital,” she said hoarsely. “He’ll find me.”

Sam’s brow crinkled and he stared down at her face pressed so firmly against his chest.

“Who, Sophie? Who’ll find you?”

“My father’s—his men,” she corrected.

As what-the-f*ck statements went, that was a doozy. Sam stared down as her eyelids fluttered shut once more. He wanted to beat his head in frustration, and then he immediately felt guilty when he remembered that the woman in his arms had obviously had a pretty shitty day—or week for that matter.

“Sophie.” He waited for a response. “Sophie,” he said a little louder. “Honey, wake up. I need you to talk to me here.”

She moaned and dug her face into his chest, a gesture that told him more than words that she wanted him to shut up and go away.

This was making him crazy. Van would be back any second with medicine and whatever else he’d managed to dig up. Going with that thought, Sam checked the covers to make sure she was shielded from any prying eyes. Not that Van was an ass**le, but hello, a half-naked woman would draw any red-blooded man’s eyes. Wouldn’t matter if she was dead.

He sighed when she went limp again. Goddamn it. This was not his day, his week or even his month. Had he really been thinking just an hour ago that he missed her? It was almost as if he’d conjured her up, and while he’d had plenty of fantasies about her being in his bed again, this damn sure wasn’t what he had in mind.

Donovan knocked once, then without waiting for an answer, stuck his head through the door. Seeing Sam and Sophie, he came on in, a med kit in one hand and a syringe with a capped needle in the other.

“What the hell is that?” Sam demanded when Donovan came closer to the bed.

“Antibiotics. Got it out of the field kit.”

“How do you know it’s safe to give it to a pregnant woman?”

“The Internet is a useful thing,” Donovan said calmly. “Amazing what you can find. I don’t even know why people go to doctors anymore.”

“I’m supposed to trust my child’s safety to some web-site you Googled?” Sam asked in disbelief.

“Well, yeah. You got a better idea? I still vote we call Sean and get her the hell to the hospital. And you know I’m right.”

Sam sighed, then gestured for Donovan to come closer with the stuff. He also carried an assortment of bandages and ointments along with a suture kit.

“Whoa, I’m not letting you stitch her up. That’s crazy.”

“So is letting her arm rot off from infection.”

“Damn it, Van. You’re the most infuriating son of a bitch.”

At that Donovan cracked a slight smile. “You and Garrett are so easy, I swear. I think you were both born with corncobs up your ass. I was trained as a medic, remember? I can do all sorts of amazing things. Fly airplanes and choppers, and I can sew limbs back on. They might rot off later, but hey that’s not my problem.”

“Irreverent bastard,” Sam muttered. “You’ve spent too much time around Joe.”

Donovan grinned again. “Joe always was my favorite sibling.”

Sam waved impatiently at him. “Give her the shot, but I want to take a look at her arm and side again before I turn you loose with a needle and thread.”

“You make it sound like I’m about to embroider a pillowcase,” Donovan said dryly.

Donovan uncapped the syringe and moved to the opposite side of the bed. He looked apologetically at Sam as he moved the covers aside to bare the curve of Sophie’s hip. Sam scowled, but he held his tongue while Donovan efficiently swabbed the smooth skin above her bu**ocks and then plunged the needle into her flesh.