Echoes at Dawn

“Yeah and I thought you’d have your ass back before she got out of the shower. I scared the piss out of her. She came out of the bathroom in just a towel because you left her clothes on the bed. She wasn’t expecting me to be there, and when I mentioned that I’d need her not to be dressed when I looked her over, she went into meltdown mode.”

Rio cursed under his breath. The last thing he’d wanted to do was frighten her.

He turned sideways and slipped past Diego and entered the bedroom, only to find it empty. The clothes were still on the bed.

“I gave her a robe,” Diego said from behind him. “She was just wearing that towel, and she looked cold and extremely nervous. I thought the robe would make her feel not quite so vulnerable and it’s possible that we can work it so that she stays mostly covered except for each part I check out in turn.”

Rio thrust the tray at Diego. “Here, you take this. I’ll get Grace out of the bathroom.”

Diego took the tray and Rio hurried toward the bathroom door. He knocked softly. “Grace? Honey, you can come out now. I brought you some food. If you’ll let Diego check you over, then I’ll get rid of him so you can relax and eat and then we’ll talk about Shea.”

Rio turned to see Diego throw him a sour look. “Gee thanks,” Diego mouthed.

The door cracked open and Rio turned back around to see Grace peering out, her eyes wide and wary.

“Hey,” he said softly. “You ready to do this? We just need to make sure you’re okay and don’t need more medical attention than what we can provide you. He’ll be quick.”

“I want you here,” she said in barely above a whisper.

His chest kind of caved in at the vulnerability in her voice. Already, whether she realized it or acknowledged it, there was a thread of trust between them. She felt safe with him. It was a start.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he promised. “Come on out so we can get this over with before your food gets cold. I had gumbo in the freezer and I nuked it. It’ll cure what ails you for sure. The ultimate comfort food.”

He held out his hand, holding it just outside the crack in the door where she could see it. Slowly, she opened the door wider and then slid her hand into his.

It was soft against the roughness of his. Velvety. An electric sensation shivered up his arm, prickling the hair all the way to his nape. Then she wrapped her slender fingers more firmly around his.

She was enveloped in his robe. It dragged the floor at her feet and the sleeves fell to her knuckles. She had it wrapped almost double around her and he smiled at the image she presented, all damp and, e fd shiny and wearing his clothing. He liked it and felt rather stupid about that fact.

He shook himself out of his stupor and tugged her into the bedroom. Diego had put her tray on the nightstand and stood away as if not wanting to overwhelm Grace more than she already was.

He led her to the bed and then paused. He put one hand on her shoulder and turned her so she looked directly into his eyes.

“Now you tell me how you want to do this, okay? I can leave, I can stay, I can sit beside you and not look. I’ll hold your hand. You’ll know I’m here but I won’t do anything to make you uncomfortable.”

“Just stay next to me. I mean unless you aren’t comfortable with it,” she added hastily. Then she closed her eyes. “I’m being stupid. I’m sorry. I can do this.”

Rio tucked his fingers underneath her chin and nudged upward. “Grace, you’ve been brutalized by ruthless men over and over. I’d be a little worried if this didn’t freak you out on some level. You’re not stupid.”

She sucked in a deep breath and then glanced nervously in Diego’s direction. Then her shoulders sagged and she started to untie the robe. “Let’s just get it over with.”

Diego stepped forward and put his hand gently on Grace’s hand to stop her. “Go to the side of the bed. Undo your robe. Rio and I will turn our backs while you get on the bed. Once you’re there, cover yourself with the robe. I’ll only uncover what I need as I examine you, okay?”

She gave him a tremulous smile. “Okay.”

Rio dutifully turned his back while Grace walked around to the side. A moment later, he heard her move onto the bed.

“You can turn around now,” she said softly.

Rio and Diego turned, though Diego didn’t spend any time staring. He swiftly moved around to the side, brisk and all business. Rio stood for a moment, staring down at the woman with a robe pulled up to her chin. Only her bare feet and a portion of her legs poked out from underneath.

She looked…She looked scared and nervous and he wanted more than anything to make it all go away. He went around to the opposite side and then climbed onto the bed. He plumped the pillows behind his back so he could prop up beside her and then he reached for her hand and squeezed.

She smiled and it did funny things to his throat and his chest.

On her other side, Diego examined her injured arm, holding it up, asking her to flex and extend her fingers and then her wrist and then to bend at the elbow. She did all without complaint, though he saw a slight grimace when she made a fist.

Diego gently laid her arm back down and then pushed the robe up just enough that he bared a portion of her rib cage. He examined a small area, stopping to ask her if it hurt, then continued over the rest of her abdomen.

“Did most of this happen when you fell?” Diego asked. “Or were you injured before that as well?”

She sighed. “It’s difficult to explain.”

“Try me. Take your time.”

She glanced over at Rio and he squeezed her hand again just to let her know that it was okay. She turned her head so that she stared up at the ceiling and then she took a deep breath.

“Before the fall, I was sick, injured, ill, whatever you want to call it because I’d healed so many people in a very short period of time. I never got a break. It was one after another, a never-ending litany of pain and madness. I was weak and I was sure I was going to die.

“"1e He wentWhen I fell, those injuries were…real time. Not that the others weren’t. They were just different. They happened directly to me, not because I absorbed them from someone else. So to answer your question, the injuries from the fall were just more in a line of injuries, but the others had already started to heal, or as much as they could, given the circumstances.”

Rio and Diego exchanged glances. She gave a very cut-and-dried explanation, but the underlying despair and anguish in her voice came through loud and clear. She’d suffered greatly. And even though the physical wounds would heal, the emotional wounds cut deep and would remain with her forever.

“All right, Grace, almost done. But I need you to tell me what all you hurt when you fell. You were a little out of it before. You said ribs and your arm. What about your head? Do you hurt anywhere else?”

She pursed her lips and wrinkled her brow in thought. Then she slowly shook her head.

“And how does it feel to you now? Does it feel like you’re healing? Is it taking longer than usual?”

“It’s slower. Hurts more. I feel more…fragile. Like I’m still broken somehow,” she whispered.

Rio put his arm around her shoulders and then leaned into her. She immediately tucked her head underneath his chin.

Hell, she was broken. In spirit and body. How she was still so determined and hanging on was beyond him. He’d sensed her acceptance of her fate and yet it was like she simply didn’t know how to give up. Even as she was thinking of death, she was pushing herself with superhuman strength. Past all endurance. A point when most everyone else would have just given up.

Diego carefully arranged the robe back over her. “I’d say you’re doing remarkably well given that you most certainly broke ribs and punctured a lung. Your breath sounds had decreased markedly on one side and yet they sound almost normal now. You have a full range of motion with your arm, and I can’t even tell where it was broken. That’s pretty damn amazing.”

“I guess I just don’t know how to die,” she said wanly.

Rio frowned. Diego’s expression wasn’t any better.

“How about we don’t talk about dying and instead focus on getting you strong again,” Rio said. “Starting with a good meal. Diego, are you finished?”

Diego nodded and started for the door.

“Diego?” Grace called.

He paused and turned around.

“Thank you.”

He smiled. “My pleasure. You’re an amazing woman, Grace. I’ll never know how you made it out of those mountains in the condition you were in, but I’m damn proud of you for doing it.”

Grace’s cheeks colored under the praise and her lips held a glimmer of a smile as Diego turned and exited the room.

“I’m going to turn away and get your tray ready,” Rio said. “Why d

on’t you go get into the sweats and T-shirt I put out for you and then come climb into bed. I’ll fix pillows for you to prop up on so you can eat off your tray.”

She sat up, clutching the robe to her chest. “Then we’ll talk about Shea?”

Rio nodded. “Yeah, I’ll tell you all about Shea.”

CHAPTER 14

GRACE hurriedly dressed, nervous that Rio was so close and she was completely naked. Not that she should be worried in the least that he’d be tempted or ove1C;Frshe shortaken by lust. The last year had been hard on her and the last months especially harsh.

It was when she was yanking the oversized sweatshirt over her head that she realized she was self-conscious about the way she looked…to Rio. Not the others. Just Rio.

Embarrassment tightened her cheeks. Of all the things she could be thinking or should be contemplating, how she looked to this man shouldn’t be one of them.

“You finished yet?”

She flinched and then realized that she’d been standing there, hands fisted around the hem of her sweatshirt at her sides for God only knew how long.

She turned and hastily crawled back onto the bed. “I’m done.”

Rio turned and she could barely meet his gaze for feeling so stupid. She was a grown woman acting like an irresponsible twit. She was more than embarrassed. She was pissed at herself for deciding to give her girly side even a brief moment of freedom.

If and when she ever got out of this alive, she’d go book a day in a spa and get her fingers and toes done and indulge in pure girly delight. Then maybe she’d find some hunky replica of Rio and let her imagination run wild.

Until then, she needed to focus on actually being alive long enough to worry over what color she wanted her toes.

He helped her sit up against the headboard and positioned several pillows behind her. Then he put one across her lap and reached back for the tray on the nightstand. He set it up across the pillow and the aroma of the gumbo wafted through her nostrils.

Finally her stomach came to life and it was like it suddenly caved in and began kicking and screaming. Sweat broke out on her forehead and her stomach knotted viciously. Her hands shook as she reached for the spoon.

Rio’s hand closed over hers, halting her motion. Gently he pried the spoon from her tight grip and then he stirred the gumbo. He lifted a spoonful to his mouth and tested it on his lips.

Then he put it to her lips.

She was too surprised to protest, and the warm liquid slid into her mouth. It was heaven in a spoon. Heat traveled down her throat all the way to her stomach.

When he went to repeat the process, she finally found her tongue. “Rio, don’t. I can feed myself. God, I feel ridiculous. This is so embarrassing.”

“Your hands are shaking so bad it’ll be a wonder if you get any of the gumbo in your mouth. It’ll be all over you and the bed. Now shut up and eat,” he said mildly.

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.”