Anarchy (Hive Trilogy Book 2) by Jaymin Eve, Leia Stone Page B

my chest as relief flooded me.
    “Thank you!” I said, as gratefully as I could. Still hated the assholes, but they had saved Ryder’s life.
    I followed as the vampire female whisked Ryder down the hall and into a recovery wing. There were three other ash in there, all hooked up to blood and curtained off from each other. A wheelchair was set up next to Ryder’s bed.
    The nurse gave me some clear liquid in a syringe. “He can go home in an hour or so when he wakes. This will help with the pain. Stick it in his leg.”
    My eyes widened and Kyle nodded before thanking her.
    Once we were alone with our boy, I exchanged a look with Ryder’s oldest friend, a look that said Holy shit we just survived something crazy and thank you for being there with me . But we didn’t say a word. Sometimes there are no real words that can describe what you’ve just gone through.
    Kyle wrapped a warm hand around my shoulder; he looked exhausted and ready to drop. I, however, was so jacked up on adrenaline there was no way I was sleeping until Ryder was awake and talking.
    “You want me to bring him to my apartment and take care of him?” Kyle asked.
    My heart tightened at the thought of letting Ryder out of my sight. I shook my head. “No, I can do it.”
    Kyle nodded and pulled me in for a big hug. “You did good today, rookie.”
    I gave a lame attempt at a smile as he pulled away and met my eyes. “Get some sleep,” I told him.
    He nodded and yawned. “I’ll check on Markus. I have to report to the Quorum before I can sleep.”
    Damn. No rest for the enforcers. I guess I should get used to it.
    I sat in the wheelchair and held Ryder’s limp hand. It took me about thirty minutes, but eventually that jacked-up feeling started to lessen. Some of the stress and exhaustion pressed in on me and I lowered my head to rest on the side of the bed. I knew Ryder could wake at any moment, and I really didn’t want to drift off. Trying to stay awake, I started a slow, slurring murmur: don’t fall asleep, don’t fall asleep…
     
    The sound of Ryder groaning jarred me awake. It took me a few seconds to orient myself, then the last twenty-four hours came slamming back. Ryder! Heart pounding, I fumbled for the clear syringe which had fallen into my lap. I was probably lucky I hadn’t accidentally stabbed myself with it while I slept.
    By the time I got my shit together, my gaze crashed into his wide silver and black eyes. They were filled with a tumult of emotions.
    “Charlie…”
    The rasp of his voice almost had me in tears. The way he’d just said my name, so much emotion in his tone—a tenderness rarely seen from the strong enforcer, except in vulnerable moments like these. His hand snaked out and touched my hair and I found myself sinking into his touch.
    “Ryder…”
    For once in my life I didn’t know what to say. Was it too soon to blurt out Don’t ever do that again, I’m totally falling in love with you, and you scared the shit out of me ?Yeah, probably.
    He looked down, noticing the gauze across his stomach, the blood dripping into his IV. His face scrunched in pain, and I was just about to freak out that something had gone wrong when his face shot back up to me. Clarity entered those eyes, along with some worry.
    “Markus?” Ryder struggled to sit up.
    I would guess he’d just remembered how he’d been a big hero and jumped in front of a bunch of bullets. We really needed to talk about that sometime.
    “He’s fine,” I said, giving him my most reassuring face. Of course, I didn’t know for sure he was fine, having not seen him since we got here, but surely if there had been an issue with his injuries, someone would have found Kyle and me and told us.
    I palmed the clear syringe. “They gave me something for your pain, and it means I get to stab you in the leg.”
    A deep chuckle came from him before he winced. Laughter was not good for belly wounds; even the tough guy here was struggling. I waved the syringe a