Jaxson's Angel by Serena Pettus

to do with you again!" Bud screamed, pulling his arm back to strike.
    Angel brought the broken bottle up and slashed the jagged edge across his cheek, sending him reeling back with an unholy wail. Unfortunately the momentum behind her swing had brought the glass around to her other arm that had been fending him off. The gash on her forearm was bleeding freely, but there was nothing she could do at the moment except try and put as much distance between Bud and herself as possible.
    The boat she'd seen was closer now, and as Bud gained his feet, Angel saw no choice but to jump into the water. He would surely kill her now, and if she was going to die she wanted it to be because she was fighting to survive.
    The water was cold, the saltiness causing the wound on her arm to burn, but she was determined to get away.
    "Angel!" The voice calling out to her was one she'd been praying to hear. It was Jaxson. "Hold on!"
    A splash sounded, and moments later she found herself with one of his strong arms around her waist as she was dragged through the water, back to the waiting boat.
    "I smell blood," Jaxson snarled by her ear. "Is it yours?"
    "I cut myself with a broken bottle when I slashed at Bud," she explained, while sputtering water. "I hope there's not any sharks around."
    "Me too. You're losing a lot of blood if I'm able to smell it over the saltwater. How do you feel?"
    "It burns, but I'll be fine. Bud's boat is sinking, though. He was going to run on a little inflatable raft with a small motor," she explained, as she cast a nervous glance behind them. "He was going to make you choose."
    "Choose what?" Jaxson asked. They'd made it to the side of the boat, and Colton reached over the side. "Raise your arms and let Colton pull you up."
    "He was going to make you choose between me and revenge against him. You would only have enough time to get one of us," Angel said. Jaxson let loose with a vicious string of curses, but she had to tell him the rest. "He's getting on a plane in a few hours and leaving. He said he'd never be back again."
    "He's not going anywhere," Colton chimed in, hoisting her up as if she weighed nothing at all. "I've already called the Coast Guard and given them the coordinates for the boat. I'll inform the police of his flight and we'll get him. Besides, his little raft can't outrun our boat."
    Angel hissed in a breath as Colton tried to examine her arm. "I guess maybe it's deeper than I thought." Now that she knew she was safe, the adrenalin was beginning to wear off, leaving her feeling utterly drained and extremely sleepy.
    A heavy feeling was stealing over her body, and she could hear muffled voices shouting, but she was so tired. Surely they would understand if she shut her eyes for just a moment. That's all she would need.
    * * * *
    "Angel! Angel, can you hear me? Baby, open your eyes and look at me, please," Jaxson pleaded.
    "She's out."
    "She's lost a lot of blood, Colton. It was all in the water, man," his voice quavered as he felt moisture gathering in his eyes. "I can't lose her, Colt."
    "You won't. The Coast Guard is here now and they've got medics on board who can take care of her until we get in to a hospital." Colton guided the boat closer to theirs and shouted out their need for assistance.
    Moments later, the deck was transformed into a mini triage area. There was a bag of fluids hooked up to an IV, a cuff inflated on her arm to slow the blood flow to the open wound, and an oxygen mask had been placed over her pale face.
    At the hospital, Jaxson's mood had soured. The police refused to let anyone in to see Angel until she'd awakened enough to provide a statement, and he'd nearly worn a trench in the floor of the waiting room with his pacing.
    He felt like a caged animal. His mate was being treated somewhere on this floor, but he was being kept from her. She was weak and vulnerable, probably scared as well, and he wanted nothing more than to hold and comfort her. Had they even told her he was there?