"Madison?" Moon asks groggily.Relief swamps me and I try not to cry. This does no good and tears of relief fall from my eyes. "I'm hurt," is all I can manage to say and even that's shaky."Shh," Moon whispers. His voice is my lifeline and I only cry harder. "Where are you?"Another round of trembling hits me. I suck air into my lungs and try to control myself enough to speak. "Between Payson and Heber..." My teeth continue to chatter and once again, I breathe. "I'm about a hundred yards down the side of the mountain.""Jesus." I hear movement and then my eyes jump left and right in case whoever did this has decided to come after me."How bad are you hurt?" he finally asks. The words are filled with concern, though I can hear the suppressed anger behind them.I concentrate on Moon's question and manage to speak coherently. "Bleeding. It's a head wound. I went over right after the second s-turn about fifteen minutes or so outside of Payson."His voice changes from concern to dead
I wait until I actually hear him. At the sound of his voice, my body goes lax. I need to stand, but I'm unable to send the message to my legs. "Moon," I groan. Flashlights are fanned out in four directions and they zero in on the sound of my croaky voice. Moon gets to me first and goes to his knees beside me. I wince when the flashlights blind me."Move the lights off her," Moon snaps. All but the one he's holding move away. He tips his down. Bad cop, I want to tell him. Always limit their vision. I'm not a cop, though, and Moon most definitely isn't either."Speak to me, baby." He pushes the hair from my face.I feel nauseated and I only manage to mumble this information. He must understand because he wraps his arm around my chest and keeps me from falling face first into vomit as my guts heave onto the ground beside me. He offers a soothing chorus of words until he calls me "baby" again. "Don't call me that," I say stupidly. It's the shame of him holding me while I toss my cooki
Moon steps back and a middle-aged man with compassionate brown eyes bends over me. I try to look around him to Moon. The man smiles and I forget about Moon. The doctor's hair is mostly gray and his smile is genuine."Miss Kinlock, I'm Dr. Santos. Please call me Carlo." He begins explaining what he needs to do. I'm only half following. The sound of his voice is putting me to sleep. He performs each part of his exam and repeats what and why he's doing what he's doing. He shines a light in my eyes and I close them. "I need you to look into the light, Miss Kinlock." His voice is soft and coaxing.I squint trying to do what he says. I want to please him. It's an odd sensation because I'm not fond of doctors. I put up with their curt bedside manner through multiple surgeries on my shoulder. I've had enough of doctors to last me a lifetime. He puts the light down and has me roll to my side facing away from him. He places his fingers on the base of my skull and manipulates the vertebrae down
Moon is sitting on the side of the bed where Dr. Santos was seated. His fingers slide across my cheek. The caress feels wonderful on the lower half of my face but the upper half is numb. "Before you answer, you aren't up for anything more than a bath. You're on heavy drugs, and I won't take advantage nor will I allow you to drown. I can stand over you and watch or you can sit in my lap and rest while your muscles get some much needed attention."Moon watching me in the bath naked seems worse than resting against his body. I'm too drugged and I'm too worn out to think beyond this. "You can be my floaty," I tell him and giggle. Drugs are such a wonderful invention.Even with my head swirling, I refuse to be carried. Moon protests and tries to lift me, but I bat his hands away. He gives in with a shake of his head. He's accustomed to getting his way, and I have a feeling he's not sure how to handle me. We slowly manage our way to the bathroom, which has a separate door for the toilet ar
Moon grabs my arms at the elbows and his eyes drill mine. "It's too late. You're already a part of it. You're injured and have had two concussions in less than a week. You need to heal and stay hidden until I know what's happening. Penny Dandridge is dead, Madison. The next body will not be yours."I lower my eyes so he can't see how angry I am. I'm sitting up, half twisted between his legs. I suddenly realize his erection is poking me. How could I miss it against my back? It's huge and partially sticking out of the water. I go from pissed off to turned on. I don't understand the sexual pull he has on me. It makes no sense.He notices where I'm looking and his lips tilt into a semi-grin. "Come here, baby." He pulls me against his chest so my breasts slide across his skin. "I told you you're in no condition. You're beautiful and some things can't be controlled."I shouldn't laugh. It's the drugs-must be. "I guess it would be worse if this didn't affect you," I say with a giggle."Im
Moon reaches for the bedside phone, picks it up, and speaks to someone in Spanish. I watch dreamily as he walks away from the bed, enters the bathroom, and returns a few minutes later. He's carrying a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a cup. He rests them on the nightstand beside the bed.He helps me sit and places an extra pillow behind my back. After putting a small amount of toothpaste on the toothbrush, he hands it to me. I don't look at him while I brush my teeth. He's too close, and even though we shared a bath last night, this seems somehow more personal. I eventually look up and he hands me the cup to spit. After he takes the item back to the bathroom, he returns and nudges me over with his hip so he can sit.He pushes my hair behind my shoulders. "How are you feeling?"The words spill out before I can stop them. "Sore, ugly... dirty," I add. So very, very dirty. My actions caused the death of an innocent person, and I'm lying in the bed of a criminal trying to keep my sexual thou
I sleep the rest of the day. When I wake up, it's dark outside, which means it's after nine at night. Moon enters the room as soon as I exit the bathroom. The only light is the glow from the bathroom because I couldn't find any other light switch."You're walking around again," he says by way of greeting."I'm trying to figure out how to turn on the damn lights," I respond in frustration.He walks back to the bedroom doors, opens a panel that looks like part of the wall, and turns on soft lighting that displays the artwork on the walls. It's a beautiful way to light a room."I need to walk around," I say. "My muscles are sore and I need to use them."He moves closer and his voice gentles. "Would you like to take a walk outside?" This caring side of him does indecent things to my sex organs.I pull the material at the top of the dress shirt I'm wearing out a bit. Moon's eyes follow my hand. "This is all I've been given to wear." I don't mention that I have nothing under the shirt
I push aside the fact that my face and hair are a mess. I want one night. One night of not thinking about crime, or death, or doing the right thing. I inhale slowly. It's a night I can't afford to take. I know if I do, there will be no going back."Everything," I tell him. His eyes go dark.It's my turn to qualify. "The sandwich, just put everything on it, please."He finishes making our sandwiches. The entire process is calm and methodical and seems to be a fundamental part of him. He returns the mayo, mustard, and assorted lunch meats to the fridge. He removes two plates from a cabinet and places the sandwiches on top. He fills two glasses of water, snags a bag of chips from another cupboard, and makes two trips to the table to place everything on it."Eat while I clean up. I know you're hungry."I grab my sandwich with both hands. "I'm surprised you don't save the dishes for someone else." The sandwich smells delicious, but then liver would smell good right now and I hate liver