Free Jason's Salvation by Kiera West Page B

the paramedic, the one who had been trained to save lives. He set her gently on the bed as footsteps sounded outside.
    He stood and moved with a growl to the door. He settled down when he saw Noah.
    “What the fuck happened?” Noah asked.
    “Rand was hit, then she was taken.”
    “What the hell? Why didn’t he just kill her there?” Ethan said.
    “Because he had a plan,” Eve said weakly from the bed.
    They all rushed to the bed. Her eyes were barely opened.
    “A plan?” Noah asked gently.
    She swallowed. “Yes. He wanted to be head of the council. His plan was to lure you here, kill you.”
    Then she passed out.
    Panic filtered through the crowd, but Max said, “No worries. She is fine. We just need to get her back to the house.”
    “What do you want to do with this trash?” Ethan asked as he kicked the cat’s foot.
    “Bring him along. We need to know who he is working with.”
    Max moved to pick Eve up, but Jason felt the rumble of a growl in his chest. His wolf was not ready to let someone else carry her. Even one of the pack.
    “No,” Noah said. “Let Jason take her.”
    Jason lifted her in his arms. Her head rested against his shoulder and he could feel her breath against his neck. Some of the fury he had been feeling evaporated.
    Jason climbed into the pickup and kept her close to him. He couldn’t even fathom what they would do if something happened to her.
     
    * * * *
     
    Eve came awake with a scream tangling her throat.
    “It’s okay, Eve. Just a dream.”
    She could feel Max beside her, stroking her back. Jason was holding her. Even in the dark she knew who was with her by their scent. It was odd, but she just understood who they were.
    “A bad one.” She tried to pull away, but Jason held on for a second longer and then released her. “I need a drink of water.”
    “I can get it for you.”
    She wanted to roll her eyes, but she was still in too much pain to do that. Even that small gesture might hurt.
    “I also need to go to the bathroom, so you are going to have to let me go by myself.”
    He moved off the bed, but in the next moment, he had her in his arms.
    “Don’t worry. I got you.”
    He carried her to the bathroom and set her on her feet. He turned on the nightlight, avoiding the harsh overhead lighting to save her pain, she was sure.
    “I’ll be right here when you return.”
    She cupped his face and gave him a soft kiss.
    “Thank you.”
    “Thanking me? I let you get hurt.”
    “You saved me. That’s all that matters.”
    He shook his head but she nodded. “You saved me.”
    Then she turned and shut the door behind her. She sighed and glanced at herself in the mirror. She had always had pale skin, but at the moment, she looked like a ghost. Or a vampire. The explosion of yellow bruising on her cheek was just lovely, as was the split lip and her swollen eye.
    She swallowed. How the guys could even look at her, she didn’t know. With a sigh, she went about her business. She needed to get some more rest.
    But falling asleep…she didn’t know if she could face those dreams again. Eve was intelligent enough to know that what happened wasn’t her fault, and thank goodness, Jason had shown up in time to save her from the worst of it. Still, she couldn’t keep herself from feeling disgusted with herself. Dirty, even. Tears filled her eyes and poured over on her cheeks. It was wrong. She didn’t cause what happened to her, or almost happened to her. But she couldn’t fight the feeling that there was something very wrong with her.
    There was a soft knock at the door. “Eve, are you all right?” Jason asked.
    She dashed away the tears, then splashed water on her face.
    “Yes. I promise, I didn’t fall in.”
    She dried off her face, then walked to the door, feeling every bruise on her body with each step. She drew in a deep breath, and opened the door.
    Jason visibly relaxed. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
    She nodded as he picked her up and took her to the bed. He