Free Stone Cold by Cheryl Douglas Page A

travelled through the hospital in silence and Drake pulled a deep breath of crisp air into his lungs as soon as they got outside. It felt good, until his conscience reminded him that Cassidy may never know the simple pleasure of breathing fresh air again.
     
    ***
     
    Cassidy tried to open her eyes, but it felt like metal clamps were holding her eyelids closed. She moaned, trying to talk, but nothing came out. It felt like a lead weight was resting on her chest, making speech impossible.
    “It’s okay,” a familiar voice whispered, squeezing her hand. “Don’t try to talk. I’ll get the doctor.”
    She tried to tell him she was fine, she didn’t need a doctor, but the words wouldn’t come.
    After shuffling, shouting, and the sound of hurried footsteps, she heard another man’s voice.
    “Well, it’s nice to see you’ve decided to rejoin us, Miss Ross. It was touch and go there for a while.”
    She had no idea what he was talking about it and didn’t have the strength to ask him. Warm hands started poking and prodding her. She wanted to protest, but she felt like a prisoner inside of her own body. Feeling frustrated, she tried to sit up, but strong hands eased her back on the pillow.
    “Easy now,” the calm male voice said. “You’ve been through quite an ordeal. You’re not ready to go anywhere just yet.”
    She couldn’t argue with that. Opening her eyes and forming a sentence seemed like a monumental task. She couldn’t imagine the effort it would require to take a step.
    “I’ll let you rest for now, but I’ll be back to check on you in a little while. Your fiancée can buzz the nurse if you need anything.”
    Her fiancée? What was he talking about?
    “Thank God you woke up. It’s been six days. I came back the morning after surgery and they told me they had to induce a coma so your body could start to heal. I was so afraid you were never gonna wake up.”
    When she felt warm lips against her palm, she forced her eyes open a crack to see if she was actually seeing what she believed she was hearing. Was that really Drake’s voice? What was he doing here… pretending to be concerned about her?
    “What…?” she whispered, when she saw his face.
    “Sssh,” he said, clasping her hand a little tighter. “Don’t try to talk, baby. You’ve been through hell. It’ll all come back, I promise. I just don’t want you to rush it.”
    “Happened?” she whispered, unable to string two words together.
    “I don’t think we should talk about that right now. Maybe when you’re feelin’ stronger.”
    “Pl…ease.”
    He sighed and she heard the scrape of his chair across the floor as he got to his feet.
    “It happened at the center. Apparently, you were trying to help one of the residents—”
    “Bill,” she whispered. It was coming back to her. He attacked her. In the alley behind the center. He tried to… Her head started pounding and she tried to raise her hand to her temple, but was only able to lift it an inch or two before she was forced to let it fall back to rest on the bed. “Hurts.”
    “I know, sweetheart,” Drake said, brushing his finger over her cheek. “Everything is gonna hurt for a while.”
    She wanted to know why he was here, being so sweet to her, pretending he still cared when they both knew he despised her. “Where… is…?” Her throat was parched. She tried to swallow, but her mouth seemed too dry. “Bill?”
    “That son of a bitch is in jail where he belongs. Lucky for him. Trust me, he’s safer in there ’cause if I ever get my hands on him, I’ll make him wish he’d never laid eyes on you.”
    He sounded almost like the man she used to know. Fiercely protective of the people he loved. Except he didn’t love her anymore. He hadn’t for a long time.
    “My… head… chest…” Her whole body ached. She had no idea the extent of her injuries, but it felt like she should be in a full body cast.
    “I know. When they brought you in, you’d sustained