Last Kiss Read Free Page A

clarified. “As in indentured servant.”
    “That’s not even legal.” Which was a ridiculous thing to say since I knew the mob didn’t care much about the law. My throat grew thick. “What does that mean anyway? She got away. She’s safe now. Right?”
    “My impression is that Michelis brands people when their debt to him is too great to pay back in a lifetime. Which, if that’s true, if Amber owes him that big, then he’s —” He broke off at the sound of footsteps.
    I wanted to know more, but when I turned I found Reeve approaching. I forgot about branding and servitude, and got swept up in the confusing mix of emotions that rose at the sight of him. There was so much unsettled between us – and that was without anyone else involved. Amber and Joe only complicated things that much more.
    “She’s asking for you, Emily,” Reeve said, his eyes pinned on Joe. “She’s in the suite next to yours.” It was a dismissal that left little room for refute.
    Besides, I really did want to be with Amber, so I nodded and headed upstairs, despite knowing that Joe could very well reveal all my secrets. Maybe it was time for those secrets to come out anyway.
     
    If she really had been asking for me, she wasn’t by the time I arrived upstairs. Now the only thing on her mind was getting something for the pain. Her shirt was off, and there were several bruises down her chest and arms, some yellowed and fading, others were much newer. Several near-black angry splotches lined one side of her torso. Jeb was pressing on them when I walked in, and though his touch seemed tender, the examination had her in tears.
    I ran to hold her hand and stroke her hair, but she was in such agony, I wasn’t sure how much my presence helped. Jeb finished tracing the lines of her ribs before looking up at me. “Emily, would you mind going down to the kitchen and making some ice packs? If there’s some frozen peas or something, that would work just as well.”
    “Sure. Broken?” I’d had broken ribs before. I knew that pain.
    “Just fractured, I think. But her breathing’s not great. I’d like to get her on some oxygen so that she doesn’t develop pneumonia.”
    “We have some for emergencies in the main office,” Brent piped in. “I’ll call down and have it brought up. And, Emily, there’s ice compresses in the small freezer in the pantry.”
    I bent to kiss Amber’s forehead. “Hang in there. We’ll get you feeling better soon.” She squeezed my hand so I knew she’d heard me, although I’m sure it was hard to believe in her current state of discomfort.
    The men Jeb had sent for supplies were coming in as I left the room and by the time I returned with ice packs, Amber had been hooked up to an IV and fluid was dripping down the line into the vein at her wrist. Her eyes were closed. She was either asleep or almost there so I didn’t disturb her. Instead, I handed Jeb the compresses, then sat on the love seat near the bed and watched, helpless.
    I was actually grateful for that helplessness. Of the myriad complex emotions that were weighing on me at the moment, helplessness was the easiest to carry. It was the one I knew.
    Brent returned with the oxygen tank as well as a heart rate monitor. Reeve came along with him, taking a perch on the opposite arm. Together we watched as Jeb and Brent hooked Amber up to the machines. We didn’t speak or look at each other. Tension buzzed between us like a fly caught in a closed room. I was desperate to know what he was thinking and feeling. Was he as focused on her as he appeared to be? Or was his mind as caught up in us as mine was?
    The longer I sat without his acknowledgment, the more my anxiety grew.
    It was just after three when Jeb gestured for us to follow him out to the hallway for a powwow.
    “Well?” Reeve asked, impatience in his voice.
    Although he’d shut the door behind him, Jeb kept his voice low. “She’s bruised up mostly. Her ribs are tender, but they seem to be