Emily's Captive (A Lilly Town Shifter Novel Book 2) (16 page)

“I missed a lot, didn’t I?” he asked, when he
saw the ring on her finger.

“I can show you pictures. I know you would
have been there if you could,” she said with a
smile. “I was huge. Not a whale like I am now,
though.”

“You look beautiful,” he smiled, and he meant
it. She had a glow that only pregnant women and
new mothers have. It tended to disappear when the
sleepless nights began. Well, that had been his
experience. He got an elbow to the rib. “Ow!
What?”

“You don’t say that to another woman when the
one you’re sleeping with is sitting next to you,”
Emily said, moving her arm back to her side.

“I didn’t mean it like that. She is beautiful,
as in ‘pregnant woman beautiful’. She doesn’t hold
a candle to you,” he said, and kissed her cheek.

“Good,” Emily said.

Paul looked over at Lucy and saw a smile. He
hoped she wasn’t offended, but it was true. Mike
walked back in with a plate of spaghetti and handed
it to Lucy.

“Perfect. How do you always know what I want?”
she asked.

“Because I know you,” he said with a smile and
sat down. Everyone went quiet as Lucy ate, mostly
because they were staring at the growing red stain
on her shirt and face. Paul looked around the
room, and everyone but Mike seemed to be holding in
a laugh.

Lucy stopped eating for a minute and must have
seen everyone’s eyes on her. “What?”

“Um, Hon, I think it has something to do with
you looking like a kid with your S’ghetti,” Mike
said with a laugh.

“Well, you try having a growing wolverine
shifter inside of you and see how much you eat,”
she grumbled, and went back to her food.

“What’s taking so long?” Emily said to no one
in particular.
“It’s a good sign that she’s been in there for
a while, isn’t it?” Paul asked.
“It means she’s not dead, but the injuries
could be worse than Bill thought.”
Paul pulled Emily close and said, “She’s going
to be okay.”
***

Emily couldn’t believe Mike and Lucy. Well,
she couldn’t believe how Mike could put up with
Lucy. The girl was fun to watch, but she couldn’t
imagine being stuck with her day in and day out.
She could be so annoying. She knew the woman would
be a good distraction. Hell, just watching her sit
down with her big belly helped cheer her up.

The door to the exam room opened and Bill
stepped out. His face was covered in sweat and he
looked like hell. “She’s doing well. I had to fix
her rib and lung and remove the bullet. She also
has a few broken bones, but they’ll heal. It’ll be
at least a few days before she’s back on her feet.”

“Can I see her?” Emily asked.
“Of course,” Bill said, and stepped out of the
doorway.
“Thanks,” she said, slipping into the room.

Stacy was asleep and Emily was very grateful
for that. She knew her sister would have been in a
lot of pain. She had a lot to heal.

Moving up to the bed, Emily sat down and looked
at Stacy’s sleeping face. She needed to be closer
to her. She couldn’t let anything happen to her.
She had to be there to protect Stacy in case
someone came after her again. She knew she was
safe in Bill’s house and that he’d give his life to
protect them both. She just couldn’t let her out
of her sight. Not yet.

“Emily?” she heard Aunt Martha say.

“Hey,” she said, and looked at the door. Aunt
Martha was standing there, looking like she wanted
to come in but not being sure if she was welcome.
“Get in here.”

Aunt Martha nodded and walked in, closing the
door behind her.
“How’s she doing?” Aunt Martha asked.
“She’s asleep,” Emily said.
“Why don’t you go get some? She’s going to
need you, so you need to be ready,” she said.
“I don't know. I don't want to leave her on
her own.”

“That bed is big enough for an elephant. You
can sleep right by her,” Aunt Martha said with a
laugh.

Emily nodded and lay down next to Stacy. She
hadn’t had Stacy in her bed since she was little,
ten years ago.

Emily didn’t realize how tired she was until
her head hit the pillow. She hadn’t gotten much
sleep in the past few weeks because of her mission.
Now her sister was safe next to her and she could
finally rest.

Stacy woke up in pain. She didn’t know why she
was hurting so much or where she was. She felt
someone move next to her. She didn’t know why.
She opened her eyes, trying to figure out what was
going on, and found Emily next to her. She let out
a relieved breath. She was safe. No more
beatings, no more cell. She was free.

“Emily,” she rasped out.
“Hey,” she heard her say. “Do you need
anything?”
“I must be pretty bad off if you’re being this
nice to me,” she said, smiling.

“You’ll be okay, but you were in pretty bad
shape. It’s going to take a few days for you to
get better.”

Stacy nodded. She was alive and home. That
was what mattered to her.
The door opened and she looked toward it to see
Bill coming in.
“Hey kiddo, how are you feeling?” Bill asked.
“I'm hurting a little,” she said.
“Okay, I can give you something for that, but
it’s going to knock you out,” he said with a smile.
She nodded. “Can I have some water?”

“Sure.” Bill walked over to a sink and filled
up a cup. She took a sip and felt much better just
by having that little bit. “Before I give you the
meds, Jason wants to check on you before he goes
back home. Is that okay?” Bill went on.

Stacy nodded. She wasn’t sure who he was, but
she was guessing he’d helped save her, so she’d say
hi and tell him she was okay.

Bill walked out then came back in. There was a
man behind him. He looked amazing, even with the
dark circles under his eyes. His clothes were
wrinkled like he’d slept in them and his hair was a
little rumpled. He was sexy. She knew he was too
old for her, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t
admire him.

“Hey,” he said. Wow, that smile! If she were
one to swoon, she would be on the floor. She
smiled back at him. “Do you remember me?”

She shook her head.
“I helped Emily and Paul rescue you.”
She just nodded. She didn’t know what to say.
“I’m Jason.”
“Stacy,” she croaked out. Duh, he knew that
already. Oh well, she was being polite.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Alive.” It was true. She’d wonder if she was
still alive if, after everything, she wasn’t in
pain.

“I'm going back to Nevada, but if you need
anything, you can call me. Emily and Bill have my
number.”

“Okay, thanks,” she said.

“Well, I just wanted to make sure you were
okay,” he said, and left before she could say
anything else.

The next thing she knew, her pain was gone and
she was getting tired. Sleep would help her heal,
so she gave in to it, hoping she’d see him again.

***

Bill pulled the bandages off of Stacy and
didn’t like what he saw. She was bleeding again.
How could she be bleeding again? He stopped it
when he operated.

“Emily, I need to go back in,” he said looking
at her.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. He could tell she
was starting to panic.

“I’m not sure, but she started bleeding. I
need to get in there and figure out what’s causing
it.”

“You missed something?” she asked quietly, like
she was ready to attack. If he didn’t know this
was from fear, he would be afraid of what she’d do.

“I don’t know. That or some of the sutures
opened. I need to find out and stop the bleeding.”
Emily nodded, a tear running down her face.

He knew this was all too much for her. The
kidnapping, the feelings for Paul, Stacy being so
hurt. She didn’t know how to handle it all.

“Go out to the living room, I’ll let you know
when I’m done. I’m going to do everything I can to
keep her alive. I love her too,” he said.

She nodded and walked out the door.

When he knew she was gone, he got to work on
scrubbing up. He needed to do this quickly before
it got worse.

***

When Jason looked at Stacy, he had no idea how
she was even alive, let alone awake. She was black
and blue and bleeding. She was so many colors. He
didn’t know a person could turn those shades. He
had a feeling she wouldn’t make it through the
surgery he knew Bill was going to have to do. He
hoped she did. He really wanted her to, but she
was in such bad shape.

“Bill,” Jason whispered. He didn’t want to
keep the man from helping her, but he had to know.
“Yeah,” Bill said quickly as he walked over to
her table with a mask and gloves.
“Will she make it?”
“I hope so.”
“Please, don’t let her die,” he said.
“I'm going to try my best,” Bill said, and went
to work.

Jason sat down in a chair in Bill’s living
room. He had to stay. He couldn’t leave her
there. He knew she had family, but that didn’t
mean he could leave. He wanted to know if she
lived or died.

“Jason, you don’t have to stay,” Emily said as
she paced the room.
“I know, but I want to.”
“But, you don’t know her,” Martha said.

“I know, but I worked for weeks to try to save
her. I want to be here to make sure she’s going to
be okay.”

“You know she’s not going to be, right?”
Martha asked.
“What do you mean?” Emily asked as she sat
down.

“She’s never going to be the same Stacy. She
was captured, and we have no idea what she went
through, other than being beaten. She’s not going
to be okay.”

“I know.” And he did from experience. He
hadn’t always been the fighter he was today. He’d
been held captive by his crazy uncle. Martha was
the one who’d saved him, so she knew. He didn’t
know what Stacy had gone through, but if it was
anything like what he had, she was going to be hard
and a fighter. She might even turn into someone
like him. He wanted to be able to defend himself
and not let anyone put him in that position again.
That was why he’d become who he was.

“I know you do. I think you should be there
for her to help her. You know what it’s like,” she
said seriously.

He knew she was right. He also knew that he’d
have trouble with that because he wanted her. He
wanted her to be more than just his friend. He
wanted her to be his mate.

“What are you talking about?” Emily asked.
“She doesn’t know?” Martha asked him. He
shook his head.
“Know what?” she asked.
“I was kidnapped when I was a little younger
than Stacy. I know what she’ll be going through.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” she asked.
“Because it’s not something I like to talk
about,” he said. She nodded and went back to
staring at the door. They all did. Waiting for
Bill to finish his exam. He hoped there was some
improvement. She had to be okay.

***

“Emily, she’s doing okay. The bullet did more
damage than I had originally thought. You can go
back in,” Bill said when he walked out of the exam
room.

Emily couldn’t believe he’d had to operate on
Stacy again. How could he have missed it?
Shouldn’t he have been checking everything?

Instead of letting him have it like she wanted
to, she nodded and walked back in to see Stacy.
She looked so peaceful there. She hoped everything
had gone okay. No lasting injuries; nothing but
her healthy sister.

Then she started worrying about Stacy and
Jason. She’d seen the way they were looking at
each other and didn’t want her sister involved with
him. Stacy deserved a prince, not a fighter. She
already had to worry about her when she went out on
missions; she didn’t need to make a life out of it
with her mate.

“I’ll be right back,” Emily said to Bill as he
walked back in.

He nodded and went back to checking Stacy. It
was probably better to do so while she was
unconscious so she wouldn’t feel the poking and
everything.

Emily stepped out and saw Jason leaving.
“Jason!” she yelled to him. He turned around and
looked at her. “I want to talk to you.”

“Emily, I really don’t want to fight with you,”
he said with a sigh. He looked like hell.
“I don’t want you getting close to Stacy.”
“Why?” he asked.

“I love my sister and I don’t want her to be
with one of us. She doesn’t need the worry or the
danger. She already has it from me. I don’t want
her to have that her entire life.”

“That’s not what I expected to hear from you,”
he said, surprised.
“What did you think I’d say?”

“I figured it would be to stay away, but not
for those reasons. I figured it would have
something to do with the fact that you hate me.”

“I don’t hate you. I just never knew how to
act around you, so I got pissy,” she said with a
smile.

“Well, can you stop acting pissy and be my
friend again? We used to make a good team.”
“Okay, but stay away from Stacy,” she said
again.
“I don’t want that life for her either, so I
will. I’ll be her friend and nothing more.”
“Good.”
“I’ll catch you later,” he said with a smile.
“Bye,” she said, and went back in to Stacy.
***

Paul was in the kitchen making food for himself
and Emily. He couldn’t really cook, but he could
handle eggs. She needed food. She hadn’t left
Stacy’s side since they got back, and he didn’t
blame her, but she needed to be strong, and to do
that, she needed to eat.

He made some coffee. That he needed. Bill had
let him stay in a spare room, but he was worried
about Emily. He knew she wasn’t getting much
sleep. Coffee would help, though. He couldn’t go
without his morning cup, and hopefully it would
make her just a little more tolerable.

When he had the eggs cooked and some toast
made, he walked into the exam room where Stacy was.
He didn’t bother knocking. He didn’t think he’d
need to worry about it, but when he walked in, Bill
was examining the wound on Stacy’s chest, so he got
a view of her breasts. He didn’t mean to, and he
averted his eyes once he realized they were
uncovered, but he didn’t know if doing so would
help him any or not. Emily saw him.

“I brought food,” he said, looking at the
floor.
“I can see that,” Emily said with a little
laugh.
“I… I didn’t mean to…” he stuttered out.
“I know.”
“Let me know when I can look up,” he said.
“All right, you’re safe,” she said with a
laugh.

He couldn’t believe she thought it was funny.
He could feel his face turning bright red over it.
He hoped he never saw Stacy naked again. It wasn’t
that she wasn’t pretty, but he had eyes only for
her sister. He didn’t want Emily thinking any
different. He looked up and saw the bandages back
around Stacy’s chest, and that she was covered up.
He let out a relieved sigh and set the plates down.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I thought I’d eat with
you.”

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Bill said.
“Thanks for breakfast,” Emily said, and took a
plate.

“No problem. It’s about the only thing I can
cook,” he said with a smile. He was glad he could
take care of her.

“Well, I appreciate it.”
“How’s Stacy?” he asked her.

“She’s okay. Bill gave her something so she’s
sleeping, but she was talking and seemed to be
doing well.”

“I’m glad she’s okay.”
“You thought I was wrong.”
“I’m happy I was wrong about that. I was just
going on what I knew,” he said sheepishly.
“I know, and I’m glad you helped us. I don’t
know how to thank you,” she said.
“Stacy being back home is more than enough.”
“Are you going to leave?” she asked. He could
hear the hesitation in her voice.

“I was going to go pack when I got back,” he
said. He had no intention of moving out, but he
did have something planned.

“Oh, okay,” she said sadly. He hated not
telling her, but he knew she’d fight him on it.