Skin Walkers: Angel Lost (4 page)

Chapter 8

Monroe stood in the doorway, once more dressed in scrubs. Arms crossed, hands fisted, jaw clenching, his eyes narrowed as he watched Finn console Eden.  She was sobbing and clinging to him like a damn lifeline, and it made Monroe want to retch.

Finn had his eyes closed, looking as if the moment was equally as meaningful to him as he crooned at Eden’s ear, “Easy, princess.”  

Princess!
  Monroe snorted derisively.  His Eden was no princess, she was a fucking queen.  His snort earned him a hard look from Jenny. 

Finn’s eyes snapped open, landing on Monroe before darkening, and Monroe could sense the man’s desire to disobey.  Finn was told of Eden’s injury and memory loss of course, but he had also been informed of Monroe and Eden’s relationship and children, and threatened with his life if he even hinted at trying to convince Eden to let him take her from her home. It was in his eyes, that hint of defiance, the obvious desire to taken Eden away, to try to convince her she was still his.  Luckily, Finn was smart enough to refrain from saying anything as he pulled back and caressed Eden’s cheek. 

“Eden, you remember Finn?” Jenny prodded gently.

Swiping at her leaky eyes and sniffling, Eden chuffed a watery laugh.  “Yes.  Obviously.  He’s my…my…  He’s just mine.”

Well, that felt like a kick to the balls.
  Monroe uncrossed his arms.  “He can stay another twenty minutes.”  He looked at Jenny, then pointedly at Finn.  “We don’t want to overexert Eden.”

“But…”

He didn’t look at Eden.  He couldn’t.  If he saw the need in her eyes for another male’s comfort, a need that was mirrored in her voice, then he was going to explode.  “Twenty minutes,” he ground out. “Jenny, you stay as well.” Turning on a heel he exited the room, stopping in the hall to suck in a deep breath.  His lungs felt starved.  It had been nearly impossible to breathe in Eden’s room, watching her body crushed up against Finn’s as she sought his warmth and protection.  Reliving the moment made Monroe’s mouth go dry and his gut clench.  He hadn’t thrown up since he was a boy, but as he doubled over and dry-heaved, he felt rage course through him.  By the
Gods
he wanted to kill someone!  He wanted to smash something, and keep right on smashing until it felt as bad, as hollow, as he did in this moment.

“Monroe?”  Jenny’s tone was laced with concern, but she knew better than to approach.  “Are you alright?”

He used a palm to swipe at his sweaty forehead, then stood to his full height before turning to face Jenny, his eyes flashing angrily to the door then back to her.  “I don’t want him alone with her!”

Jenny pointed over her shoulder, muttering quietly, “I can hear everything they’re saying.”

Monroe took a threatening step closer, repeating, “I
Don’t. Want.
Him. Alone. With
Her!
”

Drawing in deep breath through her nose, and with a disapproving frown, Jenny laced her fingers and bit out a clipped, “Fine.  But she wants more than twenty minutes.”

“Too fucking bad,” he snarled.

“You’re being unreasonable,” Jenny accused.

“Another man is in there, holding
my
Angel.  In case you missed it, his fucking head is still attached.  I’d say I’m being highly generous.”  He punched a finger toward the room.  “Twenty minutes, Jenny.  No more.  And they aren’t to be left unsupervised again.”  He didn’t wait for Jenny to respond as he turned and strode angrily down the hall, ripping the blue scrub shirt from his body and throwing it against the wall.

Bodi, who’d been waiting at the end of the corridor, shoved off the wall to follow Monroe, but was halted when the Dominant raised his hand. 

“Stay here and make sure Finn isn’t left alone with Eden. Twenty minutes.
Twenty minutes,
then I want him gone. You’re
her
guard now.”  Then Monroe was gone, leaving Jenny to scowl at Bodi as he stalked toward Eden’s room.

***

And that’s how it went.  For days, Monroe was forced to stalk down the infirmary corridor as it filled with the sound of his Angel’s giggling delight. Delight induced by that fucking Finn.  The very Finn who seemed to grow more and more confident each day, like he actually had a snowball’s chance in hell of winning Eden back.  It was sickening.  What kind of piece of shit would take advantage of a woman’s head injury to try and insinuate himself back into her life? 

Dressed in his scrubs, Monroe jerked his head in a nod to Bodi who stood outside Eden’s open door.  As Monroe entered the room, he slammed to a halt.

Eden was sitting in her bed, looking bright-eyed, cheeks flushed.  Finn sat on the edge of her bed, a leg hiked up as he faced her, one hand caressing her chin as he leaned into her like he was going in for a kiss.

Monroe couldn’t hold back. “Get your hands off her!”

Eden startled hard as Finn dropped his hand and quickly spun.  Standing, his eyes narrowed on Monroe in challenge as he asked,  “Doctor, is there a problem?”

Fuck yes there was a problem!  “I thought I asked you to keep your distance,” his words came out smooth and dark, holding the promise of pain.

Eden swallowed hard as she looked from Monroe to Finn.  “Is…is everything okay, doctor?”

When he looked at her, he let his eyes soften.  “Yes, but we can’t have civilians touching you.”  His eyes snapped back to Finn. “Gods only know what kind of germs they carry.”

Finn snorted a derisive laugh.  “Seriously?”

Monroe lowered his chin, leveling his eyes on Finn.  “Do I look serious to you?”

The two men stood scowling at each other until Eden cleared her throat.  “Umm, he didn’t mean anything by it. Did you Finn?”

“BODI!” Monroe barked, and the Sentry stepped into the room, an excited grin lifting his lips like he knew he was about to get to do something fun.

“Take Finn,” Monroe began.  “See if Stoney will draw his
blood
.  We’ll test him for any ailments.  See if we can’t
eliminate
some of the measures
preventing
him from his
end
game.”

Finn cocked his head, suddenly looking worried.  “I assure you, I’m healthy.”

Monroe lifted his chin in challenge.  “Best not to risk Eden’s health on the matter.  Right?”

Finn looked from Monroe to Eden, who suddenly looked worried as well.

“It’s okay,” she shrugged.  “I don’t mind if he…”

“I mind!” Monroe cut in, his eyes flashing to her again.  He was unable to stop himself from pacing to her, ghosting a finger across her cheek.  She pulled back, looking to Finn.

“Maybe
you
shouldn’t touch her either,” Finn challenged, earning a hard laugh from Monroe that managed to sound condescending in its brevity.

Monroe pinned Finn with hard eyes.  “I touch her every day.  She’s in no danger from me.”

“Well she’s in no danger from me!” Finn countered, planting his hands on his hips.

“Oh, there
is
danger.  Believe that.”

Monroe and Finn were nose-to-nose, and Monroe picked up on the sound of Eden hitting the nurse call button. 

Seconds later, Jenny entered with an exaggerated sigh.  “Gentlemen!  Both of you, out.  Now!”

Finn pulled back, but Monroe didn’t move.  “I’m not leaving if he’s not leaving,” Finn practically pouted.

“Yes,” Monroe grinned.  “You are.”  He nodded and Bodi was there, gripping Finn’s arm and leading him from the room.

“Finn?” Eden’s voice sounded distressed, and Jenny shot a scathing look at Monroe.

Monroe simply gazed at Eden for long moments, not moving, not saying a word.  Even when she blushed under his scrutiny, even when she squirmed and broke eye contact to look down at her lap, he continued to stare.  He couldn’t help it.  He missed her, a soul deep ache that yawned wider for the very fact that she was in his presence.  Sitting in front of him, enticing him, teasing him with her existence. Eden was torturing his soul.

“Hey,” Jenny cautioned quietly, and he growled and spun, leaving the room to take care of the Finn problem.  It had been a mistake bringing him here.  For Eden he wouldn’t bleed the fucker, but his hands on her, the attempted kiss, had been the last straw.   

Chapter 9

There he was again.  Eden eyed the doctor, Monroe StoneCrow, as he entered the makeshift cafeteria set up in the library.  Watching him, her mind traveled back to the last day she’d seen Finn, before he’d called to tell her he’d been sent out of state on an emergency.  Apparently, he was fighting forest fires now, and had to go help with a crew out of state.  Funny though, that he’d left that day without even saying goodbye.  It was the same day Finn and Monroe had argued over her like two dogs over a delicious bone.  She hadn’t slept that night, reliving the way Monroe had stroked her cheek so tenderly.  It had been an oddly intimate gesture, and had seemed out of character for a man she’d only ever seen be hard as steel.  Even now, his jaw was bunched as if in anger, his hard muscles tense.  She could’ve sworn his body had gone more rigid the moment she’d entered the room. 

Since she had woken from her injury, Monroe seemed to be everywhere she looked. Part of her wondered if he was stalking her, which was only heightened by the way he’d touched her.  She didn’t have the heart to bring it up to Jenny.  While Monroe was always in her periphery, he never seemed out of place.  No, every time she’d seen him, he was engaged in a conversation or working on some task.  Still, it felt odd that he was always around, mostly because everyone else seemed to avoid her like she had the plague.  Both oddities were beginning to worry her.  Even now, strolling through to get dinner, she was met with false smiles before people scurried away from her.  Even the gals behind the tables lined with various foods kept casting her sympathetic glances she only just caught before they turned their heads away.

Monroe was different though.  Every time she looked at him, no matter where they were, he was watching her, and he never jerked his gaze away whenever her eyes collided with his.  No, he held strong.  He
was
strong, that much she could tell.  Yet, something about him didn’t ring true.  She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as she filled her tray. 

She was dressed in a hospital gown and robe with white slippers on her feet.  The hospital staff had been escorting her to the makeshift cafeteria to get her up and moving.  When she’d asked why food was being served in the library, she’d been told that the Estate’s cafeteria was undergoing a remodel.  The Estate seemed huge, but she hadn’t gotten a tour because of all the remodeling.  She was just grateful because Jenny had told her how lucky she was to have been near the Estate when her car had hit a deer and she’d been injured.  They had a state of the art medical facility and aside from Dr. StoneCrow’s odd antics, Dr. Jenny and the rest of the medical staff were actually really great.

Today though, she was most grateful to be able to get out of the infirmary for a while.  It was a nice change of pace, but had her feeling out of place and wishing for real clothes. 

His clothes!
  Her hand stilled halfway to a walnut brownie in the dessert section, and she turned to look straight at Dr. StoneCrow as it finally registered.  It was the clothes.  They didn’t suit him.

Monroe cut his gaze to her, his eyes dipping to narrow on the brownie as she hurried to drop it on her tray and turn to find a table.

Finding an empty spot far away from everyone else, Eden set down her tray and took a seat, still thinking about Monroe’s clothing.  It was his air of authority, she decided.  The scrubs he wore didn’t seem formal enough for a man that exuded power the way he did. 

Well, what would suit him?
  Her brows furrowed as she went straight for dessert first and lifted the brownie from her tray. 
A suit!
 
That’s it!
  Lips parted, she was about to take a bite when a strong hand clamped over hers.  Eden jerked back to stare up in shock at Monroe.

He looked angry, his frown focused on the brownie she hadn’t even gotten to taste.

“Uhh, problem, doctor?”

A muscle in his jaw twitched, and he took the brownie out of her hand.  “You’re allergic to nuts, Eden.”

Walkers were immune to illness and disease, and when they claimed their mate that mate became immune as well, but over the course of their time together Monroe was unwilling to chance Eden’s severe nut allergy by testing it, regardless of what Jenny or Eden thought.

“Oh!” she looked down at the square of nut filled chocolate he’d taken and set on his own tray.  “I-I didn’t know.”

He grabbed a napkin off his tray and lifted her hand, wiping each finger carefully before inspecting her hand.  Satisfied, he gently placed it in her lap, then jerked his chin down in a nod and turned to leave. Her hand on his arm stopped him.

She frowned seriously up at him.  “How…how do you know?”  

He looked uncomfortable, uncharacteristically not making eye contact.  Silence hung between them for several beats before he answered.  “I’m a doctor.”

“You’re not
my
doctor,” she quickly countered.

“I looked at your chart.”

“Why?”

“You’re here at the Estate.  It helps if all the doctors know as much about everyone on site as possible.”

“Oh.”  Well, that made sense.  She eyed her plate. “Anything else?  I’m allergic to, I mean?”

He eyed her plate.  “Not food.  You used to get seasonal allergies.  You also used to break out in hives if too much detergent was used in your laundry.”

She frowned at that.  “Used to?”

Monroe swallowed hard, his frown slipping.  “You…you’ve outgrown the seasonal allergies, and you’re careful about the detergent you use.”

“That seems like highly personal information.  Why would my medical records reflect that?”

“We thought the hives were a medical condition.”

“You mean me. 
I
thought it was a medical condition, and went to see Jenny.  Right?”

He nodded, but something about the stiffness of it, the way he avoided looking at her, made her blurt out, “Everyone treats me strangely.”

Monroe dipped his eyes to hers.

“I mean…” She fidgeted under his scrutiny, then glanced around the library.  “Everyone is polite, but they stay far away from me.  Sometimes, I feel like a ghost.”  She tilted her chin, looking up at him.  “I don’t think people see me.  You’re different though.  Every time you look at me, it feels like…  It feels like I’m not invisible.  Why is that?”

Monroe’s eyes tightened as if in anger, and for a moment she thought he was angry with her until he ground out as if pained, “You’re all I see.” 

He turned to walk away, but Eden shot up from her seat, yelling, “HEY!”

Everyone in the cafeteria looked in their direction before they suddenly realized they had something else to do that needed every bit of their attention.  A few of the people at tables closer to them even got up and moved.

Monroe turned to her with stormy eyes. 

“You…you…” Eden stammered.  “You can’t just say stuff like that and then leave.”  She canted her head.  “What does it mean?  Do you know me?”

Her tone was so imploring that Monroe nodded, his face filled with pain. “I knew you
before
.”

She knew the before he meant.  He was talking about before she was hurt.  “We were…
friends
?”

“More,” he challenged.  “You are all I see,” he repeated.  Then he was walking away, sliding his tray of food onto a table as he passed, and exiting the library.

Eden watched him go, feeling something warm and bright pulse in her chest.  It lasted only a second, but his words, spoken so reverently, made her believe him. It didn’t make sense.  Why would
she
be all that
he
saw?  She was more than curious, but besides that, she was lonely.  Captured in his gaze, it felt like she truly
was
all he saw, and she wanted that connection back.  She ached for it, feeling a longing that only came with missing something that you once knew intimately and held close to your heart.  She snorted a laugh. Leave it to her to go mooning over the first person to show her two seconds of attention.  Shaking her head at herself, she picked over her tray, ensuring there weren’t any more nuts in her food.