He could talk. He was the most obstinate person she’d ever met. And the most loyal. He was also one deadly motherfucker. People underestimated him because he wasn’t as tall as Caleb or as muscular as Aleki. But she knew Wolfe was the most dangerous of the three. And if he had your back, you would be safe.
“Why not?” Aleki asked.
“Because when I open my eyes, I’m gonna find out this is all just a dream. Just like all the other times.”
“So you dream of us, huh?” Aleki asked. “What kind of dreams, hmm?”
“Aleki!” Caleb snapped.
“What?”
“You can’t talk to her like that! She’s lying in a hospital bed, injured.”
“What? That means she can’t have sexy dreams?” Aleki asked.
“It means now isn’t the time to talk about sexy dreams,” Caleb countered.
“Ahh, so you think she’s had them as well.”
She had to smile. It was like old times. Wait. She stiffened. Did he say hospital?
It’s just a dream.
She opened her eyes and stared right into the faces of the men she spent every night dreaming about. Then her mouth dropped open.
“Fuck! You’re really all here!”
Caleb could tell she was about to scream and, without thinking, placed his hand over her mouth. Her huge, hazel-colored eyes widened. She gaped up at him and made a gasping noise.
“She’s not breathing properly,” Wolfe told him.
What?
Fuck!
He removed his hand from her mouth quickly. Horror and self-disgust filled him as he heard her struggling to breathe.
“Fuck. Shit. Fuck! Vivi, breathe!”
“It’s not your fault. I believe she’s having a panic attack.”
Caleb glared at Wolfe. How could that asshole be so calm right now? Christ, why had he put his hand over her mouth?
“Call the doctor!” he demanded.
Aleki placed his hand gently on her chest. “Vivi, listen to me. You’re safe. Breathe. In. One. Two. Three. Out. One. Two. Three. I’m here. You’re safe. Breathe.”
As Caleb watched, Vivi’s breathing slowed. The panic ebbed from her face. What the hell was going on with her? Her husband was dead. They’d found her in an alleyway, injured and in a bad way. She needed help. And there was no way he was leaving her until he was certain she was safe.
Maybe not even then.
As soon as he’d seen her in the alleyway, it had been like a punch to his gut. Part of it was seeing her like that. But most of it . . . was knowing she was his.
Mine.
Touching her had sent an electric wave through him. He’d felt a bit guilty for that response. Here she was injured and half-conscious and all he could think about was claiming her.
Mine.
Except what about Aleki and Wolfe? They were his brothers. They needed him too. And Caleb was the kind of guy who had to be needed.
But he couldn’t give her up. Not again. Once had nearly killed him and she hadn’t even been his.
Twice would eviscerate him.
Not happening. All he needed to do was ensure that Aleki and Wolfe wanted her too.
Easy, right?
There was something so fragile about her right now. She was far thinner. Her hair was matted and dull. Her cheeks sunken. Her skin pale.
Delicate. Afraid.
“Good girl. You’re breathing easier now. That’s it. You’re safe. I’m here.”
“We’re all here,” Caleb said. And to his surprise, she turned her gaze from Aleki to stare up at him.
“How did I get here? Where am I?” Her eyes went wide. She seemed to go even more pale than before. “Wait. I’m in a hospital. Oh no. I have to leave!”
She attempted to push off the blankets and sit up. Then she let out a pained moan, grabbing her injured arm with her good hand.
“Ow. Ow. Owie.” Tears dripped down her cheeks.
Caleb placed his arm behind her, helping her ease back down on the bed. “Easy, Vivi. You’re okay.”
“Do you think she ripped her stitches?” Aleki asked.
“No, I don’t think so. She didn’t move that much,” he replied.
“Well, that was stupid, wasn’t it?” Wolfe said to her.
Caleb shot him a look as she let out a small sob. “You’re not helping, asshole.”
Wolfe just shrugged. “She’s lying in a bed, injured. Stitches in her arm. IV in her hand. Foot bandaged and raised. Just saying, it wasn’t a smart idea to try and get out of bed.”
“S-stitches? IV? Foot?” Her gaze flickered between the three of them. “What’s going on? Where am I? Why are you all here?”
“Well, Caleb insisted on checking on you after we saw your husband had died. So we traveled halfway around the world, found you sitting in a puddle of piss, brought you here, got you patched up and now you can tell us what the fuck is going on. Who are you scared of?” Wolfe demanded.
Wolfe knew she was about to lie to him.
“I don’t know what happened.”
“Don’t lie. Who hurt you? Were you attacked? Robbed?” Wolfe smothered a surge of anger.
He never lost control of his temper and he didn’t intend to start now.
“W-what? No.”
“But something is going on. What is it?”
“Wolfe, ease up,” Caleb said in a low, commanding voice.
Before Wolfe could reply, a doctor opened the door and walked in. Wolfe stepped back, moving to his place next to the wall.
“This isn’t over,” he muttered.
Caleb shot him a concerned look. Aleki had remained silent, but his gaze had never left Genevieve.
She was getting to him. To all of them. And she’d only been back in their presence for twenty-four hours.
Fuck.
“Is everything okay?” the doctor asked, looking around at them all. He was younger than Wolfe would have liked, but he’d done a quick background check on him and he was fully qualified.
“Fine,” Caleb told him with a calm smile.
Yep, everything’s fine here. No problems at all.
The doctor gave them all a skeptical look then turned to Genevieve. “Glad to see you’re awake, Mrs. Pierce.”
Genevieve looked over at Caleb. Wolfe waited for her to protest the name change. Say something to give everything away. Whether the doctor actually knew who she was, he couldn’t be sure. He had a damn good poker face if he did.
“Someone was supposed to call for me when you woke,” the doctor said disapprovingly. Aleki looked a bit sheepish. Surprisingly, Caleb frowned at him. While Wolfe just stared.
The doctor’s gaze didn’t linger on him. He moved to Genevieve’s side, staring down at Aleki, who didn’t move.
“Excuse me, if I could examine my patient?” the doctor asked briskly.
Wolfe narrowed his gaze as he studied him, not liking his tone of voice. They were the ones paying him.
“Aleki,” Caleb said quietly.
Aleki sighed then stood and moved over next to Wolfe. When Wolfe glanced over at him, Aleki had his gaze down.
His thinking pose, he liked to call it.
No guesses needed for what was on his mind.
“Mrs. Pierce, I’m Doctor Ethan Elders.”
“Hello, Doctor.”