Ice trickled down her spine. No wound marred her chest. Just pale skin and freckles.
Releasing her shirt, she stared at Nick in horror. “Have I been in a coma?” She must have been. There was no sign at all of the chest wound. There wasn’t even a scar!
“No.”
She shook her head, not understanding. “Why am I here?” Instead of in a hospital or a hospice or wherever coma victims were cared for. And if her other wounds had healed, why did she still wear a cast on her arm? She must have been out for months! “Where’s Becca?”
“She’s fine. She’s on her way. But I need to explain some things to you before she gets here.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I know. That’s why I’m asking you to trust me that everything is okay and to please bear with me while I try to muddle my way through this.”
His calm demeanor helped soothe her nerves. A little.
Though Kayla wanted to continue peppering him with questions, she drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly, and nodded. “I trust you.” But her heart continued to race.
He squeezed her hand. “Thank you.” Nick hesitated so long she nearly went back on her word and started blurting out questions. Then he seemed to brace himself and began to speak. “I heard your dentist call and knew you had missed your appointment.”
She frowned. “You were in my house?”
“No.” A crinkle formed on his brow and he suddenly seemed nervous. Nick was so strong and confident. She didn’t think she had ever seen him ill at ease. “I’ll explain that in a moment,” he said finally. “When I heard the message your dentist’s office left, I got worried. I’ve lived next door to you and known you long enough to understand that punctuality is important to you. I’ve even heard you tell Becca that being on time was part of being a responsible adult. So I turned on the local news to see if you’d run into traffic along the way. They were covering an accident on a street I knew you’d probably taken and—”
“You know where my dentist is?”
He paused. “Yes. I heard you mention her to Becca.”
“Oh.”
“They showed what was left of a silver car that had been totaled. I wasn’t sure it was yours until Becca called me in a panic. The hospital had phoned her to let her know you had been in an accident and said you were in critical condition.”
“Shit.”
“I admit I panicked, too. I was worried you wouldn’t survive, so I called a friend.”
“Is your friend a doctor or something?” she asked in confusion.
“Or something,” he responded, his expression turning grim.
Frustration rose. “I don’t know what that means.”
He drew in a deep breath, then let it out in what seemed a resigned sigh. “I’m different, Kayla. It’s why I’ve kept my distance all these years despite being incredibly attracted to you.”
Her heart gave a surprised leap. Nick was attracted to her? Incredibly attracted?
“I wasn’t sure how you’d react and…” He dragged his free hand through hair. “Hell, it’s complicated. But my friend is different, too. Even more different than I am.”
“Different how? What does this have to do with my accident?”
“My friend can…” Frustration darkened his features. “Shit, there’s just no way to tell you this without sounding like I’m completely off my nut, but my friend and I were both born with advanced DNA. Eliana was, too. And we’re different in other ways. Seth—”
“Seth is your friend?” she asked, trying to figure out what the hell he meant about the DNA and where he was going with this.
“Yes. Seth is my friend. And he’s far more powerful than I am. He can teleport and—once I told him what happened—he teleported us to the hospital before your surgery began.”
Oh crap. It did sound like he was off his nut. Damn it. He was such a nice guy, too.
“Seth can also heal with his hands,” he went on. “Your injuries were extensive. Head trauma. Vision loss in your left eye. That jagged fucking piece of metal sticking out of your chest. A broken arm. A broken leg. And I don’t know what else. There might have been some organ damage, too, I guess. But Seth healed it all—your leg, your arm, your chest, your eye. Everything.”
She glanced at her cast.
“That’s just for appearances. Your arm is completely healed beneath it. And he left some bruising and a few scratches on your face to hide the fact that you had miraculously recovered from all but the most trivial of your wounds.” He shook his head. “An overwhelming majority of the population doesn’t know we exist, Kayla, and we need to keep it that way. Fortunately, we have mortal friends at the hospital who altered your medical records and helped us smooth things over.”
Her attention snagged on one word. “Mortal friends?”
He winced and shifted again. “Yeah. I’m, uh… I’m sort of immortal.”
She stared at him.
“I know it’s a lot to take in. I’m not supposed to interfere or risk discovery because more often than not, people who find out about us either try to kill us or capture us and turn us into lab rats. But you scared the hell out of me, Kayla.” His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “I was terrified you’d die. I didn’t want to lose you. And I wanted to take away your pain and… honestly, I just couldn’t think beyond that.”
She could find no response.
“And now I’m terrified you won’t believe me.”
A full minute ticked past while she tried to decide what to address first. “When was my accident?”
“Earlier today.” Picking up a remote on the bedside table, he aimed it at the television on the far wall. He punched in a three-digit number and the channel changed to a news program. The date and time appeared in the lower right corner.
She released his hand and extended hers. “May I?”
“Of course.” He placed the remote on her palm.
Kayla aimed it at the television and switched to another twenty-four-hour news channel, then another. Same date. Same time.
She handed the remote back. Her mind whirled as she watched Nick return it to the bedside table. “Heal me how?”
“With his hands. Seth can heal wounds with a touch.”
Another minute passed. “So you’re saying this Seth just… laid hands on me and my wounds healed?”
“Yes.”
“Because he’s different.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re different, too.”
“Yes. But I’m not nearly as powerful as he is and can’t heal with my hands, otherwise I would’ve done it myself.”
She stared at him. “How different are you?”
Again he hesitated.
“Nick?”
“I’m stronger than mortal men.”
There was that term again—mortal.
She studied the muscles outlined by his shirt. “I imagine you’re quite strong. You obviously work out.”
He shook his head. “I’m a lot stronger.” Rising, he rubbed his palms on his pants as though nervousness made them sweat. “Don’t be afraid, okay?”