Fugitive Fascination

Chapter Nine

Cierra wasn't accustomed to too many kinds of pain. Although in her many years as a representative of the law, there had been only a handful of times where she had been shot at, or even taken a bullet. She'd never been in a car accident, and the pain that was hand inflicted was never enough to keep her down for more than an afternoon.

This wasn't that.

Absolute agony radiated from the tips of her toes to to her scalp. There was always the thought that when one sank into a coma, they were just that; a comatose pile of meat left without senses or feelings.

The moment that Cierra had regained awareness, she felt it.

Her arm was undoubtedly broken, a noodle wrapped in a thick cast somewhere at her side. Although they had no doubt been taken out, she could feel at least four different holes in her body that didn't belong there, shaped by bullets.

She could hear the steady beep beep beep of the heart monitor somewhere, could feel air being forced in and out of her lungs. That was all she knew, and that was all she had known since she had been poured back into her body like pancake mix.

Her eyes felt as if they were stuck together by Gorilla Glue; they wouldn't open no matter how much effort she put into the actions. She couldn't even twitch her fingers or her toes.

She missed Hunter.

That was really her only thought.

She wondered where she was, and if she was okay almost every moment, every hour of the day. Without her, she felt like there was an actual extension of her was missing. When she had gotten so attached, she didn't know, but her heart ached at the fact that she couldn't feel Hunter's hand in hers. A small portion of the time, she dedicated her thoughts to Reece; was he fighting to get her back? Her parents didn't seem to be involved, or want to be as far as she could tell.

She knew her own parents probably didn't even know where she was, let alone that she was injured. After cutting ties with them and her sister over a decade ago, she doubted they even cared.

She wasn't sure when the veil finally lifted. It was during one of those moments that she liked to imagine as sleep, where the pain had slackened for a sweet moment as she was floating in her own body, her brain producing colorful images of her love and a couple of small children running around. Without her permission, of course.

Then suddenly, she was pulled back and a startled gasp was sucked in through her lungs of her own accord. Her fingers flexed, and her eyes blinked open, only to squeeze shut again when light invaded the sensitive pupils.

Her eyes stung for a moment before she tried again, opening them in slits.

A hospital.

She was in the hospital.

And she wasn't alone.

Her gaze was immediately drawn to the little boy perched in one of the waiting seats, his small form curled into a ball. Her brows slowly drew together; did she lose a bit of her memory too?

Who's little boy was that, and why was he in her room?

With some difficulty, she tried to rotate her neck to get a better look, but when a sharp pang stabbed into her brain stem down her spine, she immediately halted any movement.

She didn't want to wait forever for a doctor to come, but she couldn't speak due to the gas mask covering her face.

She knew if her heart rate suddenly spiked, they'd come to check on her, but how was she to do that?

She didn't have to think on it too hard; Reece himself strode in. His clothes were ruffled, and he wore a simple blue shirt and grey sweatpants. Under his arm was an unfamiliar blond woman, who wore a tired, joking smile as she playfully jabbed his side. They didn't seem to notice her awareness at first; the woman plopped down next to the boy, ruffling his head full of brown hair affectionately.

The sound of a generic ringtone filled the room as Reece's phone vibrated in his pocket, an immediate look of annoyance crossing his face.

"Just don't answer it," The woman offered, and he shook his head.

"Believe I wouldn't if it wasn't for Hunter. I'll be right back, babe."

As he exited the room, Cierra's eyes nearly popped out of her head as any thoughts of Hunter momentarily subsided, giving way to questions.

Did Reece have a girlfriend?

She watched the woman run her fingers through the small boy's hair, who obviously shared some of her soft features. She searched his face as best she could from her distanced place on the bed. He didn't seem to have any of Reece's features, so that made her feel a little better. She couldn't have been asleep that long; that boy had to have at least been eight or nine years old.

Only when she returned her gaze to the woman's face did she realize that the woman was staring at her too.

"Was she worth it?" She questioned boldly after a moment, her blue eyes puzzled. "Was a woman who literally kidnapped you to get your attention, really worth it?" She made a gesture with her hand. "Worth all this pain? Losing your job? Everything?"

Cierra gave her a flat look, to which she responded with an equally sarcastic expression.

"I know you can't talk; I'll be waiting for a response when they take that thing off your face. And before you ask, yes, Reece told me everything about your situation. He pretty much couldn't keep it a secret after awhile, so get over it. Oh, and I'm Drea."

Cierra felt the urge to curse at the woman, but settled back against her pillows.

No point in getting upset just yet.

They sat in silence for at least a half hour before Reece returned, a frustrated look upon his cherubic face.

"Jesus f**k me, with how much I'm paying these guys you'd have thought this would all be over by now," He cursed, receiving an immediate slap in the back of his head from Drea.

"Sorry."

Ignoring the apology, she simply pointed at Cierra.

"What about he- Oh s**t! You're awake!"

If she wasn't already irritated, Cierra would have laughed at his response.

Eyes wide, he performed an impression of a confused hamster as he glanced from Cierra to Drea before darting out of the room.

Tucking her legs underneath her, Drea shook her head. "He's such an idiot."

Reece was beside himself as he dug his phone out of his pockets for the fifth time within two hours. The caller ID revealed it was one of his sister's lawyers, the only reason why he ignored Drea's exasperated features as he once more pulled away from her, sliding his finger across the screen.

"You'd better have some good news, or I swear I'll personally see to it that you and your team of crack jobs lose any case you ever take on again."

The person on the other end audibly gulped, scrambling for words.

"Judge Williamson agreed to take on the case again, although she refuses to have any face to face meetings with you or your parents just in case the whole thing blows up. As I told you before, it was disclosed where she's being held, but the problem would come in the form of producing her for the case. As it so happens, she's been held in-"

"I don't care. You'd better get it done," He snapped as a rather tall man in a white coat made his way towards him, a clipboard under his arm.

Hanging up the phone, Reece tilted his head up slightly to meet the man's dull brown eyes.

"Dr. Dobbsin," He introduced, sticking out his hand.

Reece ignored it. "Where's my other guy, Sheehan? I don't want a bunch of random ass doctors fawning over my sister-in-law."

Dr. Dobbsin's face twitched, but he showed no obvious signs of the annoyance he felt inside. "My colleague is out for the day, having not expected Miss," He glanced at the board, "Speares to wake up at this particular date. I've been instructed to fill in for him, but I assure you of my credentials-"

"I don't give a s**t," Reece interrupted bluntly. "Just tell me when I can take her home."

The man breathed out slowly through his nose, his face turning slightly pink. "Her arm as well as the other bullet wounds are well on the way to recovery. Her surgeon repaired the shattered bone quite well, but you'll want prohibit too much movement for the next two months in case of disruption." He paused, assessing the impatient look on Reece's face.

"We'll keep her overnight to be sure that her condition is stable. We'll also give you detailed instructions on how to keep the wounds clean and healthy- don't want any infections occurring."

With that, he strode back into Cierra's room, leaving Reece in the hallway with Drea and Malikai.

Without a word, she stepped up to him and whacked his shoulder. He winced, scowling when Malikai giggled behind his mother's leg.

"That was rude of you. Use what little manners you have, Reece; that man is just here to help."

"I didn't like his face."