“Remember what?”
His fingers brushed her cheek and slid down her neck. “You were in a fight.”
“I was?” She didn’t remember a fight. She remembered waiting for the cab. The cab to take her to the train and the train that would take her to Yager.
“I’m at your house, right?”
“It’s a long story, baby. Don’t worry about it for now. I just need you to rest.”
She really hated when he got evasive on her. But she wasn’t in the mood to fight it. At least, not at the moment. “I’ve gotta pee.”
“Okay.” Quick as a cat, Yager jumped out of bed and came around to her side.
“Let’s get you up, baby.”
“I can do it on my own.”
“Don’t start with me, Neecy Lawrence.”
Before she could start anything, Yager pulled back the sheet covering her naked body and slowly turned her, lifting her up into his arms. She sucked her breath between her teeth as the pain in her back tripled.
Yager immediately stopped. “Are you okay?”
Gritting her teeth against the pain, “I’m fine. Really.” Not really, but her need to pee overrode any pain she may have.
Of course he didn’t remotely believe her, but he was nice enough not to push it.
With her tucked into his big arms, Yager moved easily to the enormous bathroom. Carefully he lowered her onto the toilet. Then he stood back and stared at her.
“Well…go on.”
Her mouth dropped open in shock, but she quickly recovered. “Have you lost your mind? Get out.”
“Come on, Neecy. Aren’t we past this?”
The last of her control snapped. “Out!”
Chuckling, “Okay. Okay. I’m going.” He stepped to the doorway. “And, you know, you can do whatever you need to in here. You don’t have to keep it to peeing.”
“Yager!”
He laughed a little louder and walked out, closing the door behind him.
Arri tapped Didi lightly on the shoulder and she snapped awake, those dark brown eyes swinging her way.
“I…brought you coffee?”
The hard look on the older woman’s face faded. “Thanks, hon.”
Somehow Arri had gone from “That Girl” to “hon” in pretty much a nanosecond.
She didn’t question it too much, but she could read it was a true change. She could see it in her colors.
Didi took the coffee from her as Arri looked around Yager’s living room. The Gathering had taken over the poor man’s house. Completely and utterly. Add in that most of the New Jersey Ravens also showed up and you had a room full of winged people waiting around. Everyone spoke quietly. Any loud noise causing quite the stir.
The only ones not there were the teens or Elders with families to care for. A separate group of Elders from both sides took the teens to go stay with the Philly Crows until things settled down, and it was safe for them to return. The rest of them stayed up the remainder of the night, playing cards, watching bad, late night TV, or just staring. Lots of staring.
Around dawn, they’d all fallen asleep except for those who were on watch.
Apparently, it’d become the role of the Ravens as well as the Crows to protect Neecy. They all felt responsible for her.
Tye walked into the living room from the backyard. He was on his phone, using it as a walkie-‐talkie. “Okay. Okay. Got it.”
Didi sipped her coffee, then looked up at Tye. “What?”
He smiled. “She’s awake. She’s already yelled at him twice.”
As one, the Crows all jumped to their feet. Laughing and cheering, they hugged each other. Arri closed her eyes, the sudden burst of light nearly blinding her.
But her sense of relief was so intense, she could barely breathe.
She didn’t want to think about life among the Gathering without her friend.
Neecy had become her family; she wasn’t ready to lose that.
She’d never be ready to lose that.
Yager hovered outside the door. As soon as Morgan came up to check on Neecy, she’d tossed him out. Which he didn’t appreciate one damn bit. He didn’t like the idea of being too far from her. At least not until he knew Neecy could protect herself. Except for still having a vicious tongue, his woman looked small and weak…well, as small and weak as a six-‐foot, one-‐inch woman could look.
Even bruised, battered, bloody, and cranky, Neecy Lawrence was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever known. And he felt like a total shit, because he didn’t just want her to get well for her own sake…he wanted her to get well so that he could have her in his arms again. So he could feel her underneath him, moaning his name as she came. It was one of the few ways Neecy let Yager show her how much he cared.
But that was about to change. He was going to take care of her while she recovered whether she wanted him to or not. He didn’t want to hear any shit from her about it either.
“Ow!”
Yager heard Neecy’s barked exclamation of pain and he refused to let her or Morgan shut him out any longer. He threw open his bedroom door and both women looked up at him. Morgan had Neecy’s hand and seemed to be checking it. Yager worked hard not to think too hard about the fact that Neecy looked damn adorable in his sleeveless Knick’s basketball T-‐shirt. Although she looked even better naked.
“What’s wrong?”
Neecy rolled her eyes. “Oh, this is going to get really old.”
“I heard you cry out in pain.”
“I must have bent my finger back during the fight is all. Morgan was just checking it to see how bad it is.” The vision of Neecy fighting some unknown enemy all alone made his blood run cold every time. Whereas she acted like it was really no big deal. “So feel free to leave now.”
“Forget it, Lawrence. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Will Yager!” Morgan dropped Neecy’s hand. “I know I raised you better than that!”
“No, you didn’t.”
Smirking, Morgan turned back to Neecy. “You might as well forget it, honey. I know that determined look in those steely grey eyes.”
“Yeah. Me, too,” Neecy muttered as she eased herself back against the bed’s headboard.
Morgan grabbed her coat from off the foot of the bed. “Your finger’s not broken.
Maybe a little sprain, but I don’t even think it’s that bad. Just rest it and try not to mess with it. Try ice if it really starts to hurt.”
She tugged on her coat. “Now I know I don’t have to tell you not to push yourself, right? As a Crow, you’re healing faster than anyone on the planet, but I still want you staying quiet for the next couple of days.”
“Yeah, but…”
“No ‘buts,’ Neecy Lawrence! I don’t want to hear it. Didi and the rest of the Crows can handle anything that may come up. You don’t need to fight every battle.”
“So I’m just supposed to sit here? Doing nothing?”
“Wow. You do understand me.” Morgan headed toward the door. “But I’m sure this man right here,” she patted Yager’s shoulder as she walked past, “will be more than happy to keep you occupied for a little while. Right, Will?”
Morgan walked out, the door slamming behind her.
Yager looked up to find Neecy staring at him with narrowed eyes.
“I didn’t tell her to say that, ya know. So just get that look off your face.”
“Is there anyone here that doesn’t know we’re fucking?”
“Is that really all we’re doing, Lawrence? Just fucking?”
She tried to fold her arms across her chest, but quickly remembered the left arm tied tight against her body, her fingers close to her throat. She growled in frustration.
“This is going to make me nuts!”
He’d never seen Neecy so openly agitated before. He had to admit—he kind of enjoyed it.