Chapter 16

“I’ll find out what you were given, and that’ll help the doctors,” Seth promises, and he hopes it’s a promise he can keep. He really hopes that whatever Dawn was given, that the effects are reversible.

He’s about to stand up when the door opens, and Holden walks in with a bag in his hands. He looks tired, worried, and worn out, but he still looks good. He’s dressed all in black, T-shirt and jeans, and his blue hair is scraped back into a ponytail. It makes him look young and kind of adorable.

“Seth, you came.” Holden sounds pleased. He walks into the room, puts the bag down, and leans over the bed to kiss Dawn on the forehead, which makes her smile.

“He’s a much better cop than those officers. Not an asshole,” Dawn says approvingly.

“If I’d have heard the call last night, I’d have come right away,” Seth says honestly.

“Thank you. You’re the best.” Holden smiles, and even tired-looking, he’s still ridiculously handsome.

“I’ll do what I can.” Seth wants to promise that he’ll fix everything, but he doesn’t know if he can. He really wants to.

“Is there any way I can help?” Holden asks.

“Did you see the guy who bumped into Dawn? Did you see anyone suspicious at the bar?” Seth asks.

“I didn’t even know a guy had bumped into her. Nothing weird happened at the bar, not that I noticed,” Holden says, sounding frustrated.

“Maybe going back to the club would jog your memory,” Dawn suggests.

“I don’t want to leave you,” Holden says instantly.

“We’ve had this talk. You’re not staying by my bedside twenty-four seven. I want you around, of course I do, but I had to force you to go home and shower this morning. And you slept in the chair beside my bed for maybe an hour. That’s not good for you. You’ll make yourself sick,” Dawn says firmly, and it’s clear she’s worried about her brother.

“You’d stay with me. And you hate being alone in hospitals,” Holden says softly.

“My body’s in overdrive. Shifter healing trying to fight the damage as it appears, stop the bleeding. It’s exhausting. I’m probably just going to sleep after Seth leaves. You should go with him. You can come back later,” Dawn suggests.

“Maybe you could look at the security tapes, if they have them. See if you recognize anyone who might have wanted to hurt Dawn. An ex-girlfriend or -boyfriend,” Seth says thoughtfully.

“Are you sure?” Holden asks Dawn.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll have a nurse call you if anything happens to me, if I get worse, which I won’t. The doctor said it himself. I’m stuck in a cycle. The mystery drug is causing hemorrhaging, and my body is healing it. It won’t kill me,” Dawn says firmly.

“If you even get lonely, you’ll call me?” Holden asks. Well, it’s more like a demand.

“I will. But pretty much everyone we know has already told you they’ll visit. I’ll have a ton of company. And even though you’re my favorite, I will cope,” Dawn says with a smile.

“I love you.” Holden hugs Dawn carefully and presses another tender kiss to her forehead. It reminds Seth of a parent with a child.

“Love you, too. Now go help Seth. You can be like his fake cop partner,” Dawn teases.

“I think I’d make an excellent cop.” Holden smirks.

“You’d be too busy playing with the handcuffs.” Dawn grins.

Seth has to look away from Holden because of the mental image that’s produced by his very creative mind at the mention of Holden playing with handcuffs. Seth doesn’t even think of himself as a kinky guy, but he likes the idea of cuffing Holden to his bed and having his way with him.

“I think you’re feeling better if you’re making sex jokes,” Seth points out.

“Never too sick for sex jokes.” Dawn shrugs with a wince.

“More like never too sick to tease me.” Holden rolls his eyes.

“Go do police work. Catch whatever asshole did this to me,” Dawn says firmly, and she looks tired. Seth doesn’t doubt she’ll be sleeping a lot.

“See you soon.” Holden kisses the tip of Dawn’s nose, making her giggle, and then he moves away from the bed.

Seth gets up off the bed and heads for the door, looking over his shoulder to make sure that Holden is following him, which he is. They leave Dawn’s room together and start heading away, when Seth has an idea.

“I want to talk to the nurses for a minute,” Seth says, heading for the nurse’s station. Holden follows.