“We were attacked. Devin…” I turned to look at the remains of the monster that had tried to kill us. “Blake pushed me out of the way. He saved me.” My breath hiccupped out of me and I realized I was close to losing it for real.

“Holy shit.” Dad knelt next to us and helped Mom slide the towel under Blake’s head and shoulder. His eyes slid over Blake to Devin’s dead form. “We have to get rid of that before the paramedics arrive.”

“I’ll help you.” Jacen held his hand out to Dad. “Jacen Montgomery.”

“Ben.” Dad shook his hand and they got up and waded out into the water. They dragged the carcass farther out, making sure that no one would see it from the beach.

“I called his father,” Dad said. He knelt back down to next to Blake.

“Oh, God. Just give me back to the mutant shark,” Blake groaned.

“Blake?” I ran my hand over his chest, relieved to see it moving.

“Really bad dream.” He peeked through one eye and grimaced. “Mutant shark, naked blond dude, and you called my dad. Bad stuff.”

“Are you okay?” I hiccup-laughed.

“Fine. Tough.”

“You scared the shit out of me,” I said. I leaned my forehead down to his. “I thought you were dead.”

“Nah.” He smiled weakly.

The sound of the ambulance nearing the sanctuary drew my attention up the beach. I was so relieved to know that help was here, I almost couldn’t sit still.

“I’ll get them.” Mom ran down the path. She came back quickly, a couple of paramedics following and carrying a backboard.

“They’re here, Blake.” I brushed the hair out of his eyes. “I’m going with you, okay?”

The paramedics were thorough, asking about the wounds, what type of shark it was. Once they had Blake loaded up on the stretcher, I followed behind, not even caring about finding my shoes. Mireille ran after me and handed me my clothes and flip-flops from the beach before they closed the ambulance doors.

The paramedic in the back fussed over Blake while I slid my clothes on over my bathing suit. They explained everything that they were doing and didn’t mind when I squeezed in so I could hold Blake’s hand. He was looking much better and even seemed amused by my worry. I wasn’t sure if that was from the drugs or because he was healing like Mireille said.

“Please tell me that they didn’t really call my dad.” He looked at me over the breathing mask they had strapped around his head.

“Of course they called your father.” I shook my head.

When we arrived at the hospital, they stopped me at the desk and told me that I wasn’t allowed to go back. Blake tried to insist that I go with him, but it didn’t do any good. I was sent to the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting room. My parents showed up not long after the ambulance arrived and sat down with me. Jacen and Mireille were with them, wearing borrowed clothes. I wanted to ask them questions, but there were too many people around.

Mireille scooted near me. “If you are near him, he will heal faster. The more time you spend together, the stronger your mating bond will be.”

“I tried. They won’t let me back there.” I shook my head. Mom was watching us worriedly and I wondered how much she understood.

A black town car parked outside the ambulance doors and a boy that looked like a younger version of Blake hopped out. He ran straight to the desk and was waved through the back doors. There was no mistaking that it was Vince. I watched as he ran through the ER and was glad that he had shown up so quickly.

It wasn’t long before Vince came back out the doors and talked to the lady at the desk. After a minute he walked over to me and smiled.

“You must be Meena.” He held his hand out and I shook it.

“How is he?”

“Asking for you.” He was obviously amused. “C’mon. If I don’t get you back there soon, he’s likely to come out here looking for you.” He tucked my hand into the crook of his arm and led me through the doors.

The smell of antiseptics and medicines burned my nose, but I could only think of seeing Blake. When Vince opened the curtains to a small cubicle, I almost tripped on my feet to get to Blake.

“Are you okay?” His upper left arm was bandaged and there was an IV in his right arm. I brushed the hair away from his forehead and placed a small, soft kiss above his eyes.

“I’m fine. It’s… not as bad as we thought.” He hesitated for a minute, his eyes darting to his brother before coming back to me. “Only stitches. No broken bones.”

“Twenty-two stitches, to be exact.” Vince stuck his hands in the pockets of his slacks. “You haven’t even left the island yet and you’re already in trouble. I always thought it would a climbing accident, or parachuting. But a shark?” He shook his head sadly, a small smile playing over his lips. “What were you doing out swimming that early anyway? Or do I want to know?” He shot a quick grin at me and I felt myself blush.

“Some things are not for a little brother’s information.” Blake leaned back into his pillow and smiled.

“You really were just swimming, huh?” Vince laughed and I shook my head. Siblings would always confuse me. It was like they spoke a secret language or code. “I guess sharks feed at dawn and dusk, right?”

“Yeah. I guess that makes sense.” Blake frowned, shifting on the bed. A doctor stepped in and looked over the chart. He asked a few questions, made some marks on the clipboard.

“You’re a lucky man, Mr. Weathering.” He set the clipboard back on the end of the bed and left.

“Well, I’m going to go out and give Liv a call. She’s been freaking out.” Vince leaned down and hugged Blake. “I’m glad you’re okay, man.”

“Me too.” Blake patted his back.

Vince smiled at me on the way out and I felt my fake smile melt off my face. I searched Blake’s eyes, wishing I could make everything better.

“I’m fine, Meena.” He reached up and touched my cheek. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“You saved me.” My chuckle was a bit on the watery side, so I cleared my throat. “Again.”

“That’s two, sweetheart.” His smile grew a little. “I’m racking up points here.”

“Yeah, you are.”

“So, have the others said anything?” He looked over my shoulder. “About the bond?”

“Just that it’s better for you if I’m around.” I shook my head. “Can’t really talk here.”

“That’s okay.” He smiled. “We’ll have time.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” I wanted to crawl into the bed and snuggle up to his side, but I had a feeling that his doctors wouldn’t appreciate that, so I pulled the chair next to his bed instead.

Someone opened the curtain and stepped in. He was wearing a suit and tie and carrying a cell phone in his hand, like he’d just hung up. Cold eyes ran over me and then over Blake.

“I’d like some ice water, please. And let the nurse know that we need a private room.” The cold words were directed at me and I frowned, confused. I looked from Blake to the man standing just inside the curtain. Who was this person and why did he think he could order me around?

“Dad, this is Meena. Meena, meet the real royal assness, my father.” Blake stared daggers at his dad.

Chapter Twenty

- Blake -

“Watch your language.” He didn’t raise his voice, but I could see Meena flinch out of the corner of my eye. My father was a master at finding just the right tone. He eyed Meena, making me grind my teeth. I could literally see the gears turning in his head.

“Why are you here?” I reached out and grabbed Meena’s hand.

“I received a phone call during a board meeting, telling me that my son had been attacked by a shark.” He checked something on his phone before sticking it in his pocket. “This was the appropriate thing to do.”

I saw Meena’s eyes narrow. We really hadn’t talked about my family that much and she was about to get an ugly crash course.

“As you can see, I’m fine.” I motioned to my shoulder. “I’ll be out in no time.”

“Hm.” There was only one chair in the tiny space, so he was stuck standing at the foot of my bed. “I expect you to be transferred to a private room. You can’t be out here with everyone else.”

“Why? It looks bad?”

He didn’t answer, just stared at me. I sighed, tired, not wanting to deal with him and the back-and-forth bullshit. His eyes went back to Meena and he frowned. It was obvious that he expected her to leave, but she hadn’t budged. I could feel her protective streak roiling under the surface and I knew that meant there was no way she would leave now.

“Is this why you turned Kimberly down?” His tone was casual, but I knew what he was doing.

“Kimberly?” Meena cut her eyes to me and I saw the doubt swirling in her eyes. Damn it.

“The heiress, Kimberly Jordan. She asked Blake to show her around the island.” He looked Meena up and down. The contempt was all for show, because Meena was a hundred times more gorgeous than Kimberly. “Are you one of the convicts serving with my son?”

“Dad.” I tried to sit up, but my shoulder was still unusable.

“No. My father owns the place where your son is serving his community service.” She shook the hair out of her face and I almost smiled when I saw the fire dancing in her eyes. “And yes. I’m the reason he turned down what’s her name.”

“I see. One last fling, then? I do hope you’ve been getting yourself tested, Blake.” His expression was bored, but I could see that he was working to keep things where he wanted.

“Really? This is how you behave?” Meena stood up and took a step toward Dad. “Your son is in a hospital bed and you haven’t asked him how he is once. You don’t belong here. You should just leave.”

“Only family is allowed to be in here.” He looked down his nose. “You are not welcome.”

“Meena is my family.” I narrowed my eyes at Dad. “And she’s right. It’s time for you to go.”

He shook his wrist and looked down at his watch. “I have another meeting tonight and there is a dinner tomorrow night. If you’re out of the hospital, I expect you to be there.”

“No.” I leaned back into my pillow.

“If you live under my roof, then you will abide by my rules.”

“I’m moving out.” I shifted on my pillow and couldn’t help my smile.

“Where do you think you’re going, Blake? You owe this family dedication.” He narrowed his eyes at me.

“No, I don’t. I didn’t ask you to pay off the judge. You did that on your own.” I glared at him. “One of the guys that got sent to Flukes attacked Meena.”

“She seems to be fine.” He looked at her and frowned. It was one of the few times I’d seen him actually rethinking his decision. “Besides, you wouldn’t have met her had I not done what I did.”

“The only way I can win with you is to forget you exist. Like everyone else in our family has to.” I shifted in the bed again. “I was going to leave as soon as I finished the community service anyway, but I’ll just go ahead and move my stuff out.”

“And what? Get a job?” He laughed. “I can imagine you digging ditches. You’d do it just to embarrass me.”

“Blake has a job at Flukes.” Meena glared at my father. “He will always be welcome there.”

“He’s going to need one.” Dad buttoned his suit jacket. “I will cancel all your credit cards.” He looked at me with disdain. “And you can kiss the trust fund goodbye.”

“I don’t care, Dad.” I shrugged and winced when the stitches pulled. Fucking mutant shark. “I’ll give it all up if it means that I don’t have to be like you. Every damn cent.”

“We’ll see about that.” His eyes narrowed on mine and I could see him thinking through things, trying to remember if he had signed any documents concerning my money.

I shrugged. I wasn’t worried. In fact, for the first time in a long time, I felt relieved. He left without saying anything else. It was a nice break. I took a deep breath and looked at Meena. She glared at the shifting curtains and I could tell that she was feeling violent. I squeezed her fingers and she looked back at me.

“Sorry about that. It was going to happen eventually, and it might as well have happened now.” I hesitated for a minute. “Will you do me a favor? Would you go get Vince for me? I need to talk to him.”

“Of course.” She leaned down and brushed a kiss over my lips. God, I’d never get tired of how she tasted. She left my little cubicle and I closed my eyes. I’d come so close to losing her today, I was sure I’d have nightmares for life.

“What the hell did you say to Dad?” Vince walked through the curtain, frowning. “He made some nurse cry.” Meena wasn’t with him, but that might be for the best right now.

“Yeah.” I ran a hand through my hair and frowned. “I’m moving out.”

“We already knew you were planning on leaving.”

“No, I’m not leaving. I’m just getting my own place.” I took a deep breath. “But I think you should consider moving in with Mom.”

“I’ve already talked to her.”

“What?”

“I called her when Dad told me that you were in the hospital.” He shrugged. “She’s already booked a flight here.” He shifted from foot to foot. “You know I would’ve been here sooner, right? Dad didn’t call me until after his meeting.”

“I’m fine, dude.” I frowned. “I’m sorry I won’t be around to keep Dad off your back. I think you were doing it for me more than the other way around, though.”

“We’ve watched out for each other.” Vince sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled at my bandage. He grimaced at the blood and let go. “So, you’re staying, huh?”

“Yeah.” I was still going to find a way to travel with Meena, but it would be cool to make the island our home base. I would make sure she got to see all the places she wanted to.

“And this is because of Meena? Kind of a big deal for someone you haven’t known for very long.” Vince cocked his head to the side.