Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
When he was a few feet from Leila, Diego slowed to a walk. “Coming up on you,” he warned. She had her eyes closed, but she gripped a knife in her fist. “Friend of Luther’s,” he added.
Her lashes fluttered. She even had splatters of blood on her face. He didn’t wait for an invitation. She might think she was fast enough to gut him, but she wasn’t.
He dragged the dead bodies away from her and tumbled them into the ravine. It didn’t take long, but it was one more thing to take his energy when he needed it for healing.
“I’m a doctor, a healer. I’ll need to take a look at your wounds to see how best to help you.” He kept his voice low and soothing. He had a compelling voice and could influence others. He also could do the same with energy. He had used his gifts shamelessly to build the compulsion to protect his brother. He’d never once felt remorse. He didn’t now as he crouched beside her, but he did feel regret. If he ever tried to pursue a relationship with her, he’d always know she was influenced to trust him by his voice.
The tip of the blade came up. “Not going to get raped. I’d rather be dead.”
“No, you’re not going to get raped. I’m going to look at your wounds, and I’ll have to take a look under your clothes.” His brother was far better at soothing patients than he was. He’d just as soon use his gifts. In this case, he didn’t have time to argue with her or reassure her. He used his voice the way others used a knife, the energy looking to slide into her brain with precise precision.
Those lashes fluttered again, but she didn’t seem able to open her eyes.
“Just killed five men for you, Warrior Woman. Give me the knife and let me get to work saving your life.”
“I hear you knocking, but you can’t come in.” There was the slightest trace of amusement in her voice.
Despite the severity of her wounds and the dire situation, he found answering humor somewhere deep he hadn’t known existed in him. He was somewhat shocked that his compelling voice and the strong energy didn’t work on her. At the same time, there was satisfaction. She was the first. He was inexplicably pleased she wasn’t affected by his voice.
He reached in slowly. “Coming for the knife.”
Her body tensed, and she winced. Gasped. He took the blade from her and set it aside. “I have to know what we’re looking at here.”
“I knew it was bad, but thought I would be all right.” Her teeth bit down on her lower lip hard and then eased. “I can sometimes slow my heart. I practice. I tried to slow the flow of the blood internally. But a few minutes ago, the two running with me dropped me. I felt something tear. It doesn’t feel good.” Her voice was thin and weak.
Diego laid his hands over the bloody mess that was her abdomen. The bullets had done quite a bit of damage, but the jarring fall had wreaked a lot of havoc on a body already torn apart.
“I’m going to stop the bleeding, but the repairs are just temporary, like putting a Band-Aid on it. I can’t do surgery until we’re in a safe place. I can’t move you far. You won’t survive it.” He believed in being truthful.
A faint smile curved her lips. “Tired. Cold. I don’t think you have a chance saving me, and it’s all right. I’m just so tired. Go after my sister.”
“You’re not giving up, Warrior Woman.” He kept his voice low, but used a more commanding tone. Whether she responded to compulsion or not, she was trained as a soldier. She would respond to commands.
Using the kind of psychic energy it took to stop the internal bleeding was going to leave him weak. There was nothing else for it. If he didn’t get it stopped now, she didn’t have a hope in hell, and he wasn’t about to lose her.
He felt the heat welling up in him. When it happened, he was always a little shocked that he had that in him. He was cold as ice, but apparently there was a deep well of fire he could tap into.
“You’re going to feel heat. A lot of it. Stay very still.”
He directed his hands over the wound and sent healing energy into her body. Light burst under his palms, which grew hot, almost scorching. The worse the wound, the more energy demanded. He willed energy into her wound and hoped he was going about it the right way. He’d honed these particular healing skills on animals over the years, not humans. Sure, he’d gone through medical school to become a surgeon, but in their GhostWalker unit there were several surgeons, so he rarely had to put his physical surgical skills to use on his team members. Now, however, he was grateful he knew every muscle, organ and bone in the body. Knowledge of the human body was essential when he was healing this way.