Biker (25 page)

“I’m sure it’s fine,” she said tersely.

“Policy is policy,” he insisted, smiling.

Noelle and Blaze followed him outside to a car that sat prominently in the front of the lot.

If one of the bikes came down the street now, they would be screwed.

Noelle walked quickly around the car, pretending to inspect it.

“Looks good!”

The man frowned, but handed over the key. Blaze was already loading their bags into the trunk.

“Thank you so much!” Noelle called, jumping into the driver side while Blaze got into the passenger seat.

They pulled out onto the street. Noelle drove slowly past the diner, and they saw two bikes parked out front.

Noelle gasped.

“Just drive,” Blaze ordered, and Noelle pushed down on the gas, ready to get out of Mesquite.

“What if they go to the car rental place?” she asked, her voice shaking.

“They can’t by law give out any information,” he claimed, not sounding convinced of the truth of his own statement. “The quickest way to Phoenix is to go back through Vegas, but that’s a bad idea. It would take us right past the clubhouse.”

Noelle vehemently shook her head.

“So let’s get back to Route Fifteen. We’ll have to go up into Utah, but it won’t add that much time in the long run.”

Noelle nodded, steering the car back onto the highway.

They spent the next hour in silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Noelle wanted to speak to Blaze about what he had said in the diner, but it didn’t seem like the right time, and every time she looked over at him he seemed to be in more pain.

“Blaze, I think we need to stop somewhere and let you rest. I’m getting worried.”

His face was pale again, and he seemed to be short of breath.

“Just drive. I’m fine.”

“You’re definitely not fine. I think we can find some place to stay for the night.”

“It’s not even ten o’clock in the morning, Noelle! We aren’t going to be able to check in anywhere.”

He had a point.

Still, Noelle could see he was doing much worse. His complexion had turned chalky, and even though the air conditioning was blasting, there were beads of sweat on his forehead.

Noelle decided to drive to the next town, and then she was pulling over.

Blaze dozed as she drove, and when she saw signs for a town called Kanab, she pulled off the highway. Blaze remained asleep, which suited her fine, and Noelle was happy to find a number of hotels.

She opted for a Holiday Inn, and parked the car, causing Blaze to wake up.

“What are you doing?” he demanded.

“Getting us a room. Stay here.”

Before he could argue, she left the car and went into the lobby.

It didn’t take much, just Noelle offering some extra money, to be allowed to check in a few hours earlier than normal. It seemed silly to make people wait to check in, even though the hotel was clearly not filled to capacity.

Noelle came back out to the car, grinning.

Blaze rolled his eyes. “I guess you got a room?”

“Yep. It pays to have lots of cash on you. Now, come on, let’s get you inside.”

Noelle helped Blaze out of the car, and took their bags. They entered their room, and Noelle felt instantly at ease. They were in a random town with numerous hotels almost three hours away from Vegas. And not only that, but this hotel was clean, bright, and comforting.

Hopefully they were free of the gang.

Noelle removed Blaze’s dressing and was horrified to see that the bleeding hadn’t eased up.

“Blaze, I don’t think you’re getting any better.”

“Well, it’s still fresh, and I’ve been moving a lot. I just need to take a shower and rest.”

He stumbled into the shower, and once he was out, Noelle set to cleaning his wound. It was hard to concentrate with Blaze’s shirt off, and her eyes kept traveling to his tattoos.

She bit her lip as she wrapped fresh gauze around him.

“You are so incredibly sexy when you’re working,” he said in a low voice.

Surprised, Noelle looked up at him.

“If I wasn’t an invalid, I would be making good use of this huge hotel bed.”

Noelle gave him a sexy smile. “Wouldn’t that be nice,” she mused. She finished worked, feeling butterflies in her stomach. She looked back up at Blaze, and his bright blue eyes were fixed on her.

Blaze opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly his eyes rolled back into his head, and he fell back onto the bed and began to shake violently.

“Blaze!” she cried, but he couldn’t hear her.

She jumped on the bed, using all her might to roll him onto his side. His body continued to jerk convulsively, and Noelle cursed herself for not taking him to a hospital. Of course, Blaze would never have allowed her to do that, anyway.

When his body finally went limp, she rolled him onto his back, checking to see if he was still breathing.

He was still breathing, but when she checked his pulse, it felt weak.

“Damn it, Blaze,” she cursed. She waited a few seconds, keeping her fingers on his wrist. “Come on, Blaze, open your eyes.”

She waited, whispering to him, still feeling his weak pulse.

His eyelids fluttered.

“Blaze!”

He looked at her, his eyes filled with confusion. “What happened?” he asked, his words thick and slurred.

“You had a seizure. Probably from the blood loss and the pain.”

“Mmhmm,” he groaned, his eyes closing again.

“Blaze!”

His pulse gradually felt stronger, and Noelle sat steadfastly at his side, waiting for him to open his eyes again. His breathing became steadier, and once Noelle felt certain that he was stable, she took her hand from his wrist and let him drift off into a deep sleep.

She spent the day sitting next to him, talking quietly, giving him sips of juice and water when he awoke, and smoothing his hair back. A few times his pulse weakened and his breathing became shallow, and Noelle would tap his face, waking him up and forcing him to focus on her.

The day was nerve-wracking. Noelle truly believed that Blaze could have died if she hadn’t spent the day by his side, monitoring him.

How had her life changed so much and so quickly? What had happened to her good sense of judgment?

She knew the answer – Blaze.

He had turned her world completely upside down and she had allowed him to blur the lines between good and bad, right and wrong. Everything she had ever thought to be true had gone out the window and now she couldn’t tell top from bottom.

As crazy as Blaze had made her world, she couldn’t put all the blame on him, because she had loved watching her world go from bland and boring to exciting and dangerous.

And Noelle knew in that instant, as she watched him sleeping fitfully, painfully, at her side, that she couldn’t walk away from Blaze, that she
wouldn’t
walk away from Blaze.

How had she ever considered such a move?

As Noelle stroked his forehead, she thought back to her friends at home, and the time she spent with Todd, and her sister, and the awful childhood home she had survived. She thought of how her father was finally facing criminal charges, and she thought of the other woman who had won her ex-fiancé’s heart.

And all of those things, both good and bad, seemed pale in comparison to what she felt for Blaze.

Yes, Noelle had used bad judgment and made poor decisions where Blaze was concerned, but perhaps they could start fresh together.

No more crimes, no more recklessness.

They could turn over a new leaf together.

Help each other overcome their setbacks and their illnesses.

If Noelle could just nurse Blaze through the worst of this, restore him to health, then she would vow to make better decisions.

She stifled a yawn; her eyelids were heavy and she desperately needed a shower. But the most important thing was to keep an eye on Blaze. They needed to stay in this hotel for at least one night so that he could rest and begin to heal. He would not survive another hemorrhage from his bullet wound. Noelle knew that she, too, needed some rest.

She shifted her position on the bed, continuing to check Blaze’s pulse every fifteen minutes. Although it remained steady, it wasn’t as strong as she had hoped.

She lay by his side throughout the evening, fighting her body’s desperate need to sleep so she could maintain her vigil over Blaze.

At one point, Noelle thought he was waking up, but it was only a false alarm. She checked his bandage frequently, and she was relieved to see that he was no longer bleeding. She knew that a full night of rest was an absolute necessity.

As darkness approached, Noelle knew that she would not be able to stay awake much longer. Her eyes were bloodshot and her entire body was worn down. Suddenly Blaze’s eyelids fluttered open and he spoke.

“Noelle?” His voice was barely a whisper.

She gripped his hand. “I’m here.”

“What happened?”

“You had a seizure, Blaze. The loss of blood, the lack of sleep, and the pain you’ve been in just became too much for you. But you’ve been resting all day, and you finally look a bit better.”

Groggily, he opened his eyes wider. He looked at Noelle, and then carefully, slowly, pushed himself up to a sitting position.

“How do you feel?” she asked, worried.

He continued to stare at Noelle. “I’m tired, but better. I’m more concerned about you, Noelle. How do you feel?”

At that moment it felt as if every emotion caused by the last few days of insanity came crashing down on her, and she could bear the weight no more.

“I’m so exhausted,” she sobbed, unable to help herself. Hot tears sprang from her eyes and she buried her face in her hands, unable to hold back the passionate feelings that surged through her.

Blaze immediately pulled her to him, which only made her cry harder.

“I can’t leave you,” she cried into his chest, “I don’t care what happens next, I just can’t leave you, Blaze!”

“Shh,” he soothed, “We don’t have to talk about it now.” He rocked her gently.

“But I want you to know that I’m not going away! We’re getting on the same plane once we get to the airport!”

“Okay, shush now. You need to rest. I’m feeling fine. Much better, actually. Close your eyes now and get some sleep. It’s my turn to watch over you.”

Noelle wanted to protest, but couldn’t. Blaze was awake and okay, and she had told him that she couldn’t bear to leave him. He knew now.

Filled with relief, she closed her eyes and was asleep within seconds.

W
hen Noelle awoke, bright sunlight was streaming through the windows, and she sat up in a panic, disoriented, as the events of the past two days came rushing back.

“Hey, it’s alright,” Blaze assured her. He was sitting up in bed, looking more rested and healthy than he’d since he had been shot.

“What time is it? How long did I sleep for?”

“It’s just after ten in the morning. And you slept for about fifteen hours.”

She shook her head, still feeling groggy. “I can’t believe I slept that long.” She looked over at Blaze, remembering how she mumbled about not leaving him before she passed out.

“I meant what I said last night. I’m not leaving you.”

Blaze took her hand, his blue eyes bright. “Are you sure? Sure it wasn’t the sleep deprivation talking?”

Noelle let out a small laugh.

It felt good.

It seemed so long since she had laughed. “Yes, I’m certain.”

Blaze didn’t question her again. Instead, he leaned over and kissed her, his lips tender and soft.

It stirred something deep within Noelle and she desperately wished that Blaze wasn’t injured.

She kissed him back, urgent and desperate.

Blaze chuckled and pulled back. “I’m injured, woman,” he teased, “and my nurse wouldn’t like it if I hemorrhaged again.”

Noelle gave him a sexy smile, “Maybe your nurse thinks this is an important part of your healing process.”

Blaze groaned, sliding his hand inside Noelle’s shirt and cupping her breasts. Noelle closed her eyes, delighting in the feeling, and joy filled her as she realized that she would have all the time in the world with Blaze now.

“There will be plenty of time for that,’’ she promised him, forcing herself to pull away. “Now let’s start that long drive to the airport. We have a plane to catch.”

Blaze smiled at her, and it was a smile free of stress and worry. “That sounds like an excellent plan.”

Noelle didn’t know what lay ahead for them, but she knew that she was more than ready to take the next step with Blaze – even if that next step was as simple as getting on a plane to somewhere, anywhere, with the man she loved.

She climbed off the bed to take a shower, then turned and kissed Blaze again. And again. And once more.

She could get used to kissing this man every day.

###

The End