Heads turn, hearts change {Dil}

[Detective Kevin Slame]

Please forgive me if I act a little strange
For I know not what I do
Feels like lightning running through my veins
Everytime I look at you
Everytime I look at you

Help me out here, all my words are falling short
And there's so much I want to say
Want to tell you just how good it feels
When you look at me that way

[/size][/i]


”Good morning New Orleans! It’s 6am and it’s time to get up, up, UP”

The radio announcer’s cheerful voice practically sliced through his brain, and with a groan, he swiped at the offending noise. With a crash, the clock sailed across the room and smashed into the opposite wall, leaving him in blissful silence. Not that he could freaking go back to sleep, with that schmuck’s voice ringing in his ears, but hell, at least the hitting something felt good.

Flipping onto his back, Kevin squinted up at the cracked ceiling of his bedroom. His eyes felt like something had glued them together, his mouth tasted like week old cheese, and if he wasn’t mistaken by the layer of slime on his face and body, if he didn’t shower soon, he just might leave a grease trail in his wake.

God, he fucking loved Saturdays. During the week, a guy didn’t worry about any of this shit; just getting to work on time and collaring the bad guys. But when the weekend rolled around? Hello, lack of personal hygiene.

He couldn’t help but bark out a laugh at that thought. One would think that he’d had some kind of horrible break up, or something, with how he was acting. He was moping around, drinking until he passed out…hell, even his blackouts seemed to know to stay the hell away from his psyche at the moment. He even had a loaded gun on his desk table, all ready and rarin’ to deliver the kill shot to his forehead.

Because the girl of his dreams was a fucking monster. How poetic was that?

”Fuck, I can’t even wake up without thinking of that shit,” He snarled to himself, shuffling to the bathroom. He went through the motions; showering, shaving, making sure that he put on a shirt that didn’t smell like ass. But, while his mind wandered and his hands did what his brain absently commanded them to do, all he could see was Dil’s face as he made tracks out of the forest that night.

Dil, who had helped him, protected him from her brothers, didn’t flinch in the face of his psychotic blackouts…and could turn into a wolf at will. God, it was like he was stuck in a really crappy horror movie with no way out! On the one hand, he was ready to start searching his person for some kind of ‘werewolf’s mark,’ and on the other…hell, on the other, all he wanted to do was to find her and apologize for playing the jackrabbit. He was a freak, so who the hell was he to judge her freakiness?

Scrubbing a hand across his face, he trudged out of his apartment and made his way to the station. God, maybe some dead people would take his mind off of this crap. Yeah, he should go and say he was sorry; THAT would cure everything. Jesus Christ, he was such a moron.

With a growl, he shouldered his way into the precinct and stalked to the coffee machine. Those around him knew better than to talk to him when his face was set to ‘fuck you,’ and gave him a wide girth. Gah, he needed his coffee; maybe then his brain would wake the hell up and smell the werewolf.

”But hot damn, she was a hot vic, if nothing else.” One of the patrolmen shook his head as he winked at his partner. ”Under all that blood, you could tell that she has a body made for sin. Man, if only she’d been conscious to give me her number!”

Slame rolled his eyes. Cops and their perverted minds. After a few years on the force, a guy started to get a bit hazy with remembering what lines were socially acceptable, and what wasn’t. Obviously, Officer Dick over there was dreaming about a victim he’d picked up the other night. No big deal, right?
Fucking wrong.

”But did you get a load of her brothers?” Officer Dick’s partner shook his head, awe in his voice. ”They were HUGE! I can’t believe that they refused to bring her to the hospital, with all those cuts and bruises. Hell, it made for less paperwork on my part, but she was busted up so bad, that I coulda sworn that without a doc, she’ll be ten feet under come today.”

Officer Dick nodded. ”Yeah, definitely a shame. Hey, did you notice that they brought her into Mama’s Roadhouse? I’ve never been, but I heard that the owner had a chick that pretty working there. You think it’s the same girl?”

”Maybe,” The partner said. ”Those guys were awful protective of her, and the younger one looked freaked out…”

Both cops practically fell sideways as Slame shoved through them, practically launching himself out the door. Dilana was hurt, Dilana was hurt, DILANA WAS HURT! The words screamed through his head, and for the life of him, he felt as if he were having a blackout. He had no control over his movements, his limbs, his thoughts…he just knew that he had to get to Mama’s and make sure that she was alright.

It couldn’t have been Dil who they’d found…it couldn’t be! He would get to the bar and she’d be wiping down the counter with her brothers playing sentry. That was it; everything would be fine…it had to be.

He practically broke the land speed record as his cruiser screeched to a halt in front of the Roadhouse. The doors crashed on either side of the jam as he careened in, and God in Heaven, he almost fainted when he didn’t see that familiar face behind the bar.

”Where is she?” He demanded to those in the room. ”Where is she?!”



[/center]

[Dilana Polyak]

Since the night Slame had discovered exactly what Dilana was, everything had changed. He'd cut ties. In the beginning, Dilana's head had shot up every time her ears picked up the sound of the front door of the bar opening, just to see if it was him. It never was. So Dilana had stopped getting her hopes up. Instead, she had fallen into a sort of depression, just going through the motions of her mundane life... right up until it all got too much and ended with a showdown in her mother's office. In no uncertain terms, Dilana Amerie Polyak, told, yes -told-, her mother that she was no longer a child, no longer was she to be governed by the rules. If she wanted to flirt, she would flirt. If she wanted to date, she would date. And if she wanted to lie with a man, she would damn well give him the ride of his life! Her mother's answer had shocked her to the core. Just one word left her lips as she sat behind her desk, her chin resting on her interlaced fingers... "Fine."

It had been that easy to get the rule lifted, she had just needed to stand up for herself. It didn't ease her pain though, she had lost the one guy she would have broken that rule for. So she remained in her zombified state, up until Kirian. She hadn't been able to bring herself to have meaningless sex with any old person, especially her first time. She needed someone she could trust, someone who wouldn't treat it as anything more than a learning curve, be gentle but teach her. And how the fae had taught her.

Then came the fateful fight, the one Dilana had been willing to join. Being a wolf, she was naturally a pack creature, if one fought, they all fought. Besides, the training had taken her mind off of everything, her unhappiness, it gave her life a purpose, some sort of meaning.

It just hadn't been enough.

----------------------------------------------------

Upon hearing the voice of the male who had just barged his way into her establishment, Julia Polyak arched an eyebrow at the once familiar face of Detective Slame. The usually immaculately dressed alpha female showed the strains of last few days, mainly due to the fact that she hadn't slept since they'd brought her baby back home.

Stepping forward, Julia placed her hands out in a 'calm down' manner, not wanting his show to disturb their current customers. So the mighty Kevin Slame, the one who had given her daughter the push to stand up for herself, had returned. The news of her injuries had cleared his mind for him and, from the look of it, things weren't as lost as Dilana had thought. Approaching him, she ran a hand over her jacket, smoothing the creases that showed how long she'd been sat at her daughter's bedside, "Detective Slame... this way, please?" Leading him through the doors of at the back of the bar, Julia moved towards her office, opening the door to let him in before she closed it.

Now they were in a more secluded setting, Julia motioned to the chair on one side of her desk as she moved to the other side, "I take it you heard about Dilana... I will let you see her, she wants..." It caught in her throat, forcing her to cough slightly to clear it, letting out a slow breath, "She -needs- to see you... but you have to understand a few things first. Number one, her injuries... are terrible. A normal human wouldn't have survived them, but she regained consciousness this morning, so that is a good sign... but I need you to prepare yourself for what she looks like. Number two, my daughter is the only reason you still breathe. That's not a threat, it's a reality. You discovered what we are, through her stupidity I grant you, but we are a secretive breed, and it was only her insistance that you could be trusted that stopped our enforcers seeking you out. And lastly, number three..." The wolf looked awkward, a look that really didn't suit her at all, "She... she's fragile, physically she's broken, mentally... your disappearance hurt her more than she would tell any of us... but I'm her mother, I could see it. Don't go and see her if you just aim to leave again..."

[Detective Kevin Slame]

Oh God, oh God, oh God…please let her be alright. Please let her be alive, and well, and ready to go back to tending that bar again like she always did. Please say that she hadn’t died, before he’d had the chance to apologize. There was so much that he didn’t know about her, that she didn’t know about him…there just hadn’t been enough time! He’d acted so horribly, after she’d helped him, cared for him. Please, please, say that it wasn’t too late to tell her that he was sorry…that he wanted to be with her. God, he’d wanted to be with her since the first time he’d blacked out, and had woken up to that angelic face hovering above him. She hadn’t yelled at him, hadn’t hit him, or thrown him out of the bar. She just wiped his face with a cool cloth, and had told him that it would be alright. Please, God, if you’re listening…please, not Dil. Take him. Take his life, but not hers…

The thoughts ran through the detective’s mind as he followed Mama Jules to her office. Other than that rampant surge of fear, he felt numb inside. ‘What if’s’ swam around his head like pirhana’s, and the urge to start screaming at the older woman was too much to bear.

Dammit, he didn’t understand how he felt about Dil! She’d been a guide-point in his unruly life; someone that he could confide in and count on. He hadn’t known her for long, and certainly hadn’t learned everything there was to learn about her, but…there was a connection. He’d tried to deny it before, but with every passing minute, he knew he couldn’t anymore.

He wanted to kill whoever hurt her. He wanted them to suffer, to feel so much pain, that they would beg him for death. And he wanted to strangle her for not telling him her secret! It was a stupid, irrational thought, but he was so damn worked up, that he couldn’t help but think that this was all somehow her fault. FUCK, he had to get a hold of himself before he spontaneously combusted.

Deep breaths, Slame. One in, one out. One in, one out. Just like the shrink had said. Deep, calming breaths to cleanse the soul, and bring inner peace.
Or some hippie shit like that.

In any case, it worked. Slowly, as he eased himself into the offered chair, Kev managed to get a hold of his rampant emotions and pin Mama Polyak with a determined stare. What she was saying was absolutely true; he’d run, and as a mother, Jules didn’t want to see her baby hurt. But, the other information that she gave…the fact that she was THAT messed up, to have even the eternally composed Mama Jules look like she were about to cry…FUCK. Deep breaths again. Deep breaths.

”I swear to God,” He said through clenched teeth. ”If I could go back in time and beat the shit out of myself for running away, I would. Hell, I’ll even give you and your boys some free potshots for being the Number 1 Asshole in town. But right now, Ms. Polyak…I swear to any single God that you hold dear, I will never run away from your daughter again. I will take your secret to my grave. Just…please. Let me see her? Please.”

[Dilana Polyak]

Julia Polyak, though hard and often coming across as cold and uncaring, had a good judge of character. Seeing the way Slame all but squirmed in his seat as she spoke, hearing the words that tumbled out of his mouth, his self loathing, his willingness to let her sons rough him up, it actually touched the aloof alpha sat across from him. He was trying so hard to stay calm, Julia could smell the spiking in his body, allieviated by the deep breaths he kept taking. His promises caused her to nod gently, he wasn't lying, the desperation in his voice told her that much. Standing up, Julia moved from behind her desk, walking towards the door, stopping long enough to place her hand on his shoulder, "That means a lot, Detective, but beating you senseless will be futile."

Opening the door, Julia motioned again for him, leading the way out of her office, towards the stairs that would lead up to the door that opened up into their house, the side of the bar the wolves could relax in. It no longer held that calm feeling, the entire atmosphere rife with tension and pain. More than that, it was the silence that affected the alpha wolf. Normally there were things happening, people milling about, children running around, playing, people laughing, not now though. The families that had stayed with them during the war had shown their respect for Julia by keeping themselves in their rooms, only wandering around the house for the kitchen or bathroom, and even then with their heads bowed, their necks on view as a sign of respect for her. Her sons, the large brutes that they were, were either in the bar, in the house's kitchen or with Dil. Her only daughter was loved, that was shown in the fact that she was never left alone, even when she was unconscious.

Heading towards the door that would reveal her daughter's room, the bed her daughter had almost died in, Julia stopped, "Again... I must warn you. Those who attacked my daughter were not human, so... just... be prepared." Her hand gripped the door handle, opening it slowly as to keep the click sound to a minimum. No sound left the wolf as she led the way into the bedroom, her flat shoes seemed to float over the wooden floor, holding the door open for Slame to follow her.

The room was dark, heavy curtains hung from the windows, pulled shut against the bright sun. Instead, the room was illuminated by a lone lamp, one that softly lit the bedstand beside Dilana's bed, lighting enough but nothing to hurt her eyes. The sheets that wrapped around Dilana's body showed that her wounds hadn't healed, still stained with blood, but they were nothing compared to the ones Dilana had been sewn up on. She lay on the bed, on her back, with her hands on top of the covers but the rest of her body hidden beneath the pale blue sheets. Her hair, normally so soft and shiny, was dull, unwashed, sections matted together with blood as it hung down over one side of her neck. She looked a state, swollen skin morphing her face, forcing one eye shut, cuts tearing her skin apart, her bottom lip engorged and split through. Being a shifter, she healed faster than humans, so he'd missed the worst of it, but she still looked awful.

Appearing unconscious, Dilana's eyes were shut, her breathing regular with the occasional hitch, each of which sent her brother on edge. Her eldest brother sat on a stool beside her bed, his hands wrapped around one of hers, pressing it to his face as he nuzzled against her fingers. It was his baby sister, and she was hurt... badly. His broken state fell away as his gaze moved from his sister's face, to his mother's... to Slame's. Resting her hand back against the bed, he stood forcefully yet without a sound. "What's -he- doing here? Get out..." Spoken in a harsh whisper, spat through gritted teeth, he didn't give Slame a chance to leave on his own, instead moving with a grace that exposed his wolf side, and laying a few punches in the detective's direction.

He wouldn't have stopped, too much anger raged through his system, until a croaked voice, almost too quiet to be heard over the furor, met his canine ears, "Stop... stop it." His fist stopped in mid air as his head twisted to look at his sister. Dilana watched them through her eye that would actually open, "Let me... talk... to him." Her words were broken, pauses showing how much it pained her to move her lips, her face. Even now she couldn't have sat up if she'd wanted. With a curt nod of his head, her brother stalked out of the room, closely followed by Julia.

[Detective Kevin Slame]

Okay, so those were definitely not words that he’d wanted to hear. Things that weren’t human had attacked her? Fuck, how many other non-normal things actually went bump in the night? If there were werewolves- or had Dil called them shifters?- alive and well in the city, what about vampires? Ghosts? Demons? Jesus Christ, please tell him that Dracula wasn’t living pretty in some high rise somewhere! With a deep breath, Kevin did his best to calm himself, as he followed Julia down the hall.

It wasn’t like he was the King of Normal, for crying out loud. He turned into a warped, skinny version of Hyde when he wasn’t watching himself, so who the hell was he to judge? Trying to think of something else, he focused on where he was being led, taking note of the path that they’d taken, and the many rooms that lined the hall. How many people actually lived in this place? It was like some kind of palace!

…And, more importantly, were they all like Dil and her family? Fuck, he really had to get over this ‘I’m stuck in a horror movie’ vibe, or he was going to kill himself so dead.

When Mrs. Polyak moved into the sickroom, the detective paused on the threshold. He could smell antiseptic and the faint tang of blood, and it sent his stomach flopping around in his gut. God…Dilana was hurt, and she was right inside. Julia had said that she didn’t look to great, and he didn’t know if he wanted to see. He’d always had such a rosy version of the bar owner’s daughter, and to see her messed up, like the victims he dealt with and the bodies he found…

Fuck that shit, he thought with a mental growl, stepping into the room. Dil needed him, and he wasn’t going to run away again. If he did…well, there was a taste of what he’d do to himself.

When the Polyak brother leapt up and charged him, Kev didn’t move. While he braced himself for the impact of a fist in his face, he still stumbled back, crashing into the wall behind him. God. Fucking. DAMN IT, that fucking hurt like a bitch! But he deserved it, and he refused to allow himself to rub at the quickly forming bruise on his jaw. Every throb, every burn and every tear…he deserved.

For leaving the woman that he loved.

And fuck, cue some damn sappy music, followed quickly by a bolt of lightning, because he had no idea where that thought came from. Him? Love anyone? Ha, that was a riot! He lived for a quick roll in the sheets and a no-strings relationship with some leggy blond who didn’t mind his turning into a homicidal freak when he blacked out. He loved Dilana like a friend; like a very close friend. Yeah, that was it.

He was such a schmuck.

He didn’t look at Julia and her son as they trooped out the door; his eyes were locked on the still form on the bed. Slowly, he pushed himself off of the wall, feeling like he was in some kind of warped dream. Stiffly, he moved toward the bed and sat down on the chair her brother had previously occupied, gently taking her hand in his.

”Hey, babe,” He said, voice scratchy, though he tried to force some semblance of lightness into it. ”What’s a pretty little thing like you, doing in a place like this?”

The cop part of his brain took stock of every bruise and every scratch, while the man inside began to wail. He had this really annoying urge to cry, but he bit it back. As far as he was concerned, he didn’t have a set of boobs, so he was going to do the manly thing and not start begging like a Mama’s boy.

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to meet her eyes. ”I’m sorry for leaving you in that park, Dil. I’m so, so goddamn sorry.”

[Dilana Polyak]

Watching her brother and mother leave, Dilana's eyes... well, eye, moved to Slame. She didn't even have the energy to feel embarrassed or awkward about the situation, about him seeing her life this. Even though he was used to seeing her in the bar, looking her best, whereas now she looked the complete opposite, like she'd been trampled by a stampede of buffalos.

Part of her just felt like she could soar. He'd been gone so long, she thought she'd lost him. Yet here he was, he'd heard she was injured and he'd come running. If her brother hadn't lunged, she would have throught they've overdosed her on the pain meds and she was hallucinating. He'd taken her brother's attack like a trooper, she'd seen bigger men go down from that kind of assault, whimper and cower against the wall, but not him.

His hand took hold of hers as he sat down, but his words... she didn't know if the humour was for her sake or his. Normally she would have laughed, but right now she couldn't even let her lips quirk into any semblance of a smile at the risk of how painful it would be. Seeing his gaze move back to her, hearing that breath leave his body, Dilana felt her heart break a little for him as he apologised, she could almost feel the truth in his words, like some blanket wrapping around her.

Forcing her hand to tighten a little, her fingers closing around his, Dilana wanted to shake her head, but as with everything, she couldn't. Instead, she kept her eyes on his, taking in her own deep breath, "Don't... you don't... need to... It was... a lot to... deal with..."

[/b] She had hurt when he'd left, God had she hurt, but she couldn't exactly have blamed him. He was human, he thought the worst things he had to worry about were other humans, those who killed, abused. He'd been thrown into her world in what could possibly have been the worse way. Dilana was just glad he was here now.

The bruise on his cheek was starting to show, causing Dil's eyebrows to flinch, flickering some sort of frown as she wanted to reach out and brush her fingers over the swelling skin, "I'm.. sorry. He's just... really protective... are you... okay? There's... an ice box... in the... corner..."[/b] Okay... so now it was feeling slightly weird, so much had changed since that night, Dilana looked away for a moment, before casting her attention to their entwined hands, "I'm... really glad you're here..."[/b][/blockquote]

[Detective Kevin Slame]

Absently, Kevin caressed her fingers with his thumb, gritting his teeth to keep all emotion save guilt from his face. She looked so damn beat up, so damn like the vics he’d dealt with every day, that some part of him shattered. He’d never wanted any of this to happen; he wanted everything to go back to the way it was. He wanted Dil to be happy and healthy, standing behind the bar with a grin on her face…

His jaw practically twitched, he was biting down so hard. He leaned forward until he could gently brush a stray strand of hair away from her face, letting his hand stay on the unbruised portion of her face.

God, even when hurt like this, she was still worrying about him, he thought. He barked out a surprised, albeit husky laugh and shook his head at her. ”I think I deserve everything I get from your brothers,” He said, looking away for a moment, before his eyes returned to her face. ”And you, for that matter. Dil, how I acted in the woods…I was an ass. I always knew that there were actual things going bump in the night, but…God, I can’t explain.”

He shook his head again, a self deprecating look replacing the guilty expression on his face. His hand tightened reflexively around hers before he forced it to relax. ”You gonna tell me what happened, Dil?” He asked, voice suddenly quite soft. When he looked back into her eyes, there was a fury in his eyes that matched the fire burning in his chest.

”Whoever did this to you,” He said, anger and protectiveness practically dripping from his voice. ”Is gonna pay, I fucking swear. They’re gonna die slow and bloody. Can you tell me what happened?” He paused, then cursed again. ”Damn, you probably shouldn’t; you should rest. What the hell am I thinking…yeah, you rest and tell me what happened when you’re stronger, so I can show you my Rambo side.”

He paused again, a shadow of uncertainty clouding the anger on his face. God, he was just a kaleidoscope of emotion today, wasn’t he? Good thing that there was that sense of peace being so close to the werewolf, or he’d probably explode into a dozen or so Slame pieces.

He covered her hand with both of his, placing a soft kiss on her knuckles. ”Let me stay with you?” He murmured. ”Please? I swear to God, I ain’t gonna leave your side again until you kick my ass across the room.”
---


((Craaaap, sorry if this sounds so jumbled! Slame's going in about a dozen different directions in mah brain. x.x ))

[Dilana Polyak]

Surprise covered her face when he let out the laugh, even though it sent shock waves of pain through her entire body. Still, the way his thumb rubbed over her knuckles and fingers soothed her, just reminding her that he really was here, that there were people that cared for her. ~I think I deserve everything I get from your brothers, and you, for that matter. Dil, how I acted in the woods…I was an ass. I always knew that there were actual things going bump in the night, but…God, I can’t explain.~ She didn't expect him to, she knew how hard it must have been for him, how shocking it must have been to see her in that lake, when a wolf had just jumped in.

Hating that look he had on his face, Dil squeezed his hand as his fingers tightened around hers. She didn't want him to blame himself, hate himself for what had happened. She would have fought for Kyle regardless, she would have been cornered and beaten whether he had stayed or not. ~You gonna tell me what happened, Dil?~ Her entire body tensing, Dilana felt her blood begin to course around her body as her heart pumped harder. She knew what had happened, she remembered them cornering her, but damn... after the initial attack, she remembered nothing until she woke up in the bar. Again, his protectiveness calmed her, forced her heart into a more normal pace as he spoke about avenging her.

She knew he wanted to know, wanted to use his police connections to make sure those responsible paid for it, even if it wasn't in a legal way. But then he cursed, putting aside his need for revenge by putting her first. A smile, even though small was the biggest she had been able to manage since she'd woken up, Rambo... wasn't he just a knight in shining... camo.

Feeling his lips press against the knuckles, Dilana let out a satisfied sigh, letting her eyes slide shut as he spoke. "I wouldn't want you anywhere else..." Pulling her hand from his, she dragged her fingers down his cheek, caressing the rough, stubbly skin, running her thumb across his lips.

She owed him the truth, about everything. The attack, although horrendous and painful, was something she couldn't let him get involved with. Her brothers were dealing with it, those who had a better grasp on what they were dealing with. With her hand still resting on the side of his face, Dilana fixed him with a gaze that tried to convey how serious she was, "I'll tell you... what happened. But... you can't hunt them... you can't do anything... just stay here... with me... they'd kill you..."

((Sorry, mine's crappy! Getting back into the rpness after the weekend!!))

[Detective Kevin Slame]

Slame wanted to tear the world apart for the fear and pain in her eyes, for the way her body tensed. His thumb traced soft circles around her hand, while he tried to keep all evidence of that righteous anger from his face. Dil was such a gentle woman; such an easy going, fun loving spirit, that who ever had marred her should be subjected to a long, torturous death.

And, if he had anything to say about it, that was exactly what they were going to get. Once she was strong enough, both mentally and physically, he was going to get those answers from her…and whoever had hurt her was going to pay. In blood.

Absently while she spoke, he leaned his elbows on the bed, moving closer so she wouldn’t have to raise her arm too much. He could give a crap if her brothers walked in and saw; for some odd reason, something inside of him seemed to fall back into place when he saw her, heard her voice. It was as if all of the time spent away from her had broken something inside of him; something he wasn’t aware that he needed. But now that he was back?

He was whole. Completely and utterly whole.

Now, when he had become this kind of sappy, bullshit romantic, he had no idea…but goddamn it, it was freakin’ true. He had feelings for the club owner’s daughter. Go figure.

A rumble of approval escaped him as he tilted his face into her hand, kissing the soft skin of her palm. God, why hadn’t he realized all this crap BEFORE she’d gone and gotten hurt? He was such a dickhead; coming to the conclusion that he really liked Dilana after he’d found out that she’d almost died. What if she had died? What if she’d gone into the afterlife without that destiny’s bitch-slap?

GAH, he really hated all of this ‘emotion’ stuff. He didn’t get it, would never get it, didn’t want to get it…

His brain slowly picked up on what Dil was saying, and he immediately frowned. She wanted him to WHAT? Sit back and twiddle his thumbs at her bedside while her would-be murderers were running around the city? Hell no! He wanted to hunt, to maim, to misuse his cop-status to kick some serious ASS!

But dammit, the look in her eyes and the fact that he’d just douchebag-ed himself into ‘Royal Asshole’ status had him giving her a resigned nod.

“I’ll stay here with you until you’re well,” He said by way of promise, giving her knuckles another soft kiss.

He would indeed stay with her until she was better…and THEN he’d go gunning for the shits who’d hurt her. Maybe her brothers would be up for a bit of fun, too? They could turn it into a sport…wait, scratch that. If her family was like her, they would have the upper hand at finding the fuckers who’d hurt his girl.

A little twinge of pain made him blink hard, a little light shooting across his right eye. Huh…maybe those blackouts would come in handy. Could he convince his psyche to go after her attackers? Then, maybe he would be on level playing field with the brothers.

“Are you sure you’re strong enough to talk, babe? You should rest; you can tell me later.”