Page 39 of Twice Upon a Midnight

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

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penser’s eyes slowly blinked open, only to snap shut again against the painfully bright light. A piercing ache shot through his head, and the gasp of breath that followed was agonizing as his chest convulsed from the excruciating expansion and contraction of his lungs.

“Just lie still, lad.” A deep voice reached him through the fuzzy edge of consciousness, barely heard above the pain that seemed to radiate from every inch of his body. “Don’t try to sit up.”

Certainly not!Spenser had no intention of moving. He’d gladly stop breathing, too, if he could, to quell the pain in his chest and abdomen.

Not that he could breathe much anyway. As the fog of sleep cleared from his mind, he realized that part of the pain in his chest came from being constricted by something wrapped around his middle, from armpits to hips.

“Squeeze my hand if you can hear me.”

His fingers were numb, but he did as asked. Well, at leastthatpart of him didn’t hurt.

He had no idea where he was, what time of day, why his body had turned so brutally against him. He didn’t dare try to open his eyes again, although his eyelids felt heavy enough that he most likely couldn’t anyway. If he did nothing—not even take deep breaths—then the pain was bearable.Almost.

If his hand didn’t hurt, maybe his lips wouldn’t hurt either if he tried to move them. “Where—”

Christ.His lips felt swollen like sausages and throbbed with heated pain.

“It’s all right. Don’t try to talk. Don’t try to do anything.”

The deep voice pierced the pain and filled him with a familiar warmth—

“Martin,” he whispered, letting his tongue do most of the work in speaking because it even hurt to smile.

“Yes, lad, it’s me. I’ve been right here with you this whole time.”

This whole time… Where the hell was he? What had happened? The last thing he remembered was being with Ella, her softness and warmth, the delicate touch of her hands, and the lilting song of her laughter.

No. He remembered walking home at dawn, the barrage of fists and kicks—

“Ella!” His eyes flew open, and he cared nothing about the sharp pain of the light or the brutal throbbing in his lips. “Is she all right? Where is she?”

“She’s fine.” A large hand on his shoulder kept him pinned to the bed, although it didn’t take much effort to keep him there. His body felt leaden, as if he could sink so far into the mattress beneath him that he might never find his way back out. “She’s at home with her parents. She wasn’t with you when you were attacked.”

Attacked… That was exactly what had happened, he remembered now. Four large men the size of mountains with arms as big as barrels and boots as hard as steel had come after him outside his own door. But only the memory of the first few blows came back to him. The rest was darkness.

He squinted against the light and realized it was sunlight pouring in through a window.Hiswindow. He was in his own bedroom, safe in his rooms, with Martin at his side.

The old man sat on a wooden chair that had been pulled up alongside the bed and leaned over to apply a damp cloth to his forehead. Then he dabbed at Spenser’s swollen lips with a small sponge. Spenser could taste medicinal herbs in the water. So…Martin had been worried enough about him to call a physician. It must have been a bad attack.

“What happened?” Spenser whispered.

“Someone jumped you when you were at your door,” Martin explained. “I came by for breakfast and found you.” The old man’s voice cracked. “I thought you were dead.”

“Almost,” Spenser rasped out.

The moment’s silence told Spenser his friend didn’t find that amusing. “I had you brought up here and sent for a doctor. He said you were damned lucky to still be alive.” Martin’s fingers tightened around Spenser’s. “I’ve been right here with you the whole time.”

“You’re a…sorry sight…for a nurse.” He would tease to put the old man at ease, but he definitely didn’t let himself laugh. His lips still hurt too much, and the movement of his abdomen would have been agony. The pain had transformed from sharp and blinding to throbbing and relentless, but he could speak a little. Well, he could whisper a bit. “I came home.” He licked his dry lips and felt the split in his bottom lip with his tongue. “They were…waiting for me.”

“They wanted to rob you.”

Not at all. They’d been sent to warn him. A message to be delivered, their leader had said.Leave alone women who are out of your reach… In other words, leave Ella alone. But who would have known he’d been spending time with her? How would they have found out?

Damnation, he couldn’t think!