Blind Promises

2. The Ride Out

Her head was pounding, she couldn't hear anything for the resound inside her head. Something slimy was all over the side of her face. Her vision was swimming, there were four Liam's above her, his hand was worrying his forehead, a phone was in his other hand, he was talking to someone. It felt like they were moving very fast. The slime, it was Cooper, of course. She put her hand up to his fur, she heard the first words faintly, Liam said, "Mitch, I'll call you back, get her home now."

"Gwen, are you awake?" Liam asked her, his voice a pitch much higher than his usual sexy rumble.

Gwen considered him speculatively, she wasn't sure which one to answer yet, "Define awake, because there are four of you, I can barely hear anything for the pounding in my head, and Cooper keeps sliming me. Are we moving incredibly fast? Like that kid's movie with the acid trip boat ride?"

"Yeah, Gwen, we're moving fast but it's not an acid trip. Just keep your eyes closed. You've probably got a concussion, but it's going to be a little bit before we can get it treated, okay? I'm really sorry, sweetheart. More than you know, I would have never brought you into this, I thought it was over. Mitch has your grandma on a plane back to your aunt in Oklahoma right now. She's mad, I think the saying is something about wet hens but she's alive and will stay that way for some time. Here's the part you may not like. I can't send you back there." Liam tried to explain.

"To Seattle?" Gwen asked. She was trying to understand what he was saying to her but he was being cryptic and her head really hurt.

"No, Oklahoma, Gwen. Well, Seattle either, for that matter. You're going to be with me for a while, I'm afraid. I promise you'll be safe and when it's all said and done, I'll set your life back to rights. I swear I never would have taken a risk like this had I even an inkling this might happen," Liam answered.

Liam pulled a t-shirt off her head a moment and asked Rich, "Is it still bleeding?"

"Not as bad, it looks like it's stopping, it'll be okay until we make it to Vancouver, Liam. Head wounds always bleed profusely, you know that, but they don't generally cause concern with the bleeding. She won't bleed out, it's the small capillaries, just keep steady, gentle pressure. The medicos will be able to stitch it and she'll never notice the scar. You have my word." Rich answered.

"I'm bleeding?" Gwen asked, trying to sound as steady as possible in the situation.

Rich answered, "Yes, you have a gash along your brow bone from where you went down."

Watching Liam worry his brow again took precedence. Between the two of them, she was a little confused with fuzziness still clouding her brain. Gwen reached up and pulled his hand down, the fretful look on his face was terrible. She smoothed out the lines across his forehead. "God damn it, I wish I could see. And thank you, Rich, what I know and what I want to know are two different things."

"Fussy." Rich was giving him a hard time.

Liam sighed, "I'm sorry, but come on."

"Uh, risk like what? I don't understand, what did you do?" Gwen had started to get a little antsy as the words caught up and processed. Her grandmother's information assured her that they weren't criminals, the answers he might give would tell her what he was willing to give up to her. Trust was a difficult thing to come by and they'd known each other only hours. She blurted out, "You're not some sort of cartel czar or mafia boss, are you?"

Rich would pick it up immediately, she was sure, but Liam wasn't like him. He put his hand on her face, felt the area where the wound was, it smarted! "Ouch! That's a horrible answer."

"I'm just checking to see if your brain leaked out of that gash. No, I'm not a cartel boss, if I were, we'd already be on a plane out of Seattle, I'd think. You'd have a private doctor attending you, and I wouldn't be blind. We do not run drugs or any other illegal activities that are not sanctioned by the United States government. Rich and I work for the government, you could say."