Needing him nighthawk se.., p.1
Needing Him (Nighthawk Security Book 3), page 1
Needing Him
Nighthawk Security Book 3
Tory Baker
Contents
Synopsis
1. Drake
2. Giana
3. Drake
4. Giana
5. Drake
6. Giana
7. Drake
8. Giana
9. Drake
10. Giana
11. Drake
12. Giana
13. Drake
14. Giana
15. Drake
16. Giana
17. Drake
18. Giana
19. Drake
20. Giana
Epilogue
Epilogue
Bonus Scene
About the Author
Also by Tory Baker
Copyright © 2020 by Tory Baker
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Please respect the author and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials that would violate the author’s rights. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Edited By: Diamond in the Rough Editing
Cover Design By: LJ with Mayhem Cover Creations
Created with Vellum
“You don’t love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear.” —Oscar Wilde
Synopsis
Drake Martinez wasn’t prepared to wake up in a hospital seeing her.
Giana looked heaven sent, an honest to God angel.
Soft smiles, willowy voice, and a body that had parts of Drake’s anatomy standing at attention.
When a stalker tries to keep Giana from Drake, all bets are off. This alpha male will stop at nothing to protect the woman he’s intent to claim as his very own—even if that means calling in his Nighthawk Securities family.
Tory has another romance filled with true love, passion and suspense. Remember this is a complete standalone, safe romance and a guaranteed happily ever after.
One
Drake
The first thing I notice when I wake up from this nightmare of a shoulder surgery that I begrudgingly put off is the pretty nurse in the corner. The side of her body shows off her figure even in what would normally be considered shapeless scrubs, but on her it gives me the prettiest glimpse of her body, naturally tan skin, killer luscious lips that are pursed, and her soft waves that are cascading down her back even in the high ponytail she has it up in.
“Did I die and go to nurse heaven?” My voice cracks when I talk. Fucking tube they no doubt shoved down my throat to fix my bum shoulder. If I weren’t lying on this uncomfortable and unforgiving hospital bed, I’d have lost my footing, no doubt, when she turns around showing me her beauty.
She laughs. It’s a sound that soothes your soul, husky in its tone, and has me thinking things I shouldn’t.
“Hello, Mr. Martinez, I’m Giana. I’ll be your nurse for today. How are you feeling?” she asks. Vibrant green eyes framed by long mink eyelashes assault my vision. Damn, those lips do not disappoint either. Her side profile doesn’t hold a candle to the front.
“I’m good. I’d be better if you were coming home with me to nurse me back to life.” My head falls back on its own accord, more than likely from the anesthesia and drugs pumping through my veins. This is going to suck donkey dick.
“Leave her alone. Nobody wants to deal with your surly ass.” I open my eyes. Slade, Bridger, Travis, and even Easton’s eyes meet mine.
“I’m really fucking dreaming,” I say to no one in particular.
“Mr. Martinez, are you comfortable? I can get you something to drink and some more medicine,” the angel I’ve been staring at asks.
I shake my head to tell her no when that shit starter, Bridger, speaks up, “Yeah, can she make you comfortable, Drake? Are you thinking of a sponge bath?” He wiggles his eyebrows.
“If my arm wasn’t throbbing and it didn’t take all of my energy, I’d throw something heavy at your head,” I grunt out.
“Well, I’m sorry to say, but you won’t be in here long enough for a sponge bath to happen, and even if you were, it wouldn’t be me giving you one either.” She rolls her eyes. This gives me the chance to look at her name badge on her scrub top. “Giana,” I murmur, rolling it around on my tongue. Her eyes dart to me, stopping her from looking at the IV bag hanging on the pole. Hell, she told me her name, but reading it and saying it are two completely different things.
“Yes?” her voice squeaks out.
“Can you ask the doctor to stop the pain medicine? I’d rather take Tylenol or something that won’t keep me hopped up on drugs.”
“I’ll jot that down. Also, your doctor will be in shortly. Tomorrow, you should be able to go home. As much as I’d love to be your caretaker, that’s not usually in my scope of work. That being said, you’ll probably need some help the next few weeks. Maybe one of your friends can help you out.” She winks before turning away to walk out of my hospital room. I stare the entire time too, unabashed, not giving a shit that my eyes are glued to her ass.
“You need me to wipe the drool off your mouth, bud?” Travis asks.
“Fuck off. Where’s everyone else? All the women folk get tired of you?” I fire back. My shoulder is throbbing. Have surgery, they said. It’ll be fine, they said. Yet now that I had it, the pain is worse than before. I just hope this shit works.
“Raelynn is baking you a cake,” Travis grunts. His hands rub at his jaw.
“She didn’t have to do that.” It’s going to be a long night if I’m staying here till tomorrow.
“Kellie’s cleaning your place. She said something like you don’t come home from a hospital to a dirty house.” He looks fit to be tied that Kellie isn’t right next to him. I can’t say that I blame him. When her past came blaring back to life, it changed him.
“Cam’s with the realtor, looking at places to live. She wants us to all be one happy family, having s’mores and singing Kumbafuckingya.” Easton’s smirk is telling me everything I need to know. He missed us, though this has Cam’s idea written all over it.
“And Taylor is at work. She tried to get off, but they needed her today. Knowing her, she’ll be here the minute she gets off to mother hen you to death. Where is everyone else? I figured they’d beat us here.” I guess he forgot what I told him, which isn’t like Slade, unless I was the one who dropped the bag.
“Mom and Dad are on that Alaskan cruise they’ve been saving for, Leo is on an assignment, and Braxton said he’ll stop by after he closes down the shop,” I tell them all. It’s really not a big deal. This surgery was a bitch and a half, the recovery being worse than anything.
“Well, shit. Who’s helping out when you break out of this prison?” Slade questions.
“If I were a betting man, which I’m not, I’d take a wild guess on who he wants to stay with him,” Bridger chuckles.
“I wouldn’t tell her no, that’s for damn sure. Having her nurse me back to health wouldn’t be such a bad thing.” My eyes are slowly closing. Those God-awful drugs are pulling me under, and I really hate that feeling.
“Get some rest, bud. We’ll be here when you wake up.” I nod my head, and that’s the last thought I have before I’m fast asleep.
Two
Giana
I’m back at my station, documenting everything after my rounds when the four men who were in with my patient file out of his room, and every last one of them saunters over to me. Right now, Rita is on her lunch break, so I’m the only one here at the moment.
“Can I help you?” I ask. My voice is stoic, though I’m not sure why.
“Sure, we need to see if you’d be interested in working with Drake. There’s no way he’ll let us stay with him or him with one of us. Not even our wives will convince him,” the one in a police uniform says. It takes me a minute to realize that it’s in fact our Sheriff here in Lodgeview.
“Me? Why me? We can find him someone from his health insurance provider,” I offer.
“Well, to be blunt, he requested you. It’s not like you’d need to be there around the clock, just be there for a couple of hours a day. Enough to change his bandage, help him get in and out of the shower, and make sure his ass doesn’t do something completely stupid.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know your name,” I interject. “I know Sheriff Daniels, but I can’t say that I even know who I’m talking to.”
“I’m Bridger,” the one who clearly joked about the sponge bath says, extending his hand.
“Giana Duncan,” I reply, taking his hand.
“This is Slade and Easton.” He points to the other two men. We all shake hands as well.
“I’m not saying I’ll even do this. You’d have to clear it with the administrator of the hospital, plus my salary that I make here, while I’m there. I’d expect more compensation, especially since this will be happening on my time off.” I fold my arms under my chest, letting them know in no uncertain terms that I’m not really buying what they're selling.
“If you’re willing, we’ll handle the rest,” Slade states.
“Wait, what? How is that even possible?” I’m flabbergasted to say the least.
“You’ll work here, we’ll pay you double what you make here for two to three hours a day if you take care of Drake.” This time it’s Easton talking. I swear I’m getting whiplash from moving my head back and forth between these men.
“Um, okay, I guess. But I’ll need to at least see some kind of credentials.” I may be a fool for taking this side job, but there’s no way I won’t do my own due diligence. My parents did not raise a fool.
“Sure.” All four of them pull out their badges of some sort. I look at them carefully, knowing full well as soon as this shift is over what I’ll be doing, research, a shit ton of it. I see that Bridger and Slade work for the same place, Easton has a different company, and then, well, Travis. There isn’t much I need to do there, not to mention everyone in town knows Raelynn.
“I guess that sums it up. It’s not like I couldn’t use the extra money anyways. Student loans are a you know what,” I mutter.
“We’ll have everything ready later this afternoon,” Easton lets me know. I nod my head, still in a state of ‘what the hell did I get myself into’ when each of them turns on their heels and leaves.
I fall back in the chair carefully. It wouldn’t look too good if a nurse landed in the hospital with a broken tailbone because she plopped down unsteadily and the wheels on the seat took off.
“This has got to be one of the weirdest days ever,” I whisper out.
“Hey, girl! What was that you said?” Rita comes strolling back in, a to-go cup in her hand, and now I have the sudden craving for waffle fries.
“Nothing. This has been a weirder day than normal, but everything was good while you were gone.”
“That’s good. Are you taking your break now or later?” Rita is an older nurse. She took me under her wing when I landed on this floor. Her white hair shows her age, which is not a reflection of her spirit. I swear she can run circles around me on any given day of the week.
“I’ll go now. I have a sudden craving.” I look at the cup she’s holding, letting her know where I’m going.
“I would have picked you up something, sugar.”
“That’s okay. I didn’t really know what I wanted, but now that I do, I’m going. Plus, this gives me some down time. I’m still coming down from finishing my last class. That bachelor’s degree really tried to kill me,” I tell her, and I’m not lying—working full-time while going to school part-time was a struggle. I’ve never been happier that it’s done and I’m officially through with school.
“Alright, anything I need to know?” I’m grabbing my wallet and phone from the desk drawer. Most people put things in their lockers that are provided by the surgical center. I’d rather not and choose to carry as little as possible.
“Everyone’s good. Mr. Martinez has requested to come off his pain meds. It’s documented. He’s the only one waiting on rounds right now,” I tell Rita, my thoughts going back to when I walked into his hospital room. Even with his shoulder bandaged and him sedated from pain medicine, Drake Martinez is a sight to behold. Raven-colored hair, tousled from what I’m sure was a stressful morning, that five o’clock shadow that might be more like a day’s worth of growth. Not to mention his chest—he’s sculpted, completely and utterly sculpted. Something I should not have been paying attention to while working on him. My eyes though, they had a mind of their own and wanted to visualize every aspect of his body.
“Thank you, Rita.” I snap out of my stupor. If I think about Drake Martinez anymore, I’ll never get lunch or figure out what Nighthawk Security and Reid Industries are all about.
“No problem.” We wave, and then I’m off. I have a date with a Cobb salad and a crushed ice soft drink.
Three
Drake
I run my left hand down my face. The effects from the pain medicine are making me more tired than ever. Sure, I need rest, I’m no dummy when it comes to listening to your body, but this drug-induced state has got to fucking stop.
“Ah, Mr. Martinez. Sorry it took me so long to make rounds today. An emergency surgery was wheeled in right when we finished up with you,” my surgeon says. I look outside the window seeing the sun is well past setting. I shake off my annoyance. This place is a joke even when I’m the one not in a bed.
“No problem.” I mask my annoyance.
“I see here you requested to be taken off pain medicine unless it’s over the counter and that you’ll be going home with a home health nurse for a few hours every day. He or she will help rebandage your dressing, help you take showers, and then work on the therapy aspect as well.”
“When will this be happening?” I grit my teeth, not wanting some stranger in my house seeing me in my weakest moments.
“Tomorrow. I want to see how you do overnight without pain medicine. If all goes as planned, you’ll be out of here by noon tomorrow. Sound good?”
“Yeah, I mean, I’m not too happy to be spending the night, but I knew it would happen. Thank you. Hopefully, I won’t be back here again for quite some time.” I shake his hand with my left hand, not liking that it makes me feel weak.
“I’m right there with you. Everything went smoothly, so with the right amount of rest and doing your exercises, I have no doubt you’ll be back to your regular activities in the next few months. You will be in the sling though, for four to six weeks,” he tells me again what he already said before the operation. If anyone wants out of this shit, it’s going to be me. There’s no way I want to be laid up any more than necessary.
“You got it,” I tell him.
“Knock, knock, look who I found wandering the halls,” Bridger announces as he opens the door.
“You look like shit,” my brother states. I roll my eyes. He’s one to talk.
“Those bags under your eyes are saying the same thing about yourself.” My tone is gruff, and what patience I did have is dwindling the longer I’m caged in this place.
Braxton recently bought old man Red’s mechanic shop, and he’s been busting his ass ever since. Working night and day, even with the help of Leo and me, it still has a long way to go. Especially with Braxton wanting it set up a certain way.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I guess it takes one to know one.” His hands are stained from grease and motor oil, a sign that the man has the same work ethic as me.
“No shit,” I grouse.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Drake.” Dr. Smith waves his hand and heads out the door. It has me laying my head back down on the pillow and taking a full breath of air. The guys told me earlier what the surgeon had said to them after I was brought in to recovery, but until I heard it from the man himself, I hadn’t been breathing easy.
“I’ll be counting down the hours, Doc,” I tell him, causing Braxton and Bridger to laugh.
“So, what’s the plan?” I ask Bridger. I’m not stupid enough to know he didn’t come back here scheming something.
“What do you mean, what's the plan? We break you out of here, take you home, and nurse you back to health.” His hands are in his pockets, and he rocks back on his heels.
“Bullshit. I know that stance. I’ve known you for how many years now? What do you have cooking up?”
“We’re in the process of getting you a certain nurse to help you.” He winks.
“Yoo-hoo,” someone says, walking through the door. I swear to Christ this place is like Grand Central Station, where anybody can come and go as they please.
