Insurmountable (Serpentine #1) (9 page)

After I raided the infirmary, I returned to Alley in the bathroom. She hadn’t moved much from where I’d left her, so I hoped the worst of the vomiting was over.

“I’m not the greatest at this,” I said taking her left arm and looking for a good vein. Luckily, she had a large one near the surface. I tied a tourniquet around her arm, wiped it with alcohol and prepared the needle.

“What are you doing?” she moaned.

“You need fluids.” I pressed the needle into her skin, hoping for a flash of red to show I’d hit the vein. Slowly, I pushed forward.
Come on. Come on.
Then finally blood appeared, and I released the tourniquet and pulled the needle free of the tiny line. When the IV was set, I pushed through a syringe of saline and taped it in place.

“It burns,” Alley said.

I kissed her forehead and attached the first bag of liquids. “It’ll be much better than dehydration.”

Squeezing the bag, I forced the initial fluids into her body. Then, I scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom, jerry-rigging the bag to the headboard to keep the saline flowing.

When she finally fell asleep, she tossed and turned every few minutes moaning and grunting. I wished for something I could do to ease her misery, but we both had no choice but to wait it out.

At nine o’clock, my phone rang, showing Kirk’s name on the screen. He’d helped me get Alley back to my apartment without incident after Ross had finished his show.

I snuck away from the bed, to avoid waking Alley and accepted the call.

“I’m in,” Kirk said.

I scoffed. “I figured we’d scared you off last night.”

“Close.” He exhaled. “You need help. I’ll do it.”

My shoulders finally relaxed and I rubbed my hand over my mouth. “Good. There’s a furnished apartment ready for you here. I need someone who’s readily available.”

“Today?” he asked.

“Today. Can you do me one favor on your way over here? I’m in need of chocolate cake.”

“Chocolate cake, huh? How’s Alley doing?”

“She could be better or much worse. I’ve been pushing fluids through an IV, and she’s sleeping it off.” I peeked into the bedroom again. “She informed me a couple of weeks ago that chocolate fixes everything, so….” I trailed off, not knowing where to go next. Or if I needed to justify my request to him.

Considering the state he’d seen us both in the previous night, I doubted there was much left for me to hide. If I hadn’t had Alley to take care of, I might have ripped Ross’s head off then and there.

“Got it,” he said. “I’ll be there soon.”

“Then, I’ll make the necessary arrangements.” I let out a long breath after I disconnected the call. For once, I had a good feeling. A confidence that Kirk would help me continue the changes I wanted to make, help me crackdown on the team, and most importantly, protect the girls.

Protect Alley.

By the time I woke up, it was nearly noon. My head felt heavier than a concrete truck, and my tongue had taken on the texture of a felt blanket at some point in the night. Miles had already removed the IV, so I rolled out of bed, and stumbled to the living room, hoping to find him.

“Morning, beautiful,” he said.

I knew he was wrong. And yet, I knew he meant it. I had finally realized that he’d never said anything he didn’t mean. I collapsed on the couch next to him and curled up against his side.

“Hungry?” he asked.

I moaned. Even the thought of food made me sick. “Not really.”

“What if I have chocolate cake to offer?”

I sat up so I could see his face. “Are you serious?”

“And ice cream.” He winked. “Chocolate fixes everything, right?”

How’d I get here
? Even though I’d lived it, I couldn’t process the fact that I’d gone from rock bottom to
this
. “I’m not sure it fixes a hangover, but I’m willing to give it a try.”

Maybe I didn’t have everything I wanted. Maybe I’d never have my life back, my freedom, but I had Miles. Two mismatched people in a far from perfect world.

Some people would never understand.

They’d never see my life as anything except a disgrace, but the magic of it all—the only magic I needed—was that he saw me as more. More than a slave. More than sex. In our quiet moments alone, we had each other. No matter what the rest of the Retreat threw at us, I had his one promise…

No sandy beaches, white gowns, or happily ever after’s. But I’ll give you my bed and my protection, and I’ll try my damnedest to make you forget everything else.

First off, I’d like to thank you, the reader, because without you I could sit and write all day long, but I would have no one to share my dreams with!

I couldn’t make it through everything without the support of my husband, Sir Callahan. He has never questioned my love of writing and even when I drive him to the brink of insanity, he does everything he can to keep me motivated and working. And of course, Sassy, our hard-headed, loud-mouthed, and loveable cat who keeps us both entertained and sane.

I have been fortunate to have no shortage of friends and family who have encouraged me to become a writer. Many thanks to…

My family: Mamaw, Papaw, Mom, Dad, Amanda, all of my sisters, brother, nieces and nephews for encouraging my insanity and giving me wonderful inspiration to work with.

My former neighbors and their cats: Gordon, Cat Cow, and Baby Cat for understanding why I’m always sitting in my backyard and staring off into space with what I sometimes expect appears to be murderous looks on my face (and for sometimes leaving me half-eaten birds that I suspect are intended as between scene snacks).

Pepper Winters, my late night writing partner and best friend. She keeps me working at a pace I never thought was possible, but even more than that I’m honored to call her my friend. Our sticker wars and chats prove every day that I always have someone who understands me like no one else—even if she does live on the opposite side of the world.

Krissy V was one of the first people I spoke to after setting up my author page. She was one of my first betas, and I’m so proud that she has also followed her passion for writing. She’s a wonderful person, and another of my international friends that I’m looking forward to meeting one day.

Diane knew me long before my debut novel and was also one of the first to help me improve my writing and storytelling before pressing publish that first time. She’s a supportive blogger, friend, and fellow writer and I hope that she continues to follow her dreams as well.

Sheila, another fantastic person, beta reader, and author who I would never have met if I hadn’t followed my dreams. Her words of encouragement from the very beginning have meant the world to me.

Sasha has been a wonderful friend and huge help to me as I’ve continued to grow. She always has words of encouragement and is willing to lend a hand when I get buried under my never-ending to do list. I’m also thrilled to add her to my list of trusted betas, and she provided some amazing suggestions to improve the story.

Vicki is also always around with her trained eye to help make sure that I’m not writing myself around in circles, and I really appreciate all of her help and feedback.

Lyra Parish, Rachel Brooks, Chelle Bliss, and Gemma James, my fellow authors and good friends who are always around if I need my ass kicked or a word of advice. As well as Silla Webb, and all of the authors in Authors Having Each Other’s Backs. It’s an honor to be a part of such a supportive and wonderful community.

Verna, Becky, Cassia, Drue, Summer, Philomena, Michelle, Allison, Shayna, Alissa, Tiffany, Shanean, Di—I’m sure I’m forgetting names, and I feel horrible because I could go on and on. But I want to thank every single book blogger who puts so much time into reading, reviewing, and promoting our hard work. These ladies deserve their own holiday! An extra thanks to the ladies—Becky and Amber who have helped me with my reading group, now known as Skye’s Darklings. And to Nicole who I recently met, but she has already been a huge help in getting folks motivated, events scheduled, and keeping me in tune with the promo that needs to be done to help these books sell.

Amber Vaughn deserves a book to herself. She’s an amazing blogger, pimper, and all around beautiful person. She saves my ass with every release and corrects my hillbilly grammar when necessary.

Every one of my fans, readers, and Darklings. You make this job incredible.

I wish I could include the names of all the people who have helped me along the way, but that would be an entire book in itself, and then all of you would get bored and annoyed that my acknowledgements are longer than the story.

That doesn’t mean I love any of you any less! Thank you for your support!

Skye Callahan is the bestselling author of
Irrevocable
a dark romance that ran away with her emotions and led her on a whole new writing journey. She enjoys exploring the darker sides of life through her fiction, whether through paranormal creatures or the depraved underbelly of human nature. Her other works include the follow up to
Irrevocable
,
Bend Don’t Break
, The Redline Series, The Fractured Legacy Series, and
Bound and Unbroken
.

Her love of reading and writing started at a young age and she has been blessed with a family that continues to support her dreams to be a full-time writer. She has lived in Ohio all of her life, where she enjoys taking long walks through cemeteries with her husband, looking for signs of Bigfoot (when the insane Ohio weather permits), studying local history, and hanging out with her nieces and nephews.

I’d love to hear from you!

http://skyecallahan.com

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….