“I just— Hey! There he is.”

“He wouldn’t take the medicine, just as you said.”

“He’s okay, aren’t you, cowboy?” Riley stepped closer, gently rubbed a hand over the few days’ worth of beard. “A little scruffy, but it looks good on you. You scared the shit out of us.”

“Hey, me, too.”

“Let’s get you downstairs. I bet you could use some food.”

“I could eat. A lot.”

“Good sign.” Like Annika, Riley wrapped an arm around his waist, and together they helped him downstairs. “Outside,” Riley prescribed. “Fresh air, sunshine. I’ve got him, Annika. Why don’t you get him a big cold glass of the sun tea.”

“Beer.”

“Not yet, pal. And some food. There’s pasta from last night, and—”

“Yes, yes, I can fix the food, and the drink.”

“She’s filled us in,” Riley said in a low voice the moment they stepped outside. “But we’ll want your end of it. I’m going to tell you, she beat her tail bloody trying to get out to you, and she’s stuck with you since Bran put you under. She hasn’t been out of the room either. She needs the sun and the water.”

“Okay.” More than a little rocky, he sat under the pergola. “The pool’s just a stopgap. She needs the sea. Bran can get her down to the water. I can’t make it yet.”

“We’ll take care of it.”

Riley stepped back, spotted Sasha painting on the terrace, signaled her. “Sawyer’s awake, he’s down here. You want to get Bran?”

“We’ll be right down.”

Then glancing toward the grove, Riley put two fingers in her mouth, let out a long, loud whistle.

“Hey, a wolf whistle.”

Riley glanced back, smirked. “Glad to see you’ve got your lame humor back. Okay, shit.” She walked to him, took his face in her hands, kissed him hard on the mouth. “I’m going to help Anni. And get a beer.”

“I want a beer.”

“No alcohol without Dr. Sorcerer signing off.”

He’d have sulked over it, but as Riley strode away, Sasha dashed out. And as Riley had, kissed him.

“Maybe I should get tortured more often. It gets all the girls.”

“Your color’s good. How’s the pain?”

“It’s there. Not bad, but there.”

“We’ll take care of that. You’re hungry.”

“I’m starved.”

“Let’s see the knife wound.” Without ceremony, she lifted his shirt, gently probed as Doyle strode across the lawn. “It’s healing well. And the shoulder . . . better. Your wrists, better yet. Stay with him,” she told Doyle. “Bran’s coming down, and I’m going to help put food together.”

With a nod, Doyle sat across from Sawyer, studied him.

“Aren’t you going to kiss me? Everybody else has.”

“I’ll pass on that. They beat the fuck out of you, brother, and sliced you good while they were at it. And a cattle prod, was it? From what Annika described.”

“Something like that. Malmon?”

“Not a sign or a sound. After some considerable bitching by certain parties, Bran and Riley went up. You couldn’t be left unconscious, so they won that battle. There’s nothing left in the cave, and no survivors they could find. Malmon, according to Riley’s sources, hasn’t been back to the villa. His things are there right enough, but he hasn’t been seen.”

“If I had a fucking beer, I’d drink to that.”

“Considering all, I’ll get us both a beer.”

“Not for Sawyer, not as yet.” Bran, one of his kits in hand, walked out.

“Have a heart. I’ve been mostly dead all day.”

“Excellent Princess Bride usage.” Riley came out with a tray—the glass of sun tea, the pasta. “There’s more coming, but you can get started.”

“First, the pain—one to ten.”

Sawyer shrugged at Bran. “Maybe four and a half.”

“That means a solid six,” Riley said. “He’s downplaying.”

“I agree.” Bran took a vial from the kit. “For the pain,” he said. “Not for sleep. Just to take the pain down a bit. Sasha will insist on dealing with it, and I’d as soon she didn’t take on that much.”

“Fine.” Sawyer waited until Bran added a few drops to the glass, then downed the tea. “I gotta eat.”

He shoved in two healthy bites, sat back, said, “Whoa. For the pain?”

“It’ll give you a bit of an energy boost as well.”

“I’ll say. You need to get Annika to the water—seawater.”

“I’ll see to it.”

Both Sasha and Annika came out with trays.

“We’ve got more pasta,” Sasha began. “Bread, cheese, fruit, olives, peppers, and anything else Anni could think of.”

“Great. What are the rest of you going to eat?” Sawyer asked and grabbed a hunk of bread.

“Let’s see about the pain.”

“It’s barely there now,” he told Sasha.

“Then let’s get it gone. I’m good at this now. Just relax and keep eating.”

“How about that beer?”

“Half a glass of wine to start,” Bran said. “Then we’ll see how we go. Are you up for a report?”