He didn’t answer her. She was right of course. He did want control of everything in his environment, especially Catarina. His parents had kissed him good-bye and left the house laughing. He’d stood at the window waving. They never came home and his life changed completely. It wasn’t that he’d been in bad homes. He just had been moved from home to home, and no one cared about him after that. He hadn’t cared after that. He wouldn’t allow himself to care. Until Catarina. She found her way into his heart, into his soul, and now he stood in a fucking waiting room because he hadn’t kept her safe enough.

The waiting seemed endless. Jake stalked across the room and tugged Emma away from him, putting her in a chair, and sliding a second one close so she could put her feet up. Joshua handed him a wet towel without saying a word. Eli used it, wincing as he wiped at the rake marks on his chest. The slashes were deep and yet he hadn’t noticed he was injured.

It was useless to put on the T-shirt they’d brought, not with blood seeping from the various wounds on his body. It didn’t matter to him. Nothing did. He kept his gaze on the double doors where they’d taken her. Waiting. His heart in his throat.

He heard the measured footfalls coming toward them from the hallway leading to the surgery rooms. His pulse thundered in his ears. He felt bile churning in his gut. Still, he didn’t move, every muscle locked in place. His leopard pushed close, too close to the surface. Beneath his skin the wave of fur sent an itch rushing through him. His eyes went cat, heat waves banding.

Every scent came to him, pouring off the doctor as he stepped through the doors. Her blood. Her scent. He didn’t go to the doctor. He couldn’t take a step, not without his cat forcing a shift to protect him.

“Mr. Perez?”

Eli nodded. That was all he could manage. The rest of his body was locked in place. Frozen with fear. Coiled and ready to strike.

“I’m Dr. Mulligan. Jake called me in to help with Catarina. She’s alive and she’s doing very well. The woman is a fighter.” There was satisfaction in his voice.

Eli’s entire body seemed to shut down. He was afraid he might actually collapse. The thunder in his ears roared louder and little jackhammers tripped against his skull. He forced his body under control because the doctor continued to speak and he needed to listen.