“What the hell happened to you?”
I failed that final punch and groaned, turning toward Alisa, and when I did, I saw her eyes widen at the sight of my battered face.
“What the hell happened to you?” she squealed.
“Oh, great.” I crossed my arms in front of me. “You’re talking to me now?”
She narrowed her eyes. “What happened, Dante?”
“It’s nothing,” I muttered, trying not to be immature, and turned back to the bag. “Just a disagreement.”
“A disagreement?” she repeated, voice rising. “Your eye is the size of a baseball!”
“I’ve had worse,” I grunted, throwing another punch.
She marched up to stand right between me and the bag. “Stop that. You’re going to make it worse.”
I glared at her with my one good eye. “Why do you care? You made it pretty clear you don’t want anything to do with me.”
Her cheeks flushed, but she didn’t back down. “That doesn’t mean I want to watch you injure yourself further. Have you even put ice on it?”
“Been busy,” I said, stepping around her to resume my workout.
She blocked me again, hands on her hips. “Dante, stop. You need to take care of that eye.”
“What I need,” I growled, “is for you to leave me alone. Isn’t that what you wanted? Distance? Space? Well, here it is. Enjoy it.”
“Don’t be childish,” she snapped. “I’m trying to help you.”
“Help me?” I laughed harshly. “That’s rich. One minute you’re running away from me like I’ve got the plague, the next you’re playing nursemaid. Make up your mind, Alisa.”
Her eyes flashed dangerously. “I never claimed to have it all figured out. But I know enough to see that punching things with a head injury is stupid, even for you.”
“Even for me? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re reckless,” she shot back. “Always have been. Charging into situations without thinking, not caring who gets hurt—including yourself.”
That stung. “You don’t know anything about what I do or why I do it.”
“Then enlighten me,” she challenged, stepping closer. “What happened to your eye? Another bar fight? Another woman’s jealous boyfriend?”
My temper flared. “You want to know what happened? My operation got attacked, and I was trying to find the men who put you on that auction block. But my only lead took a bullet before I could get answers.”
Her face paled. “You… you were looking for them? For me?”
I didn’t know what to say. How much of the truth would scare her off? I took one step closer. “I… I got you back here to keep you safe, Alisa. Why would that change?”
She took in a shuddering, soft breath, her eyes darting between mine. Just then, I realized how close we stood, how one more step would suck the air out between us.
Her chest heaved, and she blinked away her confusion, her lashes pattering softly against her cheeks. “I… I didn’t ask you to do that,” she whispered.
But I heard what she didn’t say; the quiver in her voice, the racing of her heart, the knowledge that time between us stretched taut and unmoving.
“Just how stubborn can you be?” I whispered, tilting my head, taking one step closer to see if she’d rise to my bait.
Chapter 14 - Alisa
His question hung in the air between us like smoke after a fire.Just how stubborn could I be?
