His stomach dropped.Six fucking weeks of darkness, of nothingness, while she—what had she been doing?Waiting?Watching him rot?
“You...”His voice cracked.“You stayed.”
She laughed, but it was a broken, hysterical sound.“Of course, I stayed.”Her thumb brushed over his knuckles.“I wasn’t leaving.Not until you told me to.”
Something hot and painful clenched in his chest.He tried to sit up again, but the room spun, and he groaned, collapsing back.
Xia was there in an instant, her hands on his shoulders, pushing him down.“Don’t.Don’t you dare.”Her voice was fierce, but her eyes were wet.“You’re not strong enough.”
“Y-You shouldn’t be here.You’re supposed to be in Hawaii.”
“No, Rex Oliver.I am exactly where I’m supposed to be.”She cupped his cheeks and stared into his eyes.“Here, with you.”
He wanted to argue, but the exhaustion pulled at him, dragging him under.His eyelids were heavy as his body betrayed him again, but he fought it.He had to.
“Xia,” he rasped, tightening his fingers around hers.“Thanks for staying.”
The door burst open, a flurry of white coats and urgent voices flooding the room.Dr.Cheri Butler led the charge, her sharp eyes already scanning the monitors as her hands moved with practiced efficiency while she barked orders at the doctors and nurses trailing behind her.
“BP’s spiking.Get the sedative ready.”
“Check the IV lines.He’s tachycardic.”
“Rex, can you hear me?”Cheri prodded him.“Blink if you understand.”
“I can f-fucking hear you,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Ah, back to your old self, I see,” Cheri said with a relieved smile.
Rex did his best to ignore the sting of needles, the cold press of a stethoscope against his chest, and the relentless prodding of gloved fingers pressing into him.His body was a battleground, but none of it mattered—not when Xia was still here.
She stepped back, her hands twisting in the hem of her shirt, but her eyes never left him.Even as Cheri moved between them, even as the doctors crowded around, she didn’t leave.She stood her ground, her chin lifted and her shoulders squared, as if she was daring them to make her go.
And God knew, he loved her for it.But that was the problem, wasn’t it?
His heart stuttered, a broken, uneven rhythm beneath the beeping monitors.Six weeks.She had wasted six weeks of her life sitting by his bedside, waiting for him to wake up, waiting for him to—what?Drag her down with him?Ruin her future?
He remembered the way she had looked at him when he first opened his eyes—like he was her whole world.And he remembered the way she had laughed.More of a broken and raw plea than pleasure when he asked if she had stayed.
“Of course I stayed.”
Fuck.
He had done this to her.Again.First, he pulled her into his world—a world of blood and bullets and Dominic fucking Drake—and painted a target on her back the second he claimed her as his.And now?Now he had stolen her future, snatched the one good thing she had earned—that fantastic job with Axel in Hawaii, the chance to build a real future, one untainted by his fucked up life.
But she had stayed anyway.Selfish.He was so fucking selfish.Even though it was her choice to stay, he was the selfish prick.He was the one destroying her life.
It had to end...now.It was time to let her go.To let her find the happiness she deserved.He wasn’t good for her.He wasn’t good enoughforher.Because of him, she got hurt and was almost killed.It was for her own best to walk away and never look back.
His eyes found her over Cheri’s head.Her face was pale, and her lips parted like she was about to say something.His mind filtered through the words she had said.“I wasn’t leaving.Not until you told me to.”He locked his jaw, forcing his expression into a neutral, cold mask.
“Thanks for s-staying, Xia.”His voice was rough but steady, like he was commenting on the weather.“But Dr.Cheri’s got it.She’ll pull me through.”He winked, forcing a smirk, like this was all some big joke.“G-Go pack.Get to Hawaii.That job was m-made for you.A bright future awaits you.Who knows, we might run into each other once the c-casino opens here in New Orleans.”
The words tasted like ash in his mouth as Xia’s entire body turned to stone.For seconds, the room held its breath.The monitors beeped, the doctors murmured, but none of it mattered.The only sound was the roaring in his ears, and the crash of his own heart as he watched the light leave her eyes.
Her lips parted as her breath hitched as if he’d physically slapped her.Her fingers curled into fists at her sides.Slowly, so fucking slowly—her expression shattered.
It was all there for him to see.Betrayal.Hurt.Fuck!Devastation.She looked at him like he was already gone.
