I go over to the kitchen table and pull out a seat for her. She sits and buries her face in her hands. Putting some food on a plate, I place it in front of her. “Eat up.”
“Not hungry,” she groans.
Coming down from an adrenaline shot can be rough. Especially after what she was originally given to knock her out. Her body needs time to heal. Lots of rest. “How do you feel?” I ask, reaching out and touching her forehead.
She pushes my hand away and demands, “What the hell happened, Haidyn?”
I sigh, rubbing a hand over the back of my neck. I’ve been waiting very impatiently for her to wake up but also dreading it knowing she’d want an explanation. “What do you remember?”
“Don’t do that.” She shakes her head, her voice sounding exasperated. “Only fill in what you think I deserve to know.”
“Charlotte…”
“This is my fucking life!” she shouts. Jumping up from her chair, she picks up the plate and throws it across the room. It hits the floor and shatters; the food goes flying across the tile and splatters against parts of the wall. Taking a deep breath, she pushes her wild hair from her face and sits back down. Her tired eyes meet mine. “I came home and there was a glass of wine on the counter.” She nods to the island before bowing her head once again. “I thought it was you. That you had beat me home and had it out and ready for me. I downed it. There were two Lords here…” She pauses, and I frown.Two?I only saw one when I arrived. “Next thing I knew, I was lying on the floor thinking I was dying. Then I woke up, naked and tied to my bed. You fucked me, and I passed out.” Her eyes meet mine again andthere’s a challenge in them that I wish I could ignore. “So you tell me, Haidyn…what did I miss?”
I pull out a chair and sit across from her. Out of range of her fist and I made sure to hide all of her knives and the gun I found hidden in a drawer. If she kills me, I can’t protect her. “I found you on the kitchen floor. I thought you were dead but that’s how you’re supposed to appear.” Her eyes narrow, not understanding, but I continue. “I called Gavin, and he brought me adrenaline to bring you back…”
“Bring me back from where?” she demands, not second-guessing what I’m saying. Why would she? She’s proven that she trusts me with her life. My wife doesn’t expect me to lie to her, but I can’t tell her everything that took place while she was out. Because then I’d have to explain who was here and what I had to do in order to save her.
“You were given a drug that slows your heart rate to the point where it makes you appear dead. The only way to bring you back is adrenaline.”
“How do you know that?” she asks.
“Because I recently needed to appear dead.”
CHARLOTTE
“Those four days…thinking you were dead, and then you were alive.”
Ashtyn’s words come to mind when she stood in the hallway at Carnage and told my husband she loved him too. “Let me guess, you did it for Ashtyn? Yourbaby girl.” I roll my eyes. “Why am I not surprised?”
He frowns at me, and I shake my head. Pushing my chair back, I get to my feet and sway a little. He jumps from his to come to my aid, and I push him back. “I don’t need your help.”
“Charlotte—”
“Did you take that bullet for her too?” I joke but his silence makes my stomach drop. “Why?” I demand. “Why did you risk so much for her? She wasn’t yours.”
He looks away from me, jaw sharpening.
I hate how much he cares for her. I know I’m not supposed to. That it’s okay for them to have a past, but I’ve only ever belonged to him. It’s not fair that another woman was supposed to be his. “If you want her, then go get her.” I go to storm out of the kitchen, but he grabs my arm and spins me around, forcing me to face him. My hands come up, and I try to push him away, but I’m still too weak.
“I don’t want her.” He reassures me, holding me in place.
“Don’t touch me,” I snap.
“Calm down, doll face,” he growls. “You just woke up and still need to take it easy.”
Tears sting my eyes, and I don’t know if I want to kill him or kiss him.
“It’s okay.” He reaches up and pushes my hair behind my ear. I drop my face to hide, but he cups my chin and forces it up so his eyes can meet mine. “I’m here with you. I married you. You’re the one I want.”
“I…I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” I admit softly.
He sighs. “You’ve been through a lot, Annabelle.” I flinch at the use of my real name. He said it softly, almost as if he feels sorry for me. “It’s going to take a toll on you. But you will be okay. It’s all going to be okay.”
The way he says it has me questioning everything, but I can’t seem to make my lips work. I’m just tired. So instead of fighting him, I push myself into his muscular body and wrap my arms around his chest, burying my face into his shirt and inhaling his scent. It’s become my home. My safe place.
He pushes me away, and my stomach sinks, reminding myself that I’m not Ashtyn. I’m just some whore forced to marry him. But he reaches down and slides an arm underneath the back of my knees and picks me up, cradling me to him. I swallow the knot in my throat as he carries me back to my bed.
