“If I find out—”
“She wanted to take it slow.”
Either she’s been telling the truth this whole time or they’re both pros at deception.
“Ever go near her again and I’ll give you a vasectomy.”
“You’re a sick son of a bitch.”
“I amtheson of a bitch, so I can’t be upset at that comment. As for being sick, I own that too.” I slide the knife in my pocket. “Remember what I said. Stay far away from my girl,” I say, delivering one more gut punch for the hell of it.
I get in my car and contemplate my next move. Going back to the hospital is out of the question. Surely, Cin will scream her head off and have security throw my ass out on the curb. I’ll allot her twenty-four hours to calm down, but that’s it. She needs to get the hell over it and fast. I fucked another woman, so what? Cin isn’t innocent in all this. She’s no stranger to infidelity—throwing stones in glass houses and all that shit. I gave her specific instructions to avoid him at all costs. She had no business having lunch with the fucker. The lesson was hard, but she had to be taught. She’ll either obey me now or hate me more. I don’t care which as long as she’s mine.
I come to, stretching my sore body. Anneli is snuggled against my side, fast asleep. I shake her shoulder until she wakes up.
“Welcome back to the land of the living.” She yawns, sitting up. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been drugged,” I say groggily.
“It had to be done to get your breathing and heart rate under control.”
“Where’s Sebastian?”
“At home with your mom.”
“Mason?”
“Art has him.”
“Were they at the hospital?”
“No, Heather looked after them.”
“Do they know about the car accident?”
“Yes. They’re upset they couldn’t see you.”
I’ll call them, but first I need water for my parched throat. “I need water.”
“Okay. I’ll get you a bottle from the vending machine.”
She returns, handing me the cold drink. “It’s clear something happened between you and Art. How did he get those cuts on his face?”
“He did something awful.” Fat tears roll down my face.
“What did he do?”
“I’m not ready to talk about it.”
“Okay. Is it really over?”
“I think it is.”
“You’ll need to get a restraining order.”
“What?”
“You know he’s not going to leave you alone.”
