“Milo, please, I’ve had a long day, and I don’t want to fight with you.”
“Let me see you.”
“Why?”
“I want to know you’re okay.” I pressed my palm against the peeling paint. “Chance told me you were hurt.”
“What? Why would he tell you that?”
“Because he thinks I’m the one who did it.”
“Are you kidding?” She cracked open the door but not enough for me to see her. “I didn’t tell him you… You wouldn’t do that to me.”
“Not ever.” When I pushed on the door, it swung toward her. She tried to shove it closed, but I wedged my foot between it and the frame. “Don’t fight me. You’re not going to win.”
She widened the door, turning away from me as I entered the apartment. I reached for her arm and forced her to face me.When she looked down, I steadied my hand and tilted her chin so I could see her.
“Fuck.” The sight of her swollen lip and the red splotch under her eye propelled me into a spiral of towering rage. “Who did that to you?”
“You saw my face.” She stepped back. “Now I want you to go.”
“Don’t do that.” I touched her cheek. “Did you put ice on your lip?”
“I don’t want you to take care of me.” She held up her hand. “I want you to go.”
“That’s not happening.” I advanced on her, causing her to retreat backward until she hit the wall and winced. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re in pain.” I guided her to turn around, so I could slide the soft, pink robe down her shoulder. “Sable.”
Red marks covered her shoulder blade. I ran my hand along her irritated skin, no longer able to suppress my anger.
“Who?” I gritted my teeth. “I want a name.”
She tugged the robe over her shoulder, shielding her injury from me. “Let it go,” she said. “It was a random thing.”
“Don’t lie to me.” There was nothing random about any of this. “You were targeted because of me.”
“I won’t be in the middle of this war.”
“You’re already there because…” I clenched my fists when the reality of who did this to her set in. I brought her into my world and then left her vulnerable because she couldn’t comply with my demands. “I need to end this quickly before something else happens to you.”
“Where is Chance?” she asked.
“Your brother came to the dealership threatening to beat the shit out of me for hurting you.”Idiot.“That was honorable of him. Laughable, but honorable."
Chance may have been the biggest screw up I’d ever met, but his loyalty to Sable impressed me even if it made me want to kill him. For once in his life, he’d tried to do something to protect his sister instead of making things more difficult for her.
“Did you hurt him?” Her eyes were burdened with fear, and I hated knowing it was me she was afraid of.
“I find it irritating that even after you were assaulted, you’re worried about Chance.”
Why couldn’t she let this be about the two of us? She had to let Chance fight his own battles or he would never learn to survive on his own.
“Would you be worried about Marchello?”
“Chance is not Marchello, but to answer your first question, no, I did not hurt him.” As much as I wanted to, Sable had to be my priority.
