Holding one hand out to ward him off, Hayley used the Dumpsterto push herself to her feet. Once she was up, she straightened as much as she could, still holding her ribs, and stared him down as tears splashed onto the ground, mixing with her blood.
“I have two words for you, Silas.” She barely managed to get it out through stiff, swollen lips. “Fuck. You.And your promises. I’m no longer your responsibility. That wasyourdecision. You weredone. NowI’vemademydecision.I’mdone.”
Silas absorbed every verbal blow, knowing he deserved them and so much more. He stood there, soul shredded, as Maddox talked to Hayley in a low voice, easing closer as he might with a spooked horse.
“Sweetheart, listen to me, please. You’ve been badly hurt. You and my brother aren’t in a good place right now. I get that. But you do need a doctor. Let me take you there. If you go to the hospital, it might get reported. No one can know you were here, honey. You’ll end up in prison for that gun. Do this for me. Please. I can’t just leave you here alone and hurt.”
Hayley’s shoulders slumped and she closed her eyes. “I’ll go,” she conceded. “But only ifyoutake me.”
As she pushed away from the Dumpster, her legs buckled and Maddox was there before Silas, sweeping her up against his chest. Maddox met his eyes briefly, and then Silas watched him stride quickly from the alley, carrying Silas’s entire world in his arms.
“Silas?” Drake called. “I need your help. The guys are almost here. Let’s get your girl covered, and then you can start digging yourself out of the hole you made. I’ve been there, man. It’ll be one of the hardest things you’ve ever done, but crawl if that’s what it takes. It’s worth it. Because nothing is harder than living without the other piece of your heart.”
37
“Where the fuck is Hayley?” Silas roared over the phone. “I just went by the clinic and no one’s there.”
Maddox sighed and there was a momentary silence that made Silas even crazier.
“Hayley refused to go to the clinic. The only way I could get her to agree to allow the doctor to see her was to take her to a hotel room and call the doctor from there.”
“Where?” Silas asked in an icy voice.
“Uh, I don’t think—”
“Where, goddamn it?” Silas shouted.
Maddox blew out his breath and then related the name of the hotel and room number. Silas accelerated and drove as fast as was possible, pulling up to the hotel fifteen long minutes later. He strode past the reception area and got onto the elevator, punching the number for the thirtieth floor.
Moments later he was banging on the door and growled menacingly when Maddox answered, his big body filling up the doorway so Silas couldn’t push by.
“You can either let me see her or I’ll go through you,” Silas said stonily.
“She doesn’t want to see you, man,” Maddox said, sympathy in his eyes.
“Then she can tell me that to my face. Nowmove.”
Reluctantly Maddox allowed him by and Silas strode into the suite, his gaze locking onto the bedroom door, which was slightly ajar. He paused at the door and peeked through the crack to see Drake’s doctor finishing his exam of Hayley’s battered body. Silas closed his eyes, the sight of all the blood and bruising more than he could bear. How much longer would she have to suffer for who and what he was? For all the mistakes he’d made with her from the very beginning?
He pushed open the door just as the doctor was giving Hayley the last of his instructions, and he walked swiftly toward the bed, motioning the doctor out.
Hayley lay against a mound of pillows, her dark lashes resting on her pale and battered cheeks. He slid onto the bed, sitting so he faced her and gently picked up her hand, lifting it to his lips. Staggered by the emotion welling in his chest, he felt a peculiar wetness on his cheeks.
As soon as he touched her, Hayley’s eyes flew open and she snatched her hand back so quickly that it rocked her midsection and she emitted a pained gasp. She held her hand to her chest, covering it protectively with her other one, and tried valiantly to scoot away from him.
“Careful, princess,” he said in a low voice. “Don’t hurt yourself. You need to be as still as possible so you don’t cause yourself any more pain.”
“You’re the one causing me pain,” she said in a ragged breath.
He sucked in his breath and looked away as more tears slid silently down his cheeks.
“I have so much I want to say,” he said. “I’m so sorry, my beautiful girl. I’ve made so many mistakes. I never meant to hurt you time after time. I can’t do anything right when it comes to you. You knocked me on my ass since the moment you entered my world, and then you became my world.”
She held up a trembling hand to stop him. “Don’t bother,” she said scornfully. “You have nothing to say that I want to hear. I can’t trust anything that comes from your mouth. I’ve been nothing but honest with you, Silas. I’ve kept all my promises. Can you say the same?”
“I—”
She shook her head. “No, don’t say anything. I don’t want to hear it.”
