“It’s not fair,” I sniffed. I was being vulnerable again, and I hated myself for it. Bull clearly didn’t know what to do with me, and I didn’t blame him. He was right about one thing, though: Archerwasa fighter. He’d been fighting his whole life just to exist.
“I’ll come back when Dex is awake,” I said, dismissing myself.
“He is awake.”
I exhaled slowly. “Then I’ll go see him.”
“Do not release him,” Bull said as he opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. I had no idea what he meant by that.
Bryce and the other man weren’t in the hallway anymore, and when I entered the guest room, I found the guy sitting in a chair next to the bed.
It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness of the room, and once I did, there was a lot to take in. The first thing I noticed was Dex’s hair. The long dark-blond locks were all gone,and his head was shaved. He was wearing only sweat shorts and the bandages that covered his torso, shoulder, forearm, and thigh. I also saw what Bull had meant when he’d told me not toreleaseDex.
A thick cuff was padlocked around his ankle, with a chain that connected to the base of the bed.
He was awake, but he didn’t seem present, as he leaned against a stack of pillows and stared vacantly at nothing. The room smelled faintly of sweat and antiseptic.
“You have a visitor,” the gruff man said in a low voice.
Dex’s brow furrowed as he turned to look at me, staring for a long moment before he spoke in a raspy voice. “Get this fucking thing off my ankle.”
“Not happenin’, son,” said the man. Dex’s lip curled up in annoyance as he shot him a glare.
“Get out,” he snapped.
The man sighed, turning his attention to me instead. “I’m Roy.”
“Why is he shackled to the bed?” I asked, instead of introducing myself.
“’Cause he can’t be trusted not to make a run for it.” Roy turned to look at Dex with tired fondness. “He needs to stay right here until he’s healed up a little better.”
“I need a smartphone.” Dex snapped his attention to me.
“Okay. I’ll get you one.” I responded.
Roy sighed. “It ain’t good for you to fixate right now. Your focus needs to be on mendin’ yourself.”
Dex rolled his eyes and then winced as the action caused him pain.
“Can I talk to him alone.” I phrased it like a question, but it was a demand.
Roy looked me up and down, deciding if I was to be trusted, before he nodded. He groaned softly as he pushed up to his feet again. “I’ll be right outside.”
“I don’t care,” Dex mumbled.
Once Roy had left the room, I closed the door and took the recently occupied seat.
“The phone,” Dex started, not turning to look at me.
“I’ll get it.”
He nodded.
“Does it have to do with that tracker you asked me for?”
He nodded again.
“Does it have to do with what happened to you?”
