“Kelly, you can’t go to work for a while, alright? So can we stay at my place while you recover? I can’t let you be alone in that apartment.”
“But—”
“No. You need time off, and my house is the safest place you can be right now. We’ll have to sneak you past security, but after that, you can stay as long as you want.”
He sighs and rubs at his temple with a wince. “Can I bring Clover?”
I scoff. “I wasn’t going to just leave her. Who do you think I am?”
He shakes his head and gives me a tired little smile. “I think you’re the best boyfriend.”
The way he looks at me when he says that makes something tighten in my throat.
Fuck. I almost lost him. The thought keeps circling, digging deeper every time. I almost lost him before I could show him exactly what he meant to me, before I could make him understand that he’s mine and nothing will change that.
This demands patience and planning. I can’t just track his ex down and slowly peel the skin from his bones, much as the image satisfies. Kelly needs to be safe first. Protected. Then I can deal with the trash.
My eyes dart toward the door to make sure the nurse isn’t watching. She looked at me like I was some sort of fucking dangerous animal earlier. If she tries to separate us or says one more thing about security, then visiting violations are going to be the last thing she ever worries about because I will throw her out of the fucking window. We’re on the fourth floor. Plenty high enough.
I kick off my shoes and carefully crawl into the hospital bed with him. He shifts to make room, and I push my face into thecrook of his neck and breathe him in. That coconut-lime scent I’ve memorized, mixed with sterile hospital chemicals. My arm wraps around him, and I pull him closer, needing to feel his heartbeat against my chest.
I would never look at him differently for what he went through. The fact that he was scared I might blame him makes something violent twist inside of me. It makes me want to find his ex tonight and start the real fun.
He needs to know he can make his own choices without me controlling everything. I’m glad he went to dinner with his friend. He should be able to see people, live normally, feel secure and free.
Even though every instinct I have is screaming to hide him somewhere safe where nothing can touch him. Keep him protected from everyone except me. The urge gets worse every day. Just grab him and never let him leave. This constant war with my own nature around him is fucking me up, forcing me to choose between what I want and what’s right. So I hold him carefully instead, memorizing the weight of him against me.
Chapter 21
Kelly
My head won’t stop pounding from where it hit the pavement.
I’m sitting in Alexei’s car, trying not to throw up, and I’m so embarrassed he had to come get me from the hospital.
I let things go too far, let my pride get the best of me. I didn’t reach out for help, and I could’ve died because of it. I should have known better by now. Should have learned from the first time that trying to handle things on my own just makes everything worse. Maybe if I hadn’t been so stubborn, so determined to prove I could take care of myself, none of this would have happened. Maybe if I’d just swallowed my pride and asked for help instead of thinking I could deal with David on my own, I wouldn’t be sitting here with my head split open again.
David was right about one thing—I am pathetic. Can’t even protect myself from one drunk asshole with daddy issues. What kind of man does that make me?
I keep making the same stupid mistakes. Keep thinking I’m stronger than I actually am, that I can handle more than I can. It’s like I never learn.
I’m starting to think there’s something fundamentally wrong with me that I keep ending up in these situations. Normal peopledon’t repeatedly put themselves in danger like this. Normal people know when to ask for help before things get this bad.
Alexei probably thinks I’m stupid … And he would be right.
I glance over at him, then down at our tangled hands resting between the car’s armrest. His thumb brushes against mine, and I close my eyes again. The brightness streaming through the windows is making my head scream.
We’ve been driving for almost an hour in Alexei’s Escalade.
A sudden movement makes me flinch. I open my eyes just as Mikhail leans forward from the backseat and punches his brother in the shoulder.
“Yellow car.”
“You motherfucker,” Alexei snaps. “Did our mother drop you on your head as a baby? That actually hurt. Fuck you. And stop yelling, you’re going to make Kelly’s headache worse.”
“It’s two to nothing now,” Mikhail says proudly.
“Yeah, because you and Daniil are the only idiots playing this stupid game. Beat on each other, not me,” Alexei mutters, rubbing his shoulder before sighing.
