But someone was going to fix my face.
Now I just needed someone to fix the ache in my chest at the idea that Raff left me to spend his time with someone else.
But I wasn’t holding my breath for that one.
So I settled into my seat and wallowed.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Raff
It was the longest goddamn drive of my life.
And all I could think about was that I should have been there, that I never should have left her.
Did that mean some bastard wouldn’t still break in? No. But I would have been there for her. She wouldn’t have been alone with a bunch of strangers after. Hurt. Afraid. Confused.
My spit tasted acidic each time I thought of her curled up on the ground, bloody, in pain, with no one familiar to reach out to.
Stupid.
It was so fucking stupid to leave her.
Arty could have waited.
Or I could have woken her and brought her with me.
There was no undoing any of that, though.
So I did the only thing I could—peeled into the lot of the strip mall that held the clinic run by Seeley’s wife, Ama.
I spotted a few bikes as well as Teddy’s town car parked right beside the curb and the lights on inside.
But, as far as I could tell, Ama hadn’t arrived yet.
I barely remembered to cut the engine before I flew out and ran toward the doors, finding them locked, and yanking them hard over and over before slamming my fist into the metal frame.
York appeared from the back, brows raised. But he made his way toward me and unlocked the doors.
“Where is she?”
I knew how I must have looked right then: wild-eyed, panicked, borderline insane.
“I think you need to calm down first,” Velle said, appearing out of nowhere. “Lula is pretty shut down right now. She doesn’t need your crazy.”
They were blocking my way to the exam rooms, making me have to resort to pacing to get some of the frantic energy out.
“I know head-shrinking is your thing, Velle. But with all due respect, you don’t know a fucking thing about Lula or what she needs.”
Because she needed me. Whether she even realized that yet or not.
Teddy moved forward, nodding at me.
“I think he’s right,” he said. “She shouldn’t be alone. And she doesn’t know any of us.”
Velle and York shared a look before parting and letting me pass.
“Room Two,” Teddy called as I beelined toward the exam rooms.
