Page 87 of Saving Wyatt

As I sat by his bedside and tried to think of my next steps, a gurgling noise cut through the silence, and I turned to look at Warren who grabbed his stomach and grimaced.

“How about breakfast?” He laughed.

“You should go. I’ll stay with him,” I said.

Warren looked from Wyatt to me and back to Wyatt then excused himself, and I was left alone with Wyatt. And the sleeping patient.

“Sorry I didn’t stay by your side all night,” Wyatt said when I decided to change Nino’s wounds.

I stopped and stared at him. “What? Don’t be silly. It’s okay.”

“I couldn’t sleep. And you looked so tired, I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Wyatt, it’s okay,” I said and made sure to smile so he would believe me.

“And the more I watched you, the more I wanted to kiss you⁠—”

I burst out laughing. “You have to stop apologizing. I’m okay. I’m not upset. Don’t worry. Are you okay? How are you feeling today?”

He shrugged. “Still crap. But at least now we have a plan.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Was that what you were talking about with Warren?”

He nodded.

“Care to enlighten me? Because it sounded like he wasn’t on board.”

Wyatt sighed and got up from the armchair he was occupying.

“Whether he is or not, it has to happen, or we’ll never be rid of Salieri.”

I nodded and listened to the plan for the next few minutes. By the time he was done, my heart palpitations were through the roof and I had to check my own blood pressure.

“What do you think?” he asked when he finished.

“I hate it. There must be another way. A different way.”

“There really isn’t. I started this, I should be the one to end it.”

“And that’s exactly why I hate it. What if he ends you before you manage to end him?”

He looked into my eyes, and for the first time, I looked back and a chill ran down my spine. It sounded more like a suicide mission than a plan.

“You know I’ll hate you forever if you die on me, right?”

Wyatt smirked and took my hands in his. “No, you won’t.”

“Yes, I will. I can’t…I can’t go through this again.”

“You won’t have to. I promise I’ll be extra careful.”

I held my breath for a moment and shoved down every feeling telling me to hold him, tie him up, and never let him go anywhere near that evil man.

“I have to do this,” he told me, and it was only then I realized I’d said my thoughts out loud. “I have to do this for us as much as everyone else.”

“What…what do you mean?” I blinked.

His eyes shone a little brighter when he spoke, and I felt equally frustrated and taken by him. “If he ever found out how much you mean to me, he’d hurt you, and I can’t have that. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.”