Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83881 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83881 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
It was a stern voice that stopped me cold.
“Dante.” Richard’s tenor was loud. “Brianna is hurt. She needs you.”
I stopped midswing, my brain kicking in. Richard put his hand on my shoulder. “I will make sure he is taken care of. Go to her.”
I wiped my hands, looking down at the sniveling man on the floor. He was curled into a ball and had wet himself. I shook my head. “You come near her again, I will kill you.”
Then I turned to my Brianna on the floor, cursing myself. She should have come first, but my temper had taken over.
I crouched next to her, lifting her head. Her right eye was swollen, the skin on her cheek already badly bruised and painful-looking. I cradled her face, contrite and upset. “I’m sorry, Little Bee.”
She blinked, trying to smile, the action looking more like a grimace. “You should see the other guy.”
I took off my jacket and slipped it around her, gathering her into my arms.
Richard looked up. “My car is waiting. Take her to the hospital.”
I walked through the gaping crowd, not speaking. People parted, someone opening the door, another coming to the car and making sure we got in.
“A lot of us have wanted to do that for a long time,” he muttered. I wasn’t on a first-name basis with him, but I nodded in acknowledgment.
I looked down at Brianna, horrified to see her tears. “Go fast,” I instructed the driver.
She was my focus now.
Richard found me pacing the waiting room. My hands were still bloody, and my hair was a mess from me tugging on it.
“How is she?”
She had clung to me, silent tears coursing down her face. Panicked when they said I had to leave the room. Her hands gripped my shirt so hard I thought she was going to tear the seams.
“No,” I said. “I’m staying where she can see me.”
She never took her eyes off me.
Seeing her that way broke something in me I couldn’t explain.
“In pain, but the orbital bone isn’t broken, thank God. Her shoulder took the brunt of the fall, but it prevented a concussion. Her face is a mess, and she is going to have trouble seeing for a few days. They are cleaning her up and doing a CT to be sure.”
He handed me a towel. “Clean yourself up.”
I slipped to the restroom and washed my hands. I hadn’t wanted to be too far away from her. I dried my hands and disposed of the towel. He was standing in the same spot when I returned, looking angry.
“I’m sorry—”
He cut me off. “Don’t say that. You’re not sorry at all, except that Brianna was injured.” He huffed out a laugh. “He deserved that beating and more.”
I nodded, and he stared straight ahead. “Robin Hood?” he asked so quietly his lips barely moved.
I nodded imperceptibly.
“He isn’t going to stop. This will just have escalated the situation.”
“I know.”
“Brianna is in danger. He will exploit that to his advantage.”
My breath caught. I already knew it. I had realized some truths in the car on the way over here. One was that I would do anything to protect the woman in my arms. The second was that I was totally and irrevocably in love with Brianna. When and how, I wasn’t sure. Maybe from the first instant. Somehow, I had known it but been unable to admit it. But it was real and permanent. I loved her. Every single thing about her. She brought something to my life I didn’t know I was missing. She completed me in ways I couldn’t even describe. She was perfect for me. The thought of being without her gutted me.
But I had failed her. And staying here with me was putting her in danger.
Which was why I had to let her go.
Richard’s words confirmed it.
I had to get her away from the world Winters existed in. It was the same one as me. She wasn’t safe, and short of keeping her a real prisoner, I had to send her away.
I looked at Richard.
“I need another favor.”
He nodded. “I know.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
BRIANNA
Dante came into the hospital room, looking angry. But his eyes softened as they found me, and he walked right to the edge of the bed, taking my hand. I felt my body relax as soon as he touched me. Whenever he was close, I felt the strength of him. Despite what had happened earlier, I was always safe with him. I shouldn’t have stepped between them, but it was instinct. I didn’t want Dante hurt, and I was trying to stop a melee from breaking out.
I had failed miserably.
Dante studied me, his expression tormented. “How much pain are you in?”
“They gave me some drugs. I’m okay. Can we leave soon?”
“Your CT came back clear, so yes. You need to take it easy for a couple of days.” He gently tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “And you won’t argue with me.”