Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 74227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
They’d been sitting together in a different part of the waiting room with us, and they hadn’t spoken a word to each other the entire time I’d been in there.
The older man’s eyes were kind. The teenager’s, however, were not.
He looked like the only reason he came was that the man had forced him.
Maybe it was his grandfather?
I shrugged and followed behind the woman.
“I have a request.”
She looked over her shoulder at me.
“The accidents you’re referring to…”
She nodded.
“If my blood is going to help anyone, I want you to give it to my husband. Don’t give it to the man that was shot…he almost killed my husband in front of me. My husband’s name is Baylor Hail.”
Her eyes were wide with shock.
“I…I didn’t know.”
I shrugged. “My husband is in surgery right now…if he needs blood, give it to him. Don’t…just don’t give my blood to the gunshot victim. I don’t want to help him in any way.”
Sal had taken my blood a lot over the years, but not by any means where it’d help him. The ways he’d taken it were with a punch here, causing my lip to split. Or a shove there, which caused my head to hit the concrete and split open.
Seriously, the man didn’t deserve anything more from me.
“I’ll write that in the notes on the blood,” she promised. “And I’ll personally walk it to the OR that your husband is in.”
I looked down at my hands.
“Thank you.”
***
Three hours later, I was let into Baylor’s room.
“You can come see him now.”
I stood before anybody else could.
“Where?”
He pointed down the hall. “Fourth door that way. Room 216.”
I didn’t wait to ask if I could go first. I wouldn’t have cared whether they wanted me to go first or not. I was going, whether they liked it or not.
Heart in my throat, I pushed through the closed door into a room.
I expected to find Baylor lying there, unconscious.
He wasn’t unconscious.
He was drugged.
“Life isn't always pretty, but you are.”
I laughed and wiped my tears, so freakin’ happy that he was able to talk after what had happened.
“You’re so high on pain medication right now,” I told him. “Your eyes are dilated, too.”
Baylor's smile was nothing less than spectacular.
I moved closer, stopping just short of touching him.
“Getting my ball hurt was totally worth it,” he told me. “You are the most beautiful woman I ever met." He stopped, opening one eye. “Will you marry me?"
I grinned and brushed his unruly hair out of his eyes.
"I'm already married to you, silly.”
The smile that overtook his face was nothing less than spectacular.
"You're joking!”
He brought his hand up to twirl one finger around a strand of hair.
“She’s not joking, dumbass.”
My eyes widened as I saw the man at the end of the bed.
I hadn’t realized that he’d followed me.
I’d seen him in pictures, and despite being a little more bearded than in his photos, he was recognizable.
He was also still carrying that baby carrier.
“Dante!” Baylor cried. “I’m married to this beauty! Can you believe it?”
Dante turned his eyes to me.
He was smiling, but it didn't reach his eyes. And those eyes...oh, my God. The pain in them physically hurt to witness. It felt like my heart was grasped in a giant fist and squeezed.
"I can't believe it," he said, turning back to his brother. "How'd you get yourself sliced?”
My smile fell.
“That would be my fault.”
Dante turned back to study me.
“Did you go after him with a sword?”
I shook my head no, but even though my hands weren't the ones holding the weapon, they might as well have been.
It'd been my ex-husband doing the slicing.
“Then I don't see why it would be your fault that he was hurt,” Dante said. “The way I heard it was that he did this in front of not just you, but a police officer and about thirty wounded veterans."
Well, that had been the truth. He had.
“But I—”
"You can't blame yourself for other people's sins," he cut me off. "I've tried. It doesn't turn out well."
Dante looked so serious that I swallowed and looked away.
The guilt I felt for all of this was staggering.
“Dante, I've missed you so much,” Baylor interrupted us. “Did you see that I had a wife?" Then my husband grabbed my boob. “And she has boobs.”
Dante’s lips quirked, almost like he was going to smile, but just shook his head instead. “I see, brother.”
I bit my lip and bent down, pressing my lips against Baylor’s.
He moaned and started to pull me on top of him, but I stopped him before he could so much as reach for my hips.
“Don’t,” I ordered. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
He pouted.
“Tease.”
I snorted and backed away, feeling that it was safer if I wasn’t too close to him. My body seemed like it was a little bit too tempting for him right now.