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“I’ll disagree with you on that. Noah wouldn’t want his child to remember him like that. There’s no way, after he fought so hard to protect him? He wouldn’t want this.”
“There’s another reason,” I tell her, because I don’t exactly disagree with her.
“What possible reason could there be?” she asks. I take a quick glance in her direction and find her staring out the passenger window. I can only see the profile of her face, but the pain reflected there is easy to see.
“Love,” I answer.
“What?” she asks, her head quickly turning around to look at me.
“Crusher is hoping that there’s enough of Diesel left that he can hear the people he cares about the most. He thinks that will make him fight—that he will come back that way.”
“He’s crazy,” she whispers.
“Maybe, but I can’t deny that I’ve seen love bring someone back from death,” I tell her, and memories of a time when I almost lost Nicole invade my thoughts and I swear, it doesn’t matter that it’s been fucking years since it’s happened, I can still taste the fear.
“Well it doesn’t matter. Crusher is wrong.”
“Love is a powerful thing, Rory. You shouldn’t underestimate it,” I tell her. If nothing else I’ve learned that lesson the hard way.
“Well your friend is overestimating my connection with Diesel. He doesn’t care about me,” she whispers. I look over at her and she looks more than a little lost.
My gaze shifts back to the road. Damn. Crusher might be on to something. It’s clear that Rory has feelings for Diesel, and if I have to wager from just looking at her face right now, I’d say those feelings run deep. I know she was going to have his child. All the information we’ve gotten on her and from just meeting her, I believe she’s a good woman. Maybe Crusher is right. Maybe whatever is between them, the unfinished business that still exists, will be enough to bring my man back. I hope like hell it does. I’ve buried men before, I don’t want to do it again.
“He doesn’t care about me at all,” she adds a little while later, after we’ve drove in silence for a bit.
“Funny,” I murmur.
“What’s funny?”
“How you assumed I was talking about the feelings you and Diesel shared. When I was actually talking about him and Ryan. Makes a man think there are a lot of issues that you and he need to work on.”
I glance over at her as I tell her that and I notice her face goes slightly pink with embarrassment.
“There’s nothing to work out,” she whispers. “And besides, it’s too late now,” she adds.
I frown as I stare out at the Montana road. We’ll be at the hospital in a little over an hour. We flew in to the nearest airport we could find at such short notice. I know every minute is precious and I just hope like hell that Rory is wrong.
I hope like hell Diesel is still hanging on to even hear anything Rory might say to him. Then… I hope like hell he can somehow fight his way back.21RoryI feel like I’m on pins and needles the rest of the trip. Thankfully, Dragon doesn’t talk anymore and I do nothing to restart the conversation. We walk silently into the hospital and I follow him to the elevator. He didn’t stop to find out where we’re going, so I figure he knows.
Ryan is strangely quiet too. Part of that is because he’s just woken up from a nap, but I think he’s picked up on my nerves. He’s holding my hand, squeezing it hard and it’s so tight that it’s painful. I look down at him when the elevator door closes, tugging gently on his hand so he turns to face me.
“You okay little man?”
“What if Daddy is mad at me because I let you get hurt?”
His question makes the acid in my stomach churn. How do I prepare Ryan for the worst? I could kill these men for putting him through this. I crouch down so that we’re eye level. I let one of my knees rest against the floor, bring my hands up and use them to frame each side of his face.
“You did not let me get hurt, Ryan.”
“But it was because of me. Because I wouldn’t call the monster my Daddy,” he cries, his body trembling. I search my brain trying to figure out how to calm him down, but the tears start and seeing them shine over his green eyes and then fall against his sweet little face hurts. I will kill my brother. He deserves to die for what he has taken from me, for what he’s taking from Ryan and for the pain he dishes out without thought.
I’m going to kill him.
I may not have been able to before, but now… he’s changed me. Now, I’d have no problem whatsoever killing him.
