I frown at him. “Steam…roll.”
He shrugs, unconcerned. “So maybe it’s a little pushy, but that’s not always a bad thing, is it?” I look at him, eyebrows raised, snickering when I see that not even he believes the shit coming out of his mouth.
“Wait…just…wait.”
He drops his elbow on the door, resting his head on his fist. “You’re right. I know. It just…fuck! Did you see how much she changed? In her hospital photo, she was…stunning.” He swallows thickly. “She’s so worn now. She looks like she’s aged ten years.”
I glance at him carefully. For a woman he’s never met, he seems pretty fucking upset. He’s dealt with some shady shit over the years, but I’ve never seen him like this. He’s always level, cool, two steps ahead. Even the fucking fighting is calculated and serves a particular purpose.
“We’ll…help” I murmur. I would do it for Holly anyway, but now, I know Colt needs it too. We won’t let her fade away.
I open then closemy front door quietly, not wanting to wake Holly. But when I turn, my soul leaves my body and I about piss my pants when I see her sitting at the head of the table, eyes wide.
Kathy gasps from the couch. “Mr. James!”
I close my eyes, dropping my head to my chest.
“Micah,” Holly says softly. “What happened?”
Kathy pushes off the couch, heading into the kitchen. “Let me get the first aid kit. We’ll have you cleaned up in a moment.”
She hustles back carrying the large bag. I raise my hand. “No…I…fix” I say, taking it from her. I open the door for her. “Night…thanks”. Her eyes dart from me to Holly, before nodding and heading out.
I stand, holding the kit, facing the door, scared to turn around. Afraid of what I’ll see on Holly’s face.
“Micah,” she calls.
I take a deep breath, then join her at the table, busying myself with opening the kit and pulling out alcohol swabs and butterfly bandages. We all have these massive kits because, let’s face it, we do a lot of stupid shit. They’re well used and restocked often.
“Micah,” Holly says again. The softness is gone from her voice, anger taking its place. “What happened?”
I raise my head, taking in her features. Her eyes are wide, darting across my face, then to my bleeding knuckles and back to my face. I wonder if I can come up with some story that will satisfy her. But the idea of lying to her turns my stomach. “Fight,” I mutter, briefly meeting her eyes.
She crosses her arms over her chest. “With who? Why?”.
“Underground fights. I went with Colt.”
“Why?” she gasps. “Why would you do that?” She asks, eyes wide.
“I had to. I needed a…release.”I admit.
“I…I don’t understand.”
I hate the turmoil in her eyes. I hate the wariness even more.
“I don’t want you to look at me like that. I would never hurt you.”
“But you’ll hurt other people?” she challenges, frowning.
“I’ve hurt lots of people in my past. I never hid that from you. But tonight wasn’t that. It was…an underground fight. Fights.”I amend. Why? Fuck if I know. It would be easier if she thought it was one simple fight.
“How many people did you fight?” She asks quietly.
“Three.”
“You fought three people tonight?”
I nod.
