“Doesn’t matter because I’m going to break all of his bones tomorrow.”
“But what?—”
“Francesca, don’t play the what-if game. We won, he lost, end of story.” He dropped his soapy hands from my body. “He tried to steal you from your bed, not realizing the monster that sleeps beside you. He knows all his men are dead, and he’s very aware of the grave mistake he just made. For a brief moment, he felt a high when he outmaneuvered me, but now he’s outnumbered and knows I’m coming for every piece of him. You should sleep well tonight, knowing he won’t be able to close his eyes without seeing my face.”
It was sometime past noon when we woke up. I hadn’t slept well last night and spent most of my time watching him sleep. Seeing him calm made me calm, but I stayed awake anyway to avoid the nightmares that waited for me. Whenever I slept too hard, I saw men with guns, and it made me jerk awake.
We headed downstairs and had breakfast. He made us coffee with the espresso machine on the counter, and he raided the fridge, which was stocked because his maid must have delivered groceries that morning. “Bacon and eggs?” he asked.
“Sure.” I sat at the table with my hot cup of coffee.
Shirtless in his sweatpants, he stood over the stove and made everything in two pans before he served it onto two plates. He left the dirty pans behind and sat across from me, serving me two eggs over medium with two pieces of bacon.
I wasn’t that hungry, but it was sweet of him to cook for me, so I ate without complaint.
He relaxed in the chair, a new piece of gauze wrapped over his shoulder and secured in place. He had eight pieces of bacon on his plate when I only had two, and every time he grabbed a piece, he devoured it in one or two bites. “How’d you sleep?”
“Here and there…” I took a sip of my coffee.
He watched me as he took another bite of his bacon.
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I just… I don’t bounce back from things as quickly as you do.”
“That’s nothing to be sorry about. This is all I’ve ever known. You’re the normal, healthy one.” He smirked. “I’m the fucked-up one.”
“How can you smile like that after everything that happened last night?”
He shrugged. “I’m used to it.”
“Have a lot of people tried to kill you?”
“Oh, loads.” He grabbed another piece of bacon. “It’s cute.”
I didn’t have tough skin like he did. He was made of dragon scales, and I was made of paper.
“And they’ll keep trying,” he said as he grabbed his fork and sliced into his egg. Some of the yolk started to seep onto the plate. “Just how it goes.”
“I wish I were as tough as you.”
He looked at me across the table, his eyes turning serious. “But you are, baby.”
“No,” I said with a scoff. “I’ve never been so fucking scared in my life. And every time I think about it, I feel like I might start to cry. I don’t know what it is. The fear of dying or just being overwhelmed by violence and chaos and the sound of gunshots…”
“You just aren’t used to it.”
“I don’t know…”
“I know greater men would flee if they faced what you faced. But you always hold your ground and land your shots. The fact that you’re blowing off heads when you’re that scared is a testamentto your bravery. I told you to leave, and you stayed.” He moved his hand across the table toward me then pointed two fingers into the surface. “You refused to leave my side. You fought beside me until we were both left standing. Don’t sit there and tell me you aren’t tough, because you are.”
My eyes dropped when his words hit me in a tender place.
“It’s okay to be shaken up. It’s okay to take time to process what just happened. But don’t misinterpret those emotions for cowardice and incompetence. You can’t compare yourself to me because I’m fucked in the head. I live for this kind of shit. Well, I did…”
“What do you mean, you did?”
He finished his egg before he grabbed another piece of bacon. Downed it in two bites as his eyes shifted away and he considered his response. “Things are different now. Different because of you. Instead of being fueled by that adrenaline…I’m just scared.”
“You—you’re scared?” This six-foot-five maniac was scared?
