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I could feel the turmoil within Elyse. She wants to hate me, to be scared of me, and maybe she should be, but the way she’s leaning into me and fisting my shirt in her tiny hands tells me she needs me just as badly as I need her.
I want to tell her I’m sorry, but I can’t bring myself to say it yet. I’m too angry with her right now. Angry for coming here, getting hurt, and for making me show her the worst part of me—a part she never should’ve seen.
I heave the warehouse door open and step outside into the parking lot. The air is cool against my heated skin. I cradle Elyse closer to my chest, as if doing so will change the things she saw or the way she looks at me.
Seeing the pain on Elyse’s face, I’m certain I need to take her to the hospital.
With the way she fell onto her hand, I’m pretty sure she’s broken her wrist.
“Oh god, it hurts so bad,” she whimpers into my shirt.
Fuck, this is all my fault. All my fucking fault.
“I know, baby. I’m taking you to the hospital.” And then, it dawns on me. How the hell did she even get here? “Who drove you here?” I barely get the words out before I look up from Elyse’s face and spot Tasha’s car parked a few hundred feet away. Her car door flings open, and she jumps out, running toward us.
Shit! I don’t need her here.
Her brows furrow in confusion, that confusion slowly turning to worry as she gets closer, taking in the situation. “What happened?”
“She fell and twisted her ankle,” I say, trying to keep my voice even and calm, but the adrenaline is still coursing through my veins. I feel like losing it, ripping this whole fucking place to pieces. I haven’t felt this way since prison, and I don’t know how to reel it in—or if I want to.
Tasha comes to a sudden stop a few feet away from us. Her face turns a ghostly white as she catches a glimpse of my hands. I know what she’s thinking, and it’s true. I’m a monster. A criminal. A piece of shit.
Then, as if Elyse can tell what’s going on, she interjects, “I’m fine, Tasha, really. He is telling the truth. I just fell.”
Elyse tries her best to assure her friend, but it’s already too late. Tasha is terrified.
I clench my jaw, holding back the words I want to say. I can’t deal with her right now. She’s my last priority—the last thing I care about in this situation. So, instead of trying to calm her down and explain the situation, I just walk past her toward my car. “You can believe whatever the fuck you want, but I’m taking Elyse to the hospital.”
To my surprise, Tasha doesn’t say another word. Instead, she follows me to my car, opening the back door for me.
Carefully, I lay Elyse on the backseat, making sure not to touch her wrist or foot. I give her a once over, hating myself even more when I see the tears slipping from her beautiful blue eyes. I never wanted to see her cry, not at my hands, or anyone else’s, and here I am, the reason she’s hurt.
I swallow down the pain I’m feeling and shut the door before walking around to the driver’s side. My hand hovers on the handle when I see Damon running across the parking lot, heading directly for me.
He’s giving me a crazy look, like I’m insane or something. “What the fuck are you doing, Hero?”
“She’s hurt, so I’m taking her to the hospital.” I pull open the door and sink into the driver’s seat. I don’t care what Damon thinks right now. Nothing he says will change what I need to do for her, my everything.
When I try to pull the door shut, Damon grabs it, halting my movements. “Are you fucking crazy? She saw us. She’s a liability, Hero. We need to get rid of her, not take her to a fucking doctor.”
Get rid of her? I’m not sure I heard him right, so I play back his words inside my head. Get rid of her? To my people, that means one thing: death.
That’s the last word I hear rattle around inside my head before I lose all my senses. My mind goes blank, my body goes numb, and all I see is red. My vision is blurred with fury and rage.
I shove from the car and charge him. There was a time when I couldn’t have imagined myself fighting my best friend for any reason, let alone over a girl, but right now, I could kill him, and I just might. How dare he threaten her. Threaten my Elyse. The thought of her hurt any more than she is snaps me in two.
