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“No buts,” he interrupted.
“Ignore him,” River instructed as she took out a tape measure from one of the bags.“It’s usually easy to do.He rarely talks anyway.”
I frowned, disliking the way she spoke about him as if he weren’t there.“But…he talks to me.”
“Then you must have cast a spell on him, because the Jack I know barely speaks.Honestly, I thought he was deaf at one point.Turned out, he was just a brooding asshole.”
“He is not!”I cried through my wired teeth.“He’s sweet and kind.Don’t talk about him like that.”
River’s lips twitched as she fought a smile, but I only glared at her.“Easy, tiger.Don’t hurt yourself.”
“Don’t be a bitch to Jack.”
“Sorry, I can’t make any promises.”
“I don’t want you here if you’re going to be mean to him.”I pushed her hands away when she tried to wrap the tape measure around my chest, but I had a cast on one hand, and the rest of me was as weak as a newborn.I hated feeling so damn helpless.“I don’t need your clothes.”
Ignoring me, River only hummed to herself as she adjusted the white band.“Looks like I was roughly correct with your size.I brought several that should fit you.”
“I don’t want it,” I seethed.I would rather have been without a bra than take something from a person who didn’t respect the only person I could truly rely on.
“This is the most comfortable brand we carry.I’m wearing one right now.And I have a wireless one as well.You’ll barely feel it and won’t mind sleeping in it either.”She pulled out several bras and then flicked a glance at Jack.“Turn around, cuz.”
Beside me, Jack turned, but not before I caught his thoughtful green gaze on me.I pressed my lips together, fighting the urge to cry.Damn it.When I got angry, I always cried.People thought it was funny, that they could easily walk all over me.But the truth was, crying had been the only outlet I had to keep myself from committing a felony when I was younger.As I got older, I was able to avoid situations a little better where people could potentially upset me.
The moment Jack had his back turned, I blinked back the tears and slowly inhaled in an attempt to calm down.It wasn’t like I was in any physical condition to even slap River, and I didn’t want to get into a fight with any of Jack’s family.But she should have treated him better, damn it.He was such a good person, and he deserved respect, not her snarky bitchiness.
I clenched and unclenched my fingers, unable to make a fist because of the cast on one hand and the odd placement of the IV in the other.Once the wireless bra was in place, I pushed River’s hands away.“I wear a size six in panties and small in sweats and yoga gear.Leave it and go.”
“I’m gonna leave you a few things in a size larger to get over those casts.”Grinning, she pulled out all the items in both sizes and then packed the rest back into the bags.“Protective little thing, aren’t you?”She winked as she straightened.“I think you’ll fit in just fine around here, Nishia.”
CHAPTERTEN
jack
Nishia’sfierce protectiveness of me was surprising.I’d never had anyone correct others when it came to calling me an asshole—which was accurate, but still.Growing up, if one of my cousins said shit, I typically ignored them.If one of my classmates dared to say the same things, they typically got a beatdown on the playground or in the parking lot after school.
Now that we were all adults, my cousins still ran their mouths, but I ignored them.In a way, it was their love language, especially when it came to the women in my family.My male cousins and MC brothers knew better than to talk about me, whether it was behind my back or to my face.Overall, I never really gave others’ opinions of me much thought.
Yet having Nishia defend me to River had left me with a new, weird sensation in the center of my chest.I didn’t know how to process it, so I just did what I always did—stayed quiet and let it go.
After River was gone, Nishia picked up the new clothes with a wrinkled nose.
“I’ll have one of the nurses come in to help you get changed,” I offered.
“Just having the bra on makes me feel a hundred times better,” she said with a small shrug.
Damn it, I should have had someone else bring her something to wear instead of waiting.My mother had mentioned having one of the women from Sanctuary bring over a few selections from our stock of donated items, but I didn’t like the idea of Nishia wearing anything others had worn.She deserved better than what the world had already thrown at her in her young life.
New things.
Someone to care about and protect her.
Instead, her junkie mother had sold her to who Mieke figured was Nishia’s biological father for what amounted to eighteen years of back child support.Or, in Faye Cohen’s case, what had added up to enough drugs to cause her to OD and choke to death on her own vomit.
Why Clint Morgan had paid Faye for Nishia was something I planned on finding out.After I hurt him the way he’d allowed the motherfuckers who had driven Nishia across the country to drop her at Sanctuary’s gates to hurt her.I already had plans for those bastards too, but Clint was going to find out firsthand what Nishia had had to experience in whatever fucked-up game he was trying to play with my family.
Until I found them all, Nishia needed gentle care and attention.
