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“It’s going to be okay, dove,” Carter says from the doorway, where he’s standing with his arms folded over his chest with two large nurses in front of him, blocking him from moving any farther into the room. “I’m right here.”
I swallow, and a thin sheen of sweat breaks out over my forehead. “Are you okay?”
Carter nods and doesn’t say anything else.
This time, when I’m pushed back down onto the hospital bed, I don’t fight them. Instead, I study the pale blue walls on either side of me and attempt not to gag at the metallic smell of blood. It isn’t until I glance down at myself that I realize I still have specks of my own blood smeared over my bare skin. As soon as I glance back up and meet Carter’s gaze, I swallow back the protest.
One by one, the doctors trickle out of the room, leaving me alone with a single blonde-haired nurse who adjusts the IV drip in my arm and checks something on the monitor. She writes something down on a clipboard and glances over at Carter, who is standing opposite me, a look of cold fury etched onto his face. After adjusting the IV drip again, she tucks the blanket around me and scurries away. The door clicks shut behind her, and Carter sits on the edge of the bed and gathers me to him.
He shudders, and I feel it through his entire body. “I’m sorry. I should’ve given them what they wanted.”
I throw my arms around his shoulders and wince. “They wouldn’t have stopped, Carter. You and I both know that. At least this way, the Blackthorne family hasn’t lost everything they’ve worked to build.”
Carter draws back to look at me, and his bright eyes are full of rage and anguish. “You’re what matters to me, Isabella. Everyone else can go fuck themselves.”
I touch his face. “You’ve worked hard to build your empire. I’m not going to let you throw it away.”
Not when he’s already risked a lot to be with me.
The scars on my body are proof of every hoop and hurdle, but seeing them doesn’t make it any easier. Nor does seeing the pain and unease in the depth of Carter’s eyes. Wave after wave of worry rolls off of him, and I can see him bite back his spiral in the tight way he holds himself and the way he keeps glancing over at the door.
I can’t escape the feeling that he’d rather be prowling the streets and stalking the people who did this.
With a sigh, I push the thought away and settle back against the bed. Carter lies next to me, and I tuck myself into his side, not wanting to be separated again. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot something underneath the bed, and I realize it’s the tattered remains of my beautiful dress.
“I’ll get you another one,” Carter tells me, pausing to squeeze my shoulders. “Tristan and the others are making sure those people who took us are taken care of.”
“How many more dead bodies before this stops, Carter?”
Carter places his thumb and index finger underneath my chin and lifts it up, so I’m looking directly into his eyes. “I’ve never made what I do a secret, dove. Nor will I. You asked me to be honest with you, so I am, and this is part of the territory.”
I search his face. “He’s not going to stop coming after us. Hughes isn’t going to stop, Carter.”
No matter the price to be paid.
And I’m afraid that Carter isn’t going to stop either.
How did we manage to get away from one shark and run smack dab into another one?
With bigger teeth.
At least with the Laceys, Carter could play dirty. When it comes to the mayor, Carter has to be very, very careful of how he retaliates and when. Otherwise, those same cops who once looked out for him are going to end up slapping him in handcuffs.
Again.
I shiver at the thought, leading Carter to peel off his jacket and drape it over me. “I’m going to get you something to eat and drink. You need your energy.”
Without waiting for a response, he presses the button for the nurse, and she returns, a harried expression on her face. “She’s in a lot of pain. Can you up the dosage?”
The nurse tucks a pencil behind her ear and nods.
Carter lingers near the foot of the bed, his arms folded over his chest. A few minutes pass, and nothing happens. Then, I feel like I’m drifting on a cloud, and my head is light headed. I can’t feel any part of my body when Carter leans in and presses a kiss to my forehead. He whispers something to the nurse, hands her a crumpled-up bill, and exits the room. She swims in and out of my field of vision before swinging the door open. I stretch out over the mattress and squeeze my eyes shut.
The door opens again, and I try to sit up, but my body feels heavier now.
Rich’s familiar face appears, and he’s saying something, but it’s garbled, and I can’t make out the words. He angles his body, glances over his shoulders, and leans in closer. Rich smells like sandalwood and lavender, and I barely have time to register how close he is before he presses his lips to mine. My entire body is slack, and I can’t push him off.
What the hell is he doing?
