by Faye Byrd
“That’s enough!” I snap, pissed that he’s using the first five minutes of Enzo being awake to bury him in guilt. “I’m fine, and that fucking attempted murderer deserved what he got.”
“Randi,” Enzo barks, wincing at the exertion. “Stop.”
I move around to the other side, where his shoulder and chest are bandaged, and brush my fingers through his tangled waves. “You see me, don’t you?” I do a spin so he can take in my entire body. “I’m perfectly fine. It’s you that we need to worry about.” I look to Doctor Bradshaw. “So what’s the plan to get Enzo up and out of here?”
Doctor Bradshaw sighs, closing Enzo’s chart. “At the moment, he’s doing as expected. He’s going to be in pain for some time, but every day, we should see improvement.”
“How long am I in for?” Enzo asks, swallowing.
I grab his cup of water and bring the straw to his lips as Doctor Bradshaw answers his question. “If you’re lucky, you can get out of here in a few more days. Right now, you need our help to manage the pain.”
Enzo pushes the cup away. “Okay.”
Doctor Bradshaw places the morphine button in his uninjured hand. “You can use this once every two hours for the pain, but I’d like for you to use it as sparingly as possible.”
“Thanks, doc,” he says, his eyes falling closed.
“I’ll stop in again this evening before I go home.” Doctor Bradshaw pats his arm. “Get some rest.”
After the doctor leaves, I move back to Enzo’s good side and pull my chair closer. “Open up and let me look at those pretty eyes again.”
He does as I ask, but all it takes is one look at them to know that something is terribly wrong. They’re a cold green, the icy clear kind that hold no fucking emotion whatsoever. I start shaking my head before he even opens his mouth, but it does no good.
“I can’t do this anymore,” he says, his entire frame tense. “I won’t do this anymore.”
“Stop it,” I say, my voice panicked. “Shut the fuck up.”
“No, Randi.” He tries to sit up, but the pain keeps him on his back, yet it doesn’t stop him from gritting his teeth and spitting his fucking misguided truth. “I love you, Randi, but I refuse to be the reason someone uses you for revenge against me.”
“That’s over,” I say, standing over him, pleading. “Our enemies are dead. We defeated th—”
“No!” he screams, reaching for his injured shoulder as he winces. “I’ll always have enemies. There will always be someone, some-fucking-where that has an issue with me, and I refuse to allow you to be caught in the crossfire.”
“I handled him,” I say, grabbing his rigid cheeks between my palms. “You taught me how to take care of myself. That can’t be forgotten.” Tears are streaming down my face because I can see the resolve burning in his eyes. He’s turning me away when I need him the most. “I won’t let you do this.”
“You don’t get a say.” His stare is impassive, as if he doesn’t feel anything for me at all. “This is done. We’re done. Now leave.”
“No!” I’m distraught, overwhelmed with anxiety. “I’m not leaving you, and you’re stuck here so you can’t force me away.”
“Wanna bet?” He hits the nurse’s call button.
“You wouldn’t dare,” I challenge, disbelief filling me.
“Watch me.”
Horror settles in the pit of my stomach as he presses the button over and over. Numbness spreads along my limbs as Rhonda comes rushing in, and anger begins to simmer as I listen to him demand that she remove and ban me from his room. She’s confused at first, but she has no choice.
He holds all the cards here.
As she grabs my arm, I stiffen, looking to him one more time. “I’m asking you not to do this, Enzo.”
His eyes scan me from head to toe and back again before he grips the morphine button. “It’s the only thing I can do.”
With a press of his thumb, he closes his eyes and shuts me out as Rhonda drags me from the room.
To Be Continued
Sorry for the cliffy, but book 3 will be live on the 20th of this month!
Get it here Their Dirty End
And here’s the first book of my new seriesFake It 'Til You Break It
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