Page 107 of HateMates

“Yes, it is. I should have made you stay with me. Made Theo lock you up in our house until they found the guy…the right guy.”

“Fay, you couldn’t have known.”

“I know, but someone should have seen the signs. Tate’s been a mess. Me slapping him didn’t help… But that’s a topic for another day. Minds, if it weren’t for him, I don’t know if we would have found you in time.”

A tightness in my chest forms at the mention of him. Then my anger reemerges. “Tate is the reason I was taken. He doesn’t get to play the hero card here. He let me go. He was supposed to protect me, and he let me go.”

“Mindy—”

“No! I don’t want to hear it. He turned his back on me and basically handed me straight to that monster.”

She opens her mouth to say more but stops. “Okay.”

Theo appears back in the doorway, and I sit up. His face looks grim. “Please, no.”

“He’s in surgery. They were able to dislodge the bullet from his shoulder, but the other one nicked a lung, causing some damage.”

I shake my head. “No, he can’t die.”

Theo walks in and grabs my hand. “He’s in good hands. This is the best trauma center in the region.”

“He can’t die, Theo. He can’t.”

“He won’t,” he says, trying to comfort me, but I know he can’t make that promise. The energy in the room shifts, and Tate fills the open doorway, his eyes on me.

My body stiffens at the sight of him. Theo turns, seeing why. “Excuse me,” he says and walks away, pushing Tate out the door with him.

“He’s been a wreck.”

“Great, I’ll be sure to send him a get-well-soon card.”

“Mindy, what happened? I thought you two—”

“I made a very wrong judgment call.” Her eyes are clouded with confusion and sadness. “Please don’t press this. I can’t right now. I want this to be over, and I want to go home.”

She nods, dropping it. “Of course. And I hate to break it to you, but I’m not backing down this time. You’re coming home with me, whether you like it or not.”

“Fay—”

“Don’t ‘Fay’ me. You’ve been missing for almost three damn days. Three whole days you’ve missed out on wedding planning. You owe me. Do you know how many wedding favors I still have to put together? Did you even start planning my bachelorette party before you got kidnapped? All this time lost…it’s unacceptable.”

Only my best friend would turn a traumatizing situation into a joke. Just one of the reasons I love her. “Did I at least get out of making bows? I hate bows. Phobia and all. Bowphobia—”

“Enough. I get it.” Her smile is the start of my healing. It reminds me how lucky I am. How things could have turned out so much different. “I would have postponed my wedding before ever taking that enjoyment away from you.”

I didn’t think it was possible, but I have to stifle a laugh. “I knew I should have drawn out my captivity longer. Bows are the devil.”

“Jorge wore a bow on Valentine’s Day that one year.” Dammit, busted. “And no matter where you were, I would have found you.”

And in my heart, I know she would have. Because that’s how we roll.

Theo reenters the room, looking less than pleased. “I never thought I would miss that scowl, boy toy.” His expression softens, and he walks up to my bed.

“Well, you’re going to see a lot of it if you don’t listen to me. My house, my rules.”

The side of my mouth curls. “Oh, please. Do tell.”

“First rule: no feeding my fiancée tequila.”

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