Page 196 of Heart of Frost and Scars

Without waiting, I return to the trauma unit.

They don’t leave, and an hour before my shift ends, the tension finally boils over.

I’m in the middle of helping a patient when a brawl breaks out in the corridor. I race out of the room and find Kody pinning Paul against the wall.

“Say it again,” Leo snarls in Paul’s face.

“Get your hands off me.” Paul struggles against Kody’s grip.

“Let him go!” I charge toward them, balling my fists. “Kody!”

“Tell her what you said.” Leo points angrily at me.

The guards rush forward, but I step in their path, holding up a hand.

“Wait. Let me try.” I turn back to Paul. “What did you say?”

“I just said you’re pretty, Frankie.” He bucks against Kody, going nowhere. “It’s true. Everyone knows it.”

I close my eyes and count to three. Then I glare at Kody. “Let him go.”

“He’s been staring at your ass all day.” Kody shoves him before releasing him. “I confronted him about it, and he commented on your looks.”

“Inappropriate, Paul.” I glower at him and shift my glare to Kody and Leo. “Go home.”

They plant their boots and cross their arms.

I see red.

Pivoting on my heel, I stride to the nurses’ station to transfer my patients to the next shift and wrap things up.

Then I leave.

I ride back to the island with the security guards in silence. My mind screams with accusations and ultimatums. But I wait until we’re in the privacy of the estate.

Leo and Kody hover nearby all the way home, stewing in their own thoughts.

They got what they wanted. I left the hospital. I’m returning to my prison.

But I’m not giving up. I refuse to back down. I need to work, to live. And I won’t let them stop me.

When we reach the house, I turn to them, my heart aching.

“This isn’t working,” I say quietly. “This…whatever we’re doing, it’s not healthy.”

“What happened?” Monty steps into the sitting room, taking in the standoff.

I quickly update him on the recent drama and turn back to Leo and Kody. “We need to change.”

“What are you saying?” Leo’s jaw tightens.

“I’m saying you need help. Talk to someone. We can’t keep going like this, smothering each other, fighting over me. It’s tearing us apart.”

“You’re not safe.” Kody’s eyes harden. “Someone is out there, killing people and sending their body parts to you like trophies.”

“Paul is not a murderer.”

“You don’t know that,” Kody says. “I can’t lose you.”

---