Page 29 of Torn In Two

Kara nudged me gently. “Let him. You need stitches. He’s good.”

“I am.” Hawk’s arrogance rolled off him as thick as Luca’s expensive cologne.

“So modest,” I grumbled.

“Do you want me to fake modesty or go get the first aid kit from my bike?”

I lifted my hand to peer at the wound. It wasn’t that bad. I’d definitely had worse cuts just from horsing around in the backyard with Liam when we were kids. But it did need stitches, and the last thing I felt like doing after being at the hospital for days was going back there. We’d spend hours waiting for a non-urgent injury like this.

I gave in. “Go get the kit.”

Hawk, clearly pleased with himself, strutted off down the hallway like his shitty aim wasn’t the whole reason we were here in the first place.

With my non-injured arm, I pulled Kara in and kissed the top of her head. “I’m so sorry,” I murmured, holding her tight. “Are you okay?”

She nodded against my chest, wrapping her arms around my waist. “I’m fine.”

But as much as she tried to hide it, trembles racked her body.

She wasn’t fine. She was fucking terrified.

And I didn’t blame her. We’d gone from making out on the couch to getting shot in the space of a minute.

Luca and Hawk were both right. It wasn’t safe for her here. I needed to go back to work this week, and what was going to happen then? She couldn’t just stay here alone. Even if she somehow convinced me she could, we both knew we could never bring Hayley Jade here.

This was a fucking mess, only made worse by Hawk strutting back with a suture kit and apparently not a problem in the world.

He paused at the sight of us, my arm wrapped around Kara’s shoulders, but to his credit, he hid his jealousy well.

Not well enough for me not to notice, but it was a good try.

He held up the kit and shook it in my direction. “We gonna try doing surgery in the hallway or you going to invite me in?”

I reluctantly stepped aside, knowing he was right, but at the same time embarrassed to have him see my shitty place. Not that the MC was luxury by any means. But at least it was secure.

I knew when Hawk walked into my apartment, all he would see was how I couldn’t keep Kara safe here and I was a fucking idiot for even trying.

For once, though, Hawk didn’t run his mouth. He just looked over at Kara, his gaze turning gentle as it ran all over her body. “Are you okay?” His voice was softer than I’d ever heard him before.

She nodded. “Hayden, though…”

Hawk turned his attention to me. “Sit down.”

“I’ll stand.” I didn’t even know why it was instinct to argue with him. It just was.

“Fine. Whatever.” He put his suture kit on the kitchen counter and then went to the sink, squirting a thick dollop of liquid soap onto his palm before scrubbing them together and rinsing them off. From the kit he pulled gloves and an antiseptic wash. He shoved my torn shirt out of the way and unceremoniously squirted the fuck out of my arm with the stinging liquid.

I hissed, gritting my teeth.

Hawk grinned while he prodded at the wound. “You can cry if you want, you know? I’ll judge you, but if you just want to let go of those tears…”

“Hawk…” Kara warned.

He grinned at her and then went back to cleaning the damage he’d done to my arm. “It’s not so bad. Five or six stitches should do it. Might not even scar and mess up your tattoo.”

I didn’t really care if it did. A lot of those tattoos had been inked years ago, when I was angry at the world and everyone in it. Having a bullet pass through one of them was maybe symbolic of a life I wanted to leave behind.

One that I could never seem to escape from though.

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