Page 45 of Better Hide

I’ll never be able to make this up to him, even if I spend my whole life trying.

22

JAYDEN

Present Day

My gaze lockson Cole’s thigh as he leaves the car. There’s a dark patch, and it looks like…blood. Warning bells immediately ring in my head. He’s hurt. Why didn’t he say anything?

I quickly finish my ties on Jo, making sure nothing is too tight. The rope between her legs now sits on her bare pussy, thanks to Cole’s work. I secure Jo to the car so she can’t run anymore and take off after Cole.

I find him pacing in the darkness, about ten feet from the car.

“Leave me alone, Jayden.” Cole waves me off.

I move to see his leg. “You’re hurt.” There isn’t a lot of blood, but it’s enough. Did he get shot and not tell me when the cop fired rounds?

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.” I grip Cole’s shoulder and whirl him around to face me. His eyes are wild.

“Jay! I swear if you don’t fuck all the way off!” Cole jerks out of my grip and turns as if he’s trying to hide something from me.

“What in the fuck is going on, Cole?”

Cole runs both hands through his hair, making it stand straight up. He laughs maniacally. Real fear floods me.

Something is wrong.

Cole looks around like he’s looking for routes to run from me.

I dart forward, slamming Cole back into a tree.

“What the fuck?”

I ignore him. He got hurt, and he didn’t tell me. I grip his pants and rip them down to see the injury. Cole throws me off in a second, but it’s all I need.

There are two deep, clean cuts on the top of his thigh.

My world slows down. That’s not a gunshot wound. It looks like slices.

Oh fuck. Is Cole cutting himself? Again?

“Don’t give me that look, Jay.”

I snap my gaze up to his. “What are you doing, Cole?”

He yanks his pants up, and his eyes narrow on mine. “Don’t judge me. We all deal with things differently.”

“Things?” Failure and anger course through me. I’ve tried so hard to protect him. Spent my senior year fighting anyone who looked at him wrong and almost got expelled for it. Now, I brought this woman into his life who has wrecked him more than I’ve ever seen anyone wreck him.

“None of your business, Jayden,” he snaps. “I’m not a kid anymore; you don’t have to look after me like one.”

Rage clouds my vision. I won’t let him self-destruct like this. “Give me the damn knife.”

“Fuck you.” Cole laughs. It’s unhinged. This isn’t Cole. I’ve never seen him this unraveled. Except when we were kids. Except for with Pat.

A sharp pain travels through my chest. I have to deal with this.

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