Page 78 of Brick

The grim expression on Kane’s face only made it worse. “Keep him awake until you’re sure he’s coherent. No doubt he’s got a concussion. Get some ice on the swelling. Clean him up. Not much else you can do.” A horn honked outside. “My buddy Cue Ball is outside waiting.” He moved toward the door. “If it gets too bad, call 911. He won’t be happy about it, but you do what you’ve got to do, hear me?”

He didn’t even wait for an answer before he let himself out. She stared at the closed door for a heartbeat, until a groan from the sofa snapped her attention back where it belonged. With Jonathan.

She moved quickly to the kitchen, where she filled a large bowl with warm water and grabbed a washcloth. She could only assess the damage underneath the blood if she cleaned him up first. As she knelt in front of him, she wondered whether he might do better in the bathtub, but even if she got him in, she wasn’t sure she could get him out. No, it would have to be a sponge bath for now.

She ran the warm wet cloth over his forehead, and he made a noise in the back of his throat. “Jonathan?” Her voice came out small and thin. He didn’t respond, so she cleared her throat and tried again. “Jonathan.” She said it louder this time, and the lid on his right eye fluttered. She rinsed the cloth in the water, then returned it to his face. “It’s Liv. I need you to wake up, sweetheart. Look at me.”

His eye opened slowly. He licked his lips, then opened his mouth, but instead of speaking, he broke out in a fit of coughing.

As quickly as she could, she grabbed the water bottle she’d left on the coffee table before bed. She held it to his lips. “Here. Drink. Don’t try to talk.” She tilted the bottle up, and though a little dribbled down his chin, his throat moved as he swallowed.

The coughing died out.

“I need to clean this cut before I bandage it.” She lifted an alcohol pad to his face. “This is going to hurt.”

He squeezed his eye closed, but didn’t flinch, as she gently ran the astringent over the gash. She pulled out two butterfly bandages and did her best to close the cut. The bleeding had almost stopped.

“Okay. The hard part’s done. Keep your eyes on me.”

His lid rose again. This time, his gaze appeared sharper. She finished cleaning his face, then moved down to his throat. He lifted his chin to give her better access, and she wondered if he allowed many others to get this close. His breathing changed subtly as she rubbed the cloth down and across his chest.

She froze. “Am I hurting you?”

“In the best way, baby,” he rasped.

Her face heated, and she bit back a smile. If he could flirt, surely, he wasn’t dying. “None of your swagger, Mister. Not when you look like you’ve been hit by a train.”

The air in the room suddenly felt a little lighter. “You think you could stand long enough for a quick shower? I could help you.”

He looked like he was trying to raise his eyebrow, but with his swollen face, he couldn’t quite pull it off.

“Don’t give me that look. I need to make sure you’re alert, and the shower might help. Come on.” She reached for his hand. Her fingers had barely touched his when he yelped and jerked away.

Holy shit. His hands were destroyed. She leaned closer so she could see better. His fingers were fat and distorted, the skin mottled. Dried blood crusted across his split knuckles. A few still oozed.

“It’s okay,” she soothed. Her stomach churned, but she fought to keep her nerves out of her voice. “You can shower in the morning. We’ll take care of your hands now.”

He groaned. “Good. I’m not sure I can get off the sofa.”

***

Brick

Liv relaxed against him after doctoring his hands, and Brick kissed the top of her head. No one had ever fussed over him this way before. It humbled him. “Thank you for taking care of me. You’re giving me exactly what I need right now.”

She burrowed deeper into his side. “What happened tonight?”

He didn’t want to think about the clusterfuck in the ring, but he wouldn’t ignore her question. “A fight. I told you earlier.”

“You toldme the fights were fixed. You said you always won.” With the strain in her voice, he couldn’t tell if she was angry or upset.

“I did win.”

She pulled back and shot him a critical look.

“Really. The other guy looks as bad as I do. Maybe worse.”

“You made it sound like this wasn’t a big deal. Like I didn’t have to worry about you getting hurt. Why didn’t you warn me it might be this bad? I care about what happens to you.”

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