Page 36 of Savage Rule

Rolling my eyes, I go to the cabinet where I keep a first aid kit. “I’ll get you a bandage, you big baby.

“What are those?” he asks, walking toward me.

“Band-Aids,” I tell him.

“No. On your back.”

I spin so fast the white box with the red cross on it goes flying out of my hand. His quick reflexes kick in, and he catches it midair. However, by the time he looks up, I’m already digging through my closet for a shirt.

“Peaches.”

“What?” I tug the black turtleneck on and then slip into a pair of jeans.

“What are those?” he demands again. “On your back.”

“Notches.” I tear the kit from his hands and order him to sit on the bed.

“Notches?” He winces when I use saline to clean his wound.

“Don’t worry, Dimples. You’ll eventually get one. When I kill you.” I give him a sassy smile meant to lighten the mood.

He arches his brows as the meaning of my scars dawns on him. “Wouldn’t it be better to make them on a doorjamb or a bed post?”

I leave him and return with his discarded clothes. “You should go. And don’t bother bringing your boss here. I’ll be moving out.”

“Are you telling Gideon about this?”

“Fuck no.” I recoil from the very thought. “He’d hang me if he found out.”

“Ditto. I’m not going to bring Luca. If he knew what I did, I’ll hang alongside you.” He dresses, but instead of leaving like I asked, he goes to my fridge and helps himself to a bottle of water.

My lips pull tight as I watch him take his time drinking it. “You don’t want to kill me, or you would already have tried. You don’t want to turn me in. So what are you here for? Are you trying to get Sofia’s location out of me? Because I don’t know where she is. Gideon is hiding her, even from me.”

He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand as he studies me. “You really don’t know where she is?”

“Nope,” I say, popping thePextra hard.

Leaning against the table, he takes another sip of water. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not here for Sofia. Not tonight, anyway. I’m here for whatever the fuck this is,” he says, pointing between us. “I hoped once I did something about it, I’d get you out of my fucking system.”

“Did it work?” I need to know if it did. Was he able to get me out of his system? Because I’m afraid it might not have worked for me.

Gunn shakes his head. “We can’t do it again.”

“Yeah.” It comes out a sad sigh.

“Good.”

“Did Maisie really give me up?” I ask, hoping he lied earlier.

From his pocket, he takes out a folded-up piece of paper with a sticky note attached to it and hands it to me.

“This won’t happen again,” he reiterates, though I’m not sure if he’s telling me or himself. “See ya, Peaches.”

“Have a nice life, Dimples.”

After he leaves, and after a long while of staring towards the door, wondering if he’ll come back, I look down at the note in my hand.

Please don’t hate me.

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