Page 27 of Ruthless Angel

I gave him a playful shove. “Stop. It doesn’t matter. She was a jerk.”

“Tell me.” He jabbed me in the ribs, making me squeal when he hit my ticklish spot.

He wasn’t going to let up, so I said, “She called you a freak, among other things. It kind of pissed me off.”

Daire gently rubbed a thumb over my swollen knuckles. “Apparently. I’m surprised you didn’t join in with her. I can’t believe you came to my defense.”

Yeah, I understood why he’d feel that way. I wasn’t sure if I recalled a time when Daire had touched me as gently as he was now.

“Well, maybe you are a bit of a freak sometimes,” I said, choosing my words carefully. “But you’re my freak.”

Daire shocked me further by pulling me into his arms, holding me tight against him while resting his cheek on the top of my head. A man with a mop and bucket passed us while a woman on the intercom called a doctor to a specific room. The hustle and bustle of the hospital surrounded us. In that moment, wrapped up in Daire, I was able to close my eyes for just a moment and tune it all out.

“Do either of you want anything from the vending machine or the cafeteria?” Cash asked. “I can’t sit here and wait. I need to move around. A coffee might be good right now. How about you two?”

Daire sat down on one of the chairs, pulling me down on the chair next to him. “Yeah, coffee sounds good. Grab me a muffin or something if you find one.”

The thought of coffee made my stomach turn. I wasn’t in the right headspace for a stimulant right now.

“A muffin sounds good,” I added. “Maybe just some water for me though. Or an iced tea from the vending machine.”

“Sounds good.” Cash started to walk away, pausing to turn back and say, “Call or text my phone if you hear anything.”

We sat there while the time crawled. Cash took his sweet time finding some snacks, and he still returned before we’d heard anything about Blaze. The wait was driving me crazy.

I nibbled a chocolate chip muffin, doing my best to get it down. My appetite hadn’t been good lately. The stress was getting to me.

“Eat that thing,” Daire said when he saw me set the muffin aside. “You can’t starve, Clover. I know it’s hard, but the last thing I need right now is to worry about you too.”

The thought of Daire worrying about me filled me with warmth. He didn’t seem like the type to worry. Seeing him sitting here restlessly waiting on news about Blaze proved otherwise. Not wanting to add to that, I picked up the muffin and tried again.

Finally, a doctor came to speak with us. It was almost three in the morning.

“You’re Blaze Bixby’s friends?” The doctor waited for us to confirm before continuing. “Has his family been notified about his admittance tonight?”

“Yes,” Cash confirmed. “They live a few hours away. They can’t make it tonight.”

I had no idea if that was true or not. Knowing Blaze, he wouldn’t want his family hearing about this unless he was at death’s door.

“We’re his family. Tell us how he’s doing.” Daire’s tone left no room for argument.

The doctor studied him a moment before saying, “He’s been badly injured. Thankfully, there’s no internal bleeding, although he does have some bruised organs, cracked ribs, and a concussion. He’s awake now and asking to see you. Since he needs his rest, I ask that you don’t stay more than a few minutes. We’ll been keeping him for at least twenty-four hours for observation.”

The doctor went on about criminal activity and how we should share anything we know with the police. Cash played the yes man, agreeing to anything he said so we could finally see Blaze. We were then given a room number and another warning about not staying too long.

My heart leapt into my throat as we entered Blaze’s room. They’d stuck him in a room with a few other people, each separated by a curtain drawn between the beds. We found him at the back of the room next to the window.

I bit back a small shriek at the sight of him. My brain refused to accept what my eyes were seeing.

Blaze’s face was a mess of cuts and bruises. There was more black and blue skin than untouched. His nose was swollen twice its size. One eye was nearly swollen shut, the other bright red with broken blood vessels. Stitches held his eyebrow together. The bruises disappeared beneath the hospital gown he wore. An IV in the back of his hand fed him fluids and meds. My gaze was drawn to the bandage on his hand where his missing finger had once been.

I stood there frozen, staring at him with a lump in my throat. When I began to feel lightheaded, I realized that I’d stopped breathing. It took effort to make my lungs move, to suck in the sterile scents all around me.

“Jesus Christ, you look like shit.” Daire approached the bed, looking Blaze over.

“Oh really? Well, I feel fucking spectacular.” Blaze’s attempt at humor surprised me. He rolled his eyes, wincing when he tried for a half-assed smile. The gash on his lip must have hurt. “Tell me you got them all.”

Cash and Daire exchanged a look. “Sorry, bro,” Cash said. “We nailed the rest but Brady got away. We won’t stop looking for him until we find him. He’d not getting away with this.”

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