Page 78 of Bloom: Part 2

“Good,” he grunted. “Now pull it through.”

I followed his instructions and dragged the thread through, looped it around, and brought the needle back up through his skin again. Each pull of the thread made my heart ache more. By the time I reached the other end, tears were blurring my vision, but I didn’t stop until I tied off the final knot.

“Now cover it with the gauze and tape it down.” His voice remained soothing, even though laced with pain. I pressed the gauze over the wound and secured it with strips of tape.

When I was done, I dropped the tape and needle onto the counter and stepped back, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. But the tears wouldn’t stop. They came harder, racking my chest until I was swaying.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” I choked out. “I didn’t mean it, Logan. I swear.”

He didn’t say a word. Instead, he wrapped his strong arms around me and pulled me down onto his lap. I buried my face in his neck, the scent of him—soap and skin—grounding me, even as my guilt threatened to drown me.

“Shh,” he murmured, his lips brushing against my temple. “I know you didn’t mean it. I know you, Bloom. You would never hurt me on purpose.”

“I was so angry,” I sobbed. “I didn’t even think. I didn’t even see—”

“Hey.” He tilted my face up to meet his gaze. His eyes were soft, warm. Forgiving. “It’s over now. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. We’ll get through this together, won’t we?”

I nodded, though the knot in my chest didn’t loosen. He held me tighter, stroking the back of my neck, and I clung to him like he was the only solid thing in a world I’d torn apart.

“You should hate me,” I whispered.

“That’s impossible. I tried once, and it didn’t work. Now it’s too late. But look, you did a great job patching me up. Now every time you stab me, you can take care of it.”

I gasped, my sobs halting as I stared at him in disbelief.

A gentle smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, his eyes sparkling with barely restrained amusement. A strangled laugh escaped my lips, and he chuckled, brushing my teardrops away with his thumb.

“That’s not funny.”

“It kind of is, though. Last night was a clusterfuck. Why haven’t you asked me to explain?”

I trailed a finger down his neck. “Because I’m afraid of what you’ll say.”

“What if I want to tell you?”

“Then I’ll listen.”

He placed a hand on my thighs. “I know everyone thinks I’m a pain in the ass, but I wasn’t always like this. When I was younger, I was just like everyone else. I went to clubs, had lots of friends, and kissed a boy or two.”

“Do we have to talk about the boys?”

“Sorry, but I promise you it’s a part of the story.”

“Okay, I’ll grit my teeth and bear it.”

He squeezed my thigh. “I loved being a doctor. It was important to me, and I was very good at it. Until my father insisted that since he paid for my education, I needed to give back to the family. He wanted me to torture people, using my medical knowledge to prolong the pain for as long as possible.”

“The Logan I know would hate that.”

“I do—I did. But I did it, even though it was killing me on the inside. Then my father crossed the line. Our family was close to the Byrne family—another powerful crime syndicate. Their son Aurie and I got close. A little too close and my father had him killed. Said as long as I lived—as long as my name was Agosti—I could never be with another man. It would bring shame upon the family. The Mafia isn’t tolerant. When I begged him to let me leave and get out, he threatened me that any man I was withwould be killed just like Aurie. So I snapped, and I found a way to remove him from my life. By then, I’d not only lost Aurie but my older brother as well. I didn’t want to be involved with the Mafia. All I wanted was to heal people.”

“I see.”

“Do you? The people you hang out with aren’t much different from my family.”

“I don’t know what your family does, but we’re not bad people. It’s not like we go around hurting others all willy-nilly. We just won’t back down if anyone fucks with one of us.”

“I wish that were true of my family. They’re brutal. They pardon no one. And now they want me.”

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