Page 24 of Kept By the Loan Shark

“With?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does.” I studied him for a moment before finding the courage to ask, “Did you fight with Travis?”

He looked down, as if he couldn’t bear to meet my gaze. Scrubbing his hands through his hair, he blew out a noisy breath and admitted, “Yes, but—”

“But what?” My stomach clenched with panic. “Did you beat him? Did you hurt him?”

“I punched him. Twice.”

“Oh my God.” I covered my face with my hands as the horror of our situation hit me.

“No. No!” Hagen sat forward and reached for my hands, drawing them away from my face. “I didn’t hit him that hard. He came into the bar, spewing his fucking nonsense, looking for a fight. I warned him to go, but he started running his mouth about you, and I snapped. But he walked away from the bar.”

“Did he hit his head? Did he fall? Are you sure he walked away? He wasn’t stumbling or dizzy or…?”

“Jesus Christ, Cassie! Are you seriously asking me that?”

“You lied to me about the fight. Of course, I’m asking you this. Did. You. Kill. Him?”

“No!”

I flinched at his raised voice. “Don’t shout at me.”

Shamefaced, he nodded. “I didn’t hurt him bad enough to kill him, Cassie. You have to believe me.”

“What I believe isn’t the issue, John. His mother thinks you did. Has she told the police that? Are they going to find witnesses who saw you two fighting?”

“They can question anyone they like. Everyone will vouch for me.”

“And Janine?”

“What about her?”

“She tried to bash in my skull in last night because she thought you were the one who put Travis in the hospital!”

“This isn’t my fault!”

My head pounded as our argument grew heated. “Yes, it is!”

He jerked back as if I had slapped him. “Is that what you think?”

“I don’t know what to think anymore.” I gritted my teeth and fought the tears burning my eyes. I was on edge and barely able to contain my emotions. “I tried to stop you from confronting them in the laundry room, but you stormed off and had to handle things the way you always do. You got into a fight with Travis. He ends up in the hospital where he dies. Janine attacked me, and now I’m here, with a hole in my head and blood on my brain. I might end up with permanent brain damage. I could develop seizures or never recover the vision in my eye.”

“What are you saying, Cassie?”

I looked away from him, his chest heaving as he breathed and gritted his teeth, and wiped at the tears running down my face. “I don’t know what I’m saying.”

“I think you do,” he said angrily and stood. “If that’s what you think, if you intend to blame me for what happened to you, then I should leave.”

My heart broke, and I couldn’t bear to lift my gaze to his. “Maybe you should.”

He hesitated only a second before striding out of my hospital room without another word.

Crushed, I closed my eyes and leaned back against the pillow. Carefully, so as not to disturb my IV or the drainage tubes, I turned away from the door and let the tears come.

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