Page 86 of Shatter Me

"Take me home," Tash demands, her voice cracking. She pushes away from me, pressing herself against the door. "I can't do this. Any of this."

"I need to see the medic first." My side throbs where the bullet tore through the muscle. "You should get checked too?—"

"No!" She fumbles for the door handle. "I don't want your doctors, your protection, any of it. Just let me out. I'll get an Uber."

"Tash—"

"Don't." Her eyes flash with a mix of fear and fury. "You don't get to act concerned now. Not after using me as bait in your gang war."

"That's not what happened." Pain shoots through my chest that has nothing to do with bullet wounds. "I never meant for you?—"

"Save it." She yanks the door open. Cool air rushes in. "I was stupid ever trusting you. To think you could be anything but what everyone warned me about."

"At least let me have someone drive you?—"

"I said no!" Her voice echoes off the concrete walls. "Stay away from me, Dmitri. I mean it."

Blood drips onto the concrete floor as I watch Tash's face contort with disgust and pain. Not physical pain – I made sure she wasn't hurt – but something deeper.

"Your world..." She wraps her arms around herself. "The violence, the games you play with people's lives. I can't be part of this."

"I never wanted you involved." My vision blurs slightly. Blood loss is becoming an issue.

"But I am involved. You made that choice for me the moment you pursued me." Her voice cracks. "Did you ever stop to think what it would mean for me? Or was I just another acquisition?"

The words hit harder than the bullets. "You were never?—"

"A pawn? A bargaining chip?" She laughs bitterly. "Tell that to Igor Lebedev."

"Sir," Akim steps forward, eyeing the growing pool of blood at my feet. "You need medical attention. I can take Ms. Blackwood home while you see the doctor."

"He's right," Tash says quietly. "This is what I mean. Your world and mine don't mix. They can't." She turns to Akim. "I'd appreciate a ride home."

I want to reach for her to explain everything, but the room starts tucking. "Tash?—"

"Don't." She backs away. "Just... don't. Akim can drive me. You should get those wounds looked at."

Akim moves toward the other vehicle, and Tash follows without looking back. The click of her heels on concrete echoes through the garage, each step driving home how badly I've failed to protect her from my reality.

"Sir?" Viktor approaches, ready to help me to the medical wing.

I watch until Tash disappears into the car, taking with her any hope I had of bridging our two worlds.

My instincts scream to stop her, to explain, to protect her. But the look in her eyes I'd seen, that mixture of betrayal and disgust, holds me in place. Blood drips steadily onto the concrete as I watch her slip into another vehicle with Akim.

I lean heavily on Viktor as we make our way to the medical wing, my blood leaving a trail on the polished floor. Each step sends fire through my side, but the physical pain barely registers compared to the look in Tash's eyes before she leaves.

"At least she's safe," Viktor says, echoing my thoughts.

"For now." I grit my teeth as we reach the medical room. Dr. Kelvin rushes forward, helping me onto the examination table.

"Three gunshot wounds," Viktor reports. "Right shoulder, left thigh, and right side."

I close my eyes as Kelvin cuts away my ruined shirt. The bullet in my side went clean through, but the other two will need to be extracted. I barely feel the sting of the local anesthetic.

All I can see is Tash's face. I'd sworn to protect her, and instead, I'd dragged her into the worst of my world. The irony burns worse than the wounds. Every move I'd made to keep her safe had only put her in more danger.

"This will hurt," Dr. Kelvin warns, probing the wound in my shoulder.

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