Page 75 of Waiting Game

My head snapped to face him, “do it then. Force me. Be the guy I’ve always feared that you would become.”

My words hit him, he reacted as if he’d been shot again, and he stepped back.

“I-” he muttered, “I’m sorry, Val.”

“Just go,” I sniffled, wiping the tears from my cheek.

“Please,” he stepped towards me, placing a hand on mine to stop me from unpacking, “please let me take care of you.”

I scoffed, “I’ve done just a fine job looking after myself, Lorenzo.”

“Bunny, don’t do this.”

“Go home, Ren,” I shook my head, retreating to my bathroom and locking the door.

I turned on the shower again to block out the sound of him calling my name and knocking on the door. It wasn’t working so I hopped back in, still dressed, and sat under the burning water and cried. When the water ran cold once again, and my eyes ran dry, I came out of the bathroom. And he was gone.

He had done as I’d asked.

So why was I so sad to see that he wasn’t here?

22

Chapter 22

Ren

Antoni picked me up from the airport.

He tried to make small talk but all I could do was stare straight ahead, at the white line in the middle of the road. Things with the Redliner’s had become more heated, and there was no hint of a truce on the horizon just yet. Antoni didn’t scold me like I thought he would, he didn’t even bring it up. He just babbled about work things, but I didn’t hear a word.

When he pulled up back at the safehouse, I stared at it instead of getting out.

If I had just stayed here in the first place, I wouldn’t have completely ruined things with Valerie. When she left this time, we were on good terms. If I had given her the space, maybe eventually she would’ve returned to me.

Now, I was sure that it was finished.

I had scared her, I had shown her the darker side of myself that I worked so hard to keep her shielded from. As if it wasn’t bad enough that she had witnessed me kill a man, this time it was different. That time, I was protecting her. This time, it was only my desperation that had shown her the side of me that she feared.

And now, she wouldn’t be able to unsee it.

I couldn’t fully regret going, in a way, because I never would have got to fuck up the doctor who dared to touch her. The rage started to build within me again as I thought about his hands on her, and the fear in her eyes. I only regretted not hurting him more than I did.

If Valerie hadn’t been there, I would have torn him apart piece by piece, starting with the fingers that caused her harm. And I would have enjoyed every second.

“You’re not going to run away again are you?” Antoni teased.

I shook my head.

“I’ve fucked everything, Toni.”

He sighed, patting me on the back, “I’m sure it’s not that bad, mate.”

“How long do I have to stay here?”

“Either until we’ve sorted things with the Redliners or until you’re healed enough to fight.”

“I am healed enough to fight,” I insisted.

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