Page 46 of Pretty Cruel Love

Ignoring his words, I rush to my room and tear off my pillowcase. Spinning it into a strip, I return to his side.

“Please let me help you,” I say. “Turn off the water.”

He hesitates for a few seconds before obliging. Then I wrap the fabric above his wound, tying it tightly.

As I secure the knot, he stiffens, but then relaxes as the blood slows to a trickle, then stops completely.

He stares at the tourniquet, then at me.

“I got attacked in the shower a few times with a sock full of batteries,” I say softly. “A lifer taught me how to handle those cuts.”

“I don’t recall seeing any of that in your files.” He looks concerned. “Why didn’t you tell the staff?”

“Who do you think let it happen in the first place?”

Silence.

I glance at the other wound on his arm. It’s not as deep, but it’s open and needs to be covered.

“I can suture that up for you, if you don’t want to leave for the hospital.”

“I’ve already told you I won’t be leaving again,” he says. “The nurse who sees you in the morning will probably look at it.”

His words—again—don’t match his actions.

He steps closer, eliminating the small gap between us.

“There’s a first-aid kit in my bathroom.”

“Would you like me to get it, or wait here until you get it?”

“We can both get it.” He’s staring at me intently, and I’m trying to decipher the look in his eyes, but I can’t.

He swallows hard and abruptly steps away, heading to his side of the cabin.

Then he looks over his shoulder. “You’re coming, correct?”

20.5

DR. WEISS

Night Ten

Sadie’s eyes widen as she steps into my suite. She scans the room in awe, stopping when she sees the replica of “the wall.”

Her victims are frozen in time at the crime scene, and there are photos of her walking in and out of the courtroom.

Wincing, she turns away from it.

“Which door goes to your bathroom?” she asks.

I motion for her to follow me, and I hit the lights. Then I grab the oversized red box from under the sink and sit on the edge of the tub.

Without saying a word, she flips it open and rummages through the supplies.

Outside my window, nature’s night strikes up a symphony. Sheets of soft rain attack the glass while a low thunder growls in the distance.

Sadie’s nipples are poking through her thin, white T-shirt, tempting me to suck them, but I resist.

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