Page 62 of Murder & Mayhem
Jamie’s eyes opened as I walked in. He gave me a tight smile. “Hey.” His voice was shaky.
“Hey.” I shoved my hands in my pocket. “How are you feeling?”
Jamie shrugged and then winced. “Head hurts.”
I nodded, feeling so fucking awkward. I didn’t know where to even begin. I had so much I wanted to say to Jamie, so much I needed to apologize for, but the words were like lead in my mouth. The timing was all wrong anyway. Jamie could barely keep his eyes open, and Bailey was glaring daggers at me. They both needed rest and time alone with each other. They didn’t need me making it about myself, and if I tried to say any of the things I wanted to, then that was exactly what I’d be doing.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay. I couldn’t leave until I saw you for myself.”
Jamie’s lip trembled and it felt like he was going to say something, but then he turned his head away from me instead.
“Well, now you saw for yourself,” Bailey snapped, still fucking glaring at me. For a kid who had just gone through something terrible, he sure had a spine of steel. “So you can go. He needs rest in a stress-free environment. We both do.”
I rocked back, never feeling so unsure of myself. What had Jamie told him that had the kid so prickly? Or was he always that protective? The right thing was to leave, but it felt so final. Like this was the last time I’d even see him if I left. That couldn’t—I wouldn’t let that be the case.
“Can we talk tomorrow? Or the next day maybe?” Jamie finally asked, sounding exhausted. Guilt ate at me, yet again. He said that because I wouldn’t fucking walk away, when it was clear that was what they wanted.
“Y-yeah. Of course. Whenever you want, beautiful.”
Jamie flinched again. “Okay, yeah. It’s time for you to leave,” Bailey announced, waving his hand at me in a shoo gesture. “Thank you for saving me and all that. Jamie said it would’ve never happened without you, but whatever this weird ass tension is between y’all, it’s not helping him. Jamie’s been taking care of me my whole life, and it’s time for me to return the favor some. Go home. Get rest. You look like shit. Jamie will let you know when he wants to talk. If he wants to talk.”
Well, I thought that was the first time a fucking teenager had ever knocked me down several pegs before. But . . . he was right.
“Of course. Um, bye then. You have my number, Jamie. Or Gideon’s or Ari’s if you’d rather talk to them. If either of you need anything, don’t hesitate to call. Seriously.” Bailey shooed me again, and this time I rolled my eyes at him. “Okay, I’m leaving. Feel better. Both of you.”
I began walking out of the room.
“Thank you, Nicky.” I didn’t turn around, rapping my fist against the glass panel once in acknowledgement and then walking away, wondering if the one person who’d managed to break through my walls was lost to me forever.
CHAPTER 24
DOMINIC
Bones crunched under the brass wrapped around my knuckles as I took my agitation out on O’Malley. His face had been ruined before Flame and I had even gotten started on it, but now it was beyond repair. He was hanging on by a thread, and I wasn’t nearly done with him.
I’d kept my word and called Flame. I’d done it right after I’d left the hospital so I didn’t change my mind. He’d arrived around dawn the following day, and we had been in here for hours, only taking a break when Gideon dragged me out to eat and drink some water.
When I’d contacted Flame, I’d pretty much demanded my turn with O’Malley too, and thankfully he hadn’t given me a hard time about it. “As long as I can feel his pulse stop beating under my fingers, I don’t give a fuck who gets him there.”
I stood, chest heaving, staring at O’Malley. He was naked, though I was regretting that because I was sick of staring at his flabby ass. His once good eye lay on the tarp under my feet, and in its place was a cauterized socket. I didn’t want him tobleed out, of course. At some point, one of us must’ve removed his tongue and a couple fingers too, but I didn’t even remember that. He still had his dick, but that was because I was waiting. The grand finale and all that. O’Malley’s chest rattled with each breath. He wasn’t gonna last much longer.
“Fuck!” I kicked O’Malley’s leg with my steel-toed boot hard enough that I heard bone crack, but the fucker was unconscious again. Pathetic.
“I’m bored,” Flame groaned. He was sitting in a plastic folding chair, eating fucking Oreos and flicking through his phone. I rolled my eyes. How was I always surrounded by the most unhinged and unbothered motherfuckers? “Can we end this already? I’d rather not be here all day.”
“You’re more than welcome to leave.”
He popped a cookie in his mouth whole. “Nope.” Crumbs fell down his chin. Fucking gross.
As much as I didn’t want to admit it, Flame was right. It was time to end this.
I pulled the bloody knuckles off and tossed them to the side, grabbing a knife from the tray that we had set up. I paused when I saw what I’d picked up. Jamie’s switchblade. It had fallen during the chaos, and Gideon had given it to me at the hospital after it had been found on the ground during cleanup.
“Wait.”
Flame sighed heavily, banging his head against the wall. “What now?”
“It’s not my decision to make.”
