Page 65 of Thorns of Silence
TWENTY-SIX
DANTE
She shot me.
But that wasn’t the worst part. It was the fact that I fucking blacked out. In front of her! Until now, she’d been calming my demons, not awakening them. The terror I felt when I came to my senses, seeing that fear in her eyes. It gutted me. That look would remain with me for the rest of my life.
“What have I done?” I rasped, my body rapidly failing. The question was useless anyway. I already knew the answer. I was broken. After all, Dr. Freud warned of the consequences of not dealing with my memories.
It took the girl with sad blue eyes to shoot me for the words to sink in. Although I shouldn’t be surprised at how it ended. After all, she’d sprayed me with mace and fought me at every turn. And she did warn me.
But if having her was the last thing on this earth I’d experience, then fuck it, she was worth it. Her tight walls and the way they milked my cock. It was the best feeling I had ever lived through. She was the one for me. I was certain of it.
Kneeling on the floor, I watched her run out the door, the taste of her still fresh on my tongue, the scent of spring rain mixing with copper.
Had I misread her?
No, it couldn’t be. She’d wanted me—however briefly. She’d moaned, writhed against me. She’d wanted me as much as I wanted her, and we were glorious together.
Fuck! Was it possible to get a hard-on while bleeding out?
“What the fuck happened?” I met Cesar’s eyes when he appeared at the door, panting. “Should I go after her?”
I was feeling light-headed from blood loss. “No, let her go.”
At least for now. “You going to tell me what happened?” he demanded, and when I glared at him, he put his hands up in the air. “Okay, okay. I can see this is one of thoseDon’t say anything to anyone or it will be my headthings, right?”
“Damn fucking right,” I gritted as I attempted to move. “Elevate me and apply pressure to the wound. The bullet hasn’t broken or fractured anything.”I hoped.
Cesar said nothing for just a moment too long. “This girl will kill you. You’ve got to let her go.”
I shut my eyes briefly, willing myself to breathe. I loved Phoenix, but I was smart enough to know Cesar was right. Not that I’d admit that to him. “She missed my heart. If she wanted me dead, she’d have put the bullet in my heart.”
“I should put you out of your misery and put a bullet in your heart,” Cesar muttered, looking way too fucking serious. Then he shook his head, hopefully dismissing the thought of shooting me. “I think you’ll live through this, boss. You still have energy to bark orders.” His voice was as thick as the blood that seemed to be draining all my energy. “Good to see you’re all right.”
“You won’t be if you don’t save my ass.”
“Of course,” he said, not worried at all. “Saving your crazy ass is my priority.”
God, I hoped he wasn’t joking.
“Find a hospital we can bribe to keep us under the radar.” And then I remembered one thing. “Make sure it’s not the one where Reina Romero was at.” That one had doctors that reported to Illias Konstantin.
Then unconsciousness pulled me under.
* * *
When I woke up next, my skin was cold and clammy, and it took a Herculean effort to even breathe. I went to shift and was almost sick as the world tilted. I gritted my teeth at the pain that shot through me.
“Finally awake.” The vision cleared and I found Cesar sitting next to my bed. “Took you long enough.”
“Where are we?” I managed to say.
“Private clinic.” I met his worried gaze but said nothing. “You didn’t want anyone to know… Right?”
I sighed. “That’s right,” I confirmed, stifling a wince as I moved slightly. “What did I miss?”
“Aside from being shot by a girl?” Cesar and his sarcasm. Maybe I could shoot him, if only he weren’t so loyal. “Nothing. Amon is still on a rampage. Going after anyone and everyone who could be involved with Reina’s hit-and-run.” I shook my head. If he liked the girl so much, why in the fuck did he break it off with her? Not only had he ruined his own chances, he fucked me over with Phoenix too.
