Page 61 of The One Night Match
“You’re being ridiculous,” I groan as Cruz paces up and down the length of the bedroom.
Lexi is perched on the bed beside me after flat out refusing to get into the bed her brother defiles me in. Her words, not mine. But once I assured her the sheets were changed this morning, she seemed to settle enough to allow Colten to put her down, something he was very hesitant to do.
“Keeping you safe is not ridiculous,” he growls, his steps never faltering as his best friend drags the chair from the corner to the edge of the bed, sitting right beside Lexi as if any space between them causes him physical pain.
Oh boy, if she doesn’t know he’s into her, she’s about to get a rude shock.
“An armed guard surrounding the house is, though,” I argue.
“We don’t know who we can trust right now. It’s just a precaution.”
I sigh and carefully push myself off the bed. The more time that passes since the accident, the more my body hurts, but I try to keep it from my features, knowing that seeing me in pain is only going to set him off more.
“Get back in bed, Riley.” He steps toward me, trying to corral me back toward the bed, but I wrap my arms around him instead.
The change in his body is immediate, the tension falling away as he gently returns my hug.
“I know you were scared today, Cruz. I was scared as well. Terrified. But you know what I kept telling myself the wholetime?” I murmur against his chest, waiting for him to shake his head before I continue. “I kept telling myself that you wouldn’t let anyone hurt us. I knew you would come, and you did.”
He tightens his hold on me, and I let him despite the sharp pain in my muscles. He needs this, and if I’m honest with myself, so do I.
“I didn’t think I knew fear until Colten burst into my office to tell me what had happened.” He presses a kiss to the top of my head, his lips lingering on my hair for long moments. “I’m going to be a little overbearing for a while. I’m sorry.”
“I understand. But a small army is overkill. Okay? Let’s just keep it to a few extra guards until we know there’s an actual threat.”
He’s quiet for long seconds before he nods slowly. “Fine.”
I smirk against him, weirdly exhilarated by the fact that he listened to my opinion. That he took what I had to say and my reasoning and respected me enough not to count them out immediately. My parents could never. If Mom ever got it in her mind to suggest a different way for Dad to do business, I hate to think of the argument that would follow.
Magda appears in the doorway, her dark eyes worried as she takes in the four of us. Her gray hair is pulled into its usual neat ponytail, but the evidence of her stress is the flyaways from running her fingers through it over and over again.
“The doctor’s here, Cruz.”
“Thank you, Magda,” he says softly as he lifts me into his arms and deposits me back in my spot on the bed, taking care to pull the blankets over my lap.
Mr. Whiskers meows loudly as he walks in with the doctor, jumping up onto the bed and climbing into my lap without hesitation.
He lets out another loud cry, only stopping when I run my fingers through his soft fur. “We’re okay, buddy,” I tell him softly.
“I see the nurse arrived before me.” A man in his forties chuckles. His light blue eyes show his amusement as he moves closer to us. “Cats are good like that, knowing when the people they like are sick or injured.”
“Explains why he didn’t give a fuck when you were shot last year,” Colten laughs from the other side of the bed, and I snort out the most unflattering laugh of my life.
“We’re coming to an understanding,” Cruz mutters, but doesn’t try to pat Mr. Whiskers. Probably for the best, given their past interactions I’ve been privy to.
“Check Lexi first. I think her wrist is broken,” I say, looking over at the way she’s still holding it against her chest.
“It’s fine. Nothing some ibuprofen won’t fix.”
“Let him do his job, Wildcat,” Colten murmurs so softly I would have missed it if I weren’t overly invested in the two of them.
She huffs out an irritated breath before nodding, and I drag Cruz to sit on the edge of the bed with me, unwilling to have any space between us unless absolutely necessary.
“Does she know he’s obsessed with her?” I ask quietly while they’re distracted by the doctor.
“Nope.” Cruz smirks. “But I have a feeling she’s about to.”
THIRTY-TWO
