Page 23 of Lines Drawn
I lean back and cup his cheek. “You’re alright. And if Doc is as good as he claims, Ignacio will make it through this. Is Sarah in there, too?”
I dart my gaze over to Tennant, who has creeped up next to me, aiming for Benjamin. It’s not that I don’t trust Doc per se, I just know Dr. Ranlen. If anybody can save him, it’s her.
“No. But she’s on her way. I hope she gets here soon…” Benjamin is shaking and I grab his hands tightly, trying to send him some calm, or at least take some of his pain away. Fuck.
“Doc may have a shitty bedside manner, Topolino, but nobody else is as good as him. If it’s possible to save Ignacio, he will.” Tennant reaches out to touch Benjamin’s shoulder, but he jerks away. Instead, he turns on Tennant, facing him down with a livid glare.
“You talk about Il Padrone like he’s a monster, but look whatyourBoss did! He’s the true monster. Sure, Ignacio and Roman may have gotten together, but it was consensual. And yet he sentenced Ignacio to potentially die over it?! If that’s true, why isn’t Roman being sentenced?
“Il Padrone didnothingto Roman. Ignacio already paid his price. What gives your Boss the right to touch one of us? Fuck that. I don’t want anything to do with the Amatos. You live under the rule of someone far worse than a psychopath.”
Tennant’s face goes blank, but he tries again to reach for my friend. “Topolino…”
“No!” Benjamin shouts. “You hate Ignacio. No matter how many times I’ve tried to convince you that he’s not a bad guy. Did you put Cristian up to this? Are you happy now? I almost lost him before with Jax, and now? Now, he wasn’t even safe in our own house. I want you gone.”
Tennant drops his hand and backs away. His heavy footsteps bother me as he walks away, although I’m not sure why. I lean toward Benjamin again and pull him against me, his muscles tense and protesting. “Leave me to it. I’ll find out more. No matter what, I'll be by your side.”
Benjamin gives a sharp nod and waves me away. My own heart aches that he’d send me away so easily, but I remember standing vigil over him and not wanting anyone nearby. Drawing comfort…makes things real. And right now? Benjamin doesn’t want that.
I follow the sound of Tennant’s footsteps, catching up with him after he turns the corner, and we’re far enough away from Benjamin that he won’t come investigating if things get loud. And from Tennant’s expression, they may.
“Benjamin doesn't mean it.” I grip Tennant’s arm and pull him closer, not letting him leave.
Scowling, Tennant towers over me. He rips himself from my grasp and folds his arms. “He threw me out. How else should I take it?”
“He's upset.” I huff as I run my hand through my hair, struggling to know what to say. “He's never had to handle this before. It's like his worst nightmare from Jax came true.”
Tennant grinds his teeth before dropping his arms, leaning away from me. “He obviously loves Ignacio.”
My heart clenches at the pain on Tennant’s face. It’s not something I ever thought I’d see on him. “Didn't you just tell me you can love more than one person? You need to be calm. He's angry at Cristian, and the situation. Not you. You're just an easy outlet. Don't pull an Ignacio and walk away.”
“I'll never walk away from my Topolino. But I need him to accept me. And my relationship with Cristian. I don’t know why Cris did this, but I am part of the Amato Family. Nothing changes that.”
“Give him time. Once Ignacio pulls through—and if your Doc is as good as he says he is, he'll fucking fix this—Benjamin will relax.” Tennant narrows his eyes at me, weighing the truthfulness of my words. Sighing, I add, “You may want to get Cristian to back off, though. This…this was the wrong move.”
“Oh, Mostrotto, I guarantee you that Cristian and I are going to have words.” The fury flashes in his usually cold eyes, and for a moment, I actually worry about the asshole, but if Tennant takes him down, it's because he deserves it. I donotlike seeing my best friend upset.
“I'll keep you updated.” I reach out and touch Tennant’s hand, wanting to give some level of comfort, as fucked as that feels.
“I…” Tennant shakes his head before forcing out, “Thank you. Please, if there’s anything he needs…”
“That was hard on you, wasn't it?” I smirk, amused at his apology.
“Don't play with fire.” Tenant’s voice drops low as twin flames dance in his eyes, his darkness calling to me. “Your friend did. Look at how that turned out.”
“And yet you don't scare me…” My lips twitch at his heated stare, and I refuse to cower from it.
“I should, Mostrotto.” He traces the side of my face with his fingers, before fisting my hair and yanking my head back.
Snorting, I force him to release me. “You'll learn. Death doesn't back down.”
Tennant scoffs. “Are you as foolish as your friend Roman?”
I laugh so hard it reverberates in the hallway. He seems less than amused, especially when I close the small distance between us. Even going up on my toes, the asshole is taller than I am. Still, I whisper the truth to him. “I'm worse.”
Dropping down on my heels, I don’t give him time to respond, as I dart away. I have something else I need to handle. Master needs to know what happened, because this shit is fucked up. And if he gave Cristian permission… Fuck. I shake my head as I rush toward Master’s office.
I hesitate only briefly, knowing that I’m putting my own life on the line. I curse under my breath, and for the first time ever, Iopen the door without knocking. This is serious. And for the first time since I finally accepted I was Master’s, I wonder…should I really obey him? Because if he knew…
