Page 43 of Severed Rivalry
“Why no coffee?”
“Officially, increased vasodilation and the concussion.”
“And in layman’s terms?”
“It makes my blood vessels shrink so the blood pounds and that’s not great with a head injury.” His words are quick and efficient.
“And you had it anyway?” No doubt he can hear the anger in my question.
“You ever play ‘What’s this headache?’ Is it dehydration or lack of caffeine? In this case, it was both and the facial trauma.”
I stop in my tracks, my eyes falling shut, only to be jostled by the pedestrians bumping into me.
“What was that?” He sounds worried.
“Nothing.”
“You sounded like you got the wind knocked out of you.”
I so did. “Um hmm. Ci,” I whisper. “How bad is it?”
“I told you, Angel.”
“And that was everything?”
“Physically, yeah. First surgery is in a week and half, or so we think. I’ll know for sure tomorrow. That should repair my eye. I’m tired of looking like one of the squishy toys where you squeeze one side and the other expands and bubbles out. My right side is normal. My left is a whole other person I don’t know.” His voice is laced with exhaustion.
“What the fuck?”
“You know, I recognized you never promised. Gotta say, Sweetheart, I’d love to have those words.”
I drop onto a bench that is vacant probably because of the snowpack and the shade. I fight my rising panic. “Regarding your dad— I, uh… How do you plan on handling that situation?”
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never angel
Cian
“Which situation?” I steady my voice, trying to keep the calm I know she needs. “Because, Angel, there are several.”
“Well,” she hesitates, and there’s a deep inhale before she rushes out the rest. “All of them.” She’s not even acknowledging me asking her not to run. She’s sure as hell not agreeing.
“Murphy Enterprises will be shuttered, but I have some legal and accounting matters to handle first. I have an audit scheduled so that I know assets and liabilities. I need to know when the dirty money came in, how long it’s been flowing, and what it funded. I took a salary but also had an ownership stake, so there are threads to untangle so that I can be free.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like thatmakes it sound quick. The decision was easy to make—I’ll explain that in person—but it certainly doesn’t come at no cost.”
“I’m sorry, Ci.”
“Me too.” I scrub a hand through my hair. “As for the personal relationship, I plan to keep one with my mom. But as far as my father goes, I can’t see that being viable.”
That sounds clinical, but it’s the best I have right now.
“I can’t imagine.”
I drop my voice. “Don’t think that’s entirely truthful, Angel.You left a lot behind to make a new life, and it seems that’s been a good decision for you.”
