Page 62 of Make Her Bleed
"The doctor said people usually keep them in for three months or more, but I only need it for a few days. He said my projected stay is two weeks. He wants me to be fully healed before I'm discharged." Caution covers her speckled face, her eyes narrowing a bit.
"Why is that?" Why does she look like she doesn't know exactly what to say?
"I asked him the same thing," she admits. "He said—off the record, of course—he doesn't trust you not to exacerbate my injuries."
I understand that. People who know what I'm like know I can be a loose cannon. I want to hurt Aria, but I won't do that while she's in this condition, here or back at my house.
"Do you hate me?"Why the fuck did I just ask her that?Who cares if she hates me? It won't change anything. It's not like I'll send her back to Tom if she does. She's mine to do with what I please and I'll kill anyone who tries to take her from me.
Her eyes widen at my question. "No." A flush rises across her face as she takes a ragged breath. "I don't hate you, Kai. I hate the things you've done to me, likethis, but I don't hate you. I should though."
She definitely should hate me, but I'm glad she doesn't. If everything I've done hasn't made her hate me, I don't think anything else will.
Maybe not even the truth about Rowe or Teigan. I want to tell her. I want her to know exactly who I am and what I'm capable of. Both the destruction and peace I've brought.
Start on something small and less damaging.
"I have something I want to tell you," I say.
Her eyes perk up, concern and elation clear in her gaze.
"I'm not going to stop you from sharing this information. It's yours to do with what you choose."
"What is it?" she asks, a hint of fear in her eyes.
"What all do you know about Rowe and his … upbringing?" I inquire quickly.
"Not much. He told me his dad abused him, and you got him put in jail."
Hisdad. That always pisses me off. That man wasn't his father. I am. That piece of shit never did anything for Rowe. He beat the crap out of Rowe and did worse to Delaney. Carson Kade was an abusive addict, not a dad or a father.
"That man wasn't his father," I hiss with irritation.
Aria doesn't cower. She stays quiet and watches me, studying my movement and expressions.
"Really?"
"He's a piece of human garbage his mother chose after she got pregnant with Rowe. A dad doesn't do what he did. Neither does a husband."
Maybe my morals are askew or I live by different rules than I set down for others. Maybe I just feel this way because it was my son and my dead girlfriend's sister.
I have always been protective of little kids though. No one should ever lay a hand on a child.
"Does his mom not know who his father is?" she asks, completely oblivious to the truth.
"She knows. She's known from day one and she did the right thing by contacting me to tell me that she was pregnant," I admit.
Her eyes widen as her jaw tenses. "You're his father?" Surprise falls from her lips.
"I always made sure Delaney and Rowe were taken care of. Financially at the very least. While in college, I got a job to help her out. When I was offered a contract in Gridlock, the checks I sent her just got bigger. She could easily live off the money I give her and support all of her kids."
Her eyes soften and she gives me that look she used to. The stars in her eyes.
"Don't look at me like that," I warn with my fists clenching in my lap. I don't deserve that look no matter how bad I want it.
"Like what?"
"Like I'm some kind of hero when I'm not. I'm no hero, Aria. Don't get it twisted in your head."
