Page 96 of Bad For A Weekend

“You should at least go home and change.” Hudson points to my white tank top that’s splattered in blood.

I look down and realize he’s right. No wonder I’m cold. But leaving feels wrong on so many levels. I war with myself, debating if I can walk out the door. Hudson must see my indecision because he grumbles as he removes his suit coat and button down. He keeps the jacket and hands over the shirt.

“Don’t ever say I didn’t do anything for you.”

“Thanks, bro.” I remove the blood-stained tank and slip Hudson’s shirt on.

“Text me later and let me know how she is. I’m going to get some shut-eye before I meet with my team tomorrow. Someone fucked up, and I want to figure out who.” He slips his jacket back on, looking like a Chippendale stripper. If I weren’t so worried, it’d be funny.

“Lisa would’ve come after Baylor no matter what, and it could’ve been while she was at college when we weren’t there to react,” I say. “It could’ve been so much worse.”

“I guess you’re right. Text me later.” He claps me on the shoulder and gives Brandy a hug before leaving.

After he’s gone, Brandy and I settle back into the uncomfortable chairs.

“You saved her life,” she says.

“I fucking hope so.”

“You’re in love with her.” She ticks it off like she’s making a grocery list.

“Why would you say that?”

“What happened is shocking and sad for anyone to witness, but I saw the look on your face. It was like your world was ending around you. A man only looks like that if he’s in love with the person he’s trying to save.”

“I know it makes me an asshole.” I scrub a hand down my face. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. I tried to fight it. I honestly did.”

“She loves you too, you know?”

“She’s too young to know what love is,” I say.

“Psh. No, she’s not. She’s too young to be in love with a grown man, but she’s not too young to be in love.”

I stand. “I’ll go. I know this is all wrong.”

“Sit your butt down,” she grumbles. “She’ll be upset if you’re not there when she wakes up, and she has enough reasons to be upset right now.”

“Once I know she’s okay, I promise I’ll disappear from her life forever,” I say, and I mean it. Now that I know she’s safe and the people trying to harm her are dead or locked away, I can be strong enough for both of us.

“Something tells me that’s a lie.”

Baylor

Agony is ripping me in two, right across my middle. That’s my first thought as I wake from a nightmare. The pain. It’s worse than any pain I’ve ever felt before. I cry out, gripping my stomach.

“Shh, Bay. It’s okay. You’re okay,” Dad coos, gently gripping my hands and pulling them away. “But you shouldn’t touch your belly or try to sit up. You might pop your stitches.”

Stitches? Why do I have...The events from graduation come flooding back. I was getting my diploma, and Owen was there. It was the happiest I’d been since Tulum. Then I was hit by something and fell. And there was a woman. Who was she? After that, it’s all a blur.

My eyes flutter open to see a white room and that I’m hooked to all kinds of tubes and wires. Dad stands over me, a sad smile on his face.

“What happened?” I rasp out. My throat is dry, and my voice sounds like it’s been tumbled through rocks.

“Here, take a sip of water.” He holds a straw to my lips, and I drink until he pulls it away. “That’s it for now. You can have more once we see how that goes down.”

“What happened?” I ask again.

“You were shot.”

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