Page 55 of Mex

“You got a first-aid kit here?” Mex asks Jayme.

Jayme nods. “I’ll get it.”

Then Mex turns to Colt. “Salt water, warm. Any kind of washcloth you can find to use.”

Colt nods.

Mex looks back down to me. “Gotta take these clothes off. They’re filthy and you’ll get an infection.”

I don’t fight him, I simply nod.

Leaning forward, he carefully lifts me up. A pained wince leaves my lips as I try to lift my arms, but the excruciating pain is just too much. Tears burst forth, and I shake my head, putting a hand on Mex’s arm to push him back. “I can’t.”

“I got an idea.”

He stands, walking into the kitchen and returning a moment later with a knife. Slowly, he reaches for my shirt and begins cutting the material away. Little by little, he removes it, and the entire time, I keep my eyes closed, tears rolling down my cheeks. This pain, it runs deep. Deeper than I’m willing to admit. Even as I lie naked, I can’t think of anything else but the agony fighting a war inside me.

“Sheet?” Mex orders.

A few moments later, a soft sheet lands over my body.

Then, Mex leans down and orders, “Open your eyes.”

I open my tear-filled eyes and look up at him.

“This is goin’ to hurt, but those pills will kick in soon and hopefully they’ll knock you out. You need more, I’ve got you. I have to clean this up.”

I nod. “I know.”

“Tell me who did this.”

“You know I can’t do that,” I whisper. “Mex, Ican’t.”

His jaw tightens, and his eyes flash. “If you help us, we can offer you protection.”

I want to laugh, but that would be rude. It’s not that I don’t think the club is powerful, I know they are, it’s just that I know there is nowhere in the world I could hide that he wouldn’t find me. No, I have to do something else, I have to change this so I can walk away not owing a single person anything. I have to figure out a way to give Marek what he wants and give the club what they want.

“I don’t need protection,” I say, turning my face away. “I just need to sleep.”

I close my eyes, not wanting to speak about it any further.

A warm, rough finger glides down my cheek, shocking me. I don’t open my eyes, but I can’t deny the way it makes butterflies dance in my heart. Why he has this effect on me, I’ll never know. It’s not because I couldn’t find out, it’s because I will not allow myself too. I want to escape this, all of it, and start my life somewhere else. As a different person. Maybe as a person I could actually like.

“You’re strong but, eventually, even the strong break ...”

Mex’s voice is low.

I press my lips together, keeping my eyes firmly shut as his finger glides over my bottom lip.

“I can break you, sweetheart.”

Oh.

I know he can.

That’s what terrifies me the most.

I jerk my face away from his finger just as my head begins to feel a little dizzy and my body a touch warmer. The pills are working, and I can’t wait for it. I want the world to go dark for a while so I don’t have to think about anything for a moment longer. It may not last forever, but right now it’s all I need.

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