Page 32 of The Burnt Heart

“Stay still, idiotic alpha,” Adelaide bit out sharply, a hint of worry seeping through. I opened one eye to see her leaning over me. She reared back, her cool, stony mask sliding back into place. She reached over and pressed the button next to my hand, her fingers brushing against mine.

“Princess—” I whispered, but she stalked away, perching on the side of the chair next to Ray. My stomach churned at the sight of them together. Dark and light, well matched. He knew it too, his smirk widening as he palmed her knee with his free hand.

“Thanks for the coffee, sugar,” he cooed, winking at Adelaide. She rolled her eyes at Ray’s obvious flirting and the familiarity between them killed me. I hadn’t let myself believe it was real between the two of them and I wouldn’t start now. It was fake, it had to be. If I wasn’t incapacitated, I would be off the bed in a second, choking the impudence out of him. Instead, I seethed in silence wanting to luxuriate in Adelaide’s presence but also battling the desire to send Ray to a dark level of hell for being near my girl. She pushed Ray’s hand off her knee with a scowl.

“Are you alright, Adelaide?” I asked instead, focusing on her. She looked worn. Her hair was mussed like she’d used her hands to scrape it back.

“Of course, do I not look it?” she sniffed, and I couldn’t stop the wide smile that crept over my face at her snark.

“You always look beautiful, but that wasn’t what I was referring to. Somebody tried to shoot you, that would rattle anybody.”

A slight flush rose on the apples of her cheeks, and I bit my tongue to stop triumphant glee showing on my face. Not once. Not in two months had she blushed like that for fuckingTaillight Ray.He might be suave, handsome and understand her world. But she wasn’t into him. She might hate me, but she was here, had been here for a long time by the state of her and I still affected her. Relief made my muscles weak.

“It’s not the first time, and I’m sure it won’t be the last,” she replied, her game face back on. God, she was magnificent. I could eat her up all day with her spine of steel and bravado. “I’ve been waiting for you to wake up so we can talk.”

“How long was I out?” I looked down at my bandaged arm. Someone had put me in a hospital gown. I hope it was Adelaide.

“Only a few hours. You had no fragments, but I needed to be the first to speak to you.”

I leaned forward, my mouth almost salivating at the words of affection I hoped she might give me. My heart grew in my chest. Had she been waiting and worrying about me?

“We need to get your story straight. Like if you remember anything about the shooter,” Adelaide explained. I slumped down on the bed. Not what I was expecting. I guess getting shot didn’t give me any brownie points after all.

“For the police? Tell me what to say, Adelaide, I’ll do anything you want. In terms of what I remember?” I sifted through my memories, hazy with adrenaline. “They covered most of their face with a red and black bandana. It was the gun I saw and reacted to. I can’t be much help there.”

Her brow furrowed. I could tell she was thinking rapidly. Ray looked up at Adelaide with a sober expression.

“Did it have anything on it? Like a wolf, perhaps?” Her eyes bore into me.

“It could have been, I’m not sure.”

They seemed to communicate without words. I bristled at the sight, coveting his place but knowing I didn’t have the right to it anymore. Whatever message they relayed had Ray unfolding out of the chair.

“I’ll make the calls,” he assured Adelaide, and he slipped out the door like a shadow.

“Just tell the police what you saw, Jesse. They already heard as much from people at the restaurant,” Adelaide sighed deeply, crossing her legs. “I hoped you’d seen something more for us to go off.”

“You don’t have any idea who would do this?”

Was it someone who didn’t want any kind of truce between the two crime families of Greenich Bay?

“Not yet,” she evaded, taking a sip of her drink. Her hand ghosted over her stomach, where I knew she was thinking about the attack she’d endured at sixteen with her mom. They hadn’tfound that culprit, either. The encounter had left scars both on her body and in her heart. Not that she would ever admit it. She preferred to pretend her mom didn’t exist.

“They’ve obviously got a death wish if they think—” I started, but Adelaide cut me off. Putting her coffee cup on the side table.

“I don’t want to discuss it with you, Jesse. You aren’t a part of my life anymore and while I might have spoken to you in the past, you no longer get to be that person.”

I flinched. Her words hit me like a punch. Air became difficult to grasp, knowing it was all my fault we were this way. Adelaide picked at the armchair, avoiding my gaze.

“Look at me,” my voice was low and guttural. Her eyes glittered like hard emeralds as she slid her gaze over obediently. “I would have taken that bullet to the heart to save you. You don’t consider me a part of your life, but princess, I will earn my way back.”

The material of the armchair groaned under the sharp pressure of her curled fingers. Her eyes scrunched closed, and I watched her smooth out the lines in her forehead. She flexed her hand. An innocuous movement to some, but I knew Adelaide. I knew the dark places her mind took her to sometimes.

“Are you having thoughts again?” I asked.

“It’s none of your business,” she snapped, curling into a ball on the chair. My stomach dropped at the thought of Adelaide suffering like she used to. With none of us there to anchor her. She would never accept my help, not in the place we were in now. My girl was proud, and she didn’t need us. I’d always known it was us who needed her more. Adelaide sighed heavily. Silence fell over us like an oppressive veil and I waited for her to get up and leave. But she didn’t. Her eyes fluttered closed, and her breathing evened out. Hungrily, I watched her with an ease I hadn’t managed for two months. I could indulge in her, stare at her unhindered. I had watched her so often since she said shewas done, but this was different. Adelaide to the outside world was steel, sharp and unbreakable.

Not soft. Never soft.

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