Page 129 of The Criminal's Custody

Defying all odds.

And simply because I’m here.

“I hate all this crap,” Damon barks, gesturing at the machines and cables surrounding him. And as if to prove his point, the man suddenly starts ripping out all the cords attached to his body. The saline drip. The heart rate monitor.Everything. It all violently goes as he strips himself free from their hold in front of me.

To be honest, I’m not surprised. I wouldn’t take Damon to be a man who’s held down by things such as medical devices. I bet he’d rather die on his feet than spend a lifetime in bed.

And he’s ripping them out because ofme.

“What are you doing?” I ask him. “You can’t do that!”

Damon laughs. “I’m not going to spend another fucking minute stuck in that fucking bed feeling bad for myself, especially not when you’re in the same room as me. I want to see you properly, Ava. I want to stand above you and take you in as a man.”

That makes me laugh, despite my concern for him. “Of course,youwouldn’t allow something as minor as a near-fatal knife wound to stop you from getting up close and personal with me.”

“Nothing would,” Damon says quietly, leaning forward so that our faces are nearly touching. “Nothing could separate me from you, Ava.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“You’re sweet,” I reply. “But maybe you should go back to bed. I don’t think it’s super wise to be up on your feet right now, no matter how much you want to be with me.”

The man shakes his head. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, Ava, trapped here in this bed. Thinking that I want to share with you.Urgently.”

I raise an eyebrow. “You have? What about?”

“You and me,” Damon replies.

“And what aboutyou and me?” I ask him.

“About what an asshole I’ve been,” he whispers. “And all the shit things I did that I should really stop and apologize for.”

“Damon...”

I try to object - I try to tell him that now is not the time – but Damon cuts me off. He doesn’t want to hear it. He wants to say what he’s going to say, and my protests won’t halt him.

“Let me tell you what’s been stuck in my head while I’ve been stuck in this bed,” he says.

“Okay, Damon,” I say. “Go ahead. Tell me what’s been stuck in your head.”

“Ava, I broke my promise to you back at my brewery fire,” he says softly and very seriously. “I crossed that line, and it was my mistake. It was my fault. Totally my fault. I take all the responsibility for what I did, and there is no excuse for my actions. I fully understand why you would want nothing to do with me after all that, and especially after I gave my word that I wouldn’t commit violence in front of you. I wouldn’t want to have anything to do with me if I were you. I understand why you would want to turn your back on me.”

“Your nature to revert to violence nearly got us both killed,” I whisper. “Eugene with that knife...”

Damon sighs. “I know. I was wrong. Soverywrong. I was blinded by my hate, by my need to exact revenge. And, by my actions, I put you in harm’s way. And I don’t think I can ever forgive myself for doing that. It was wrong, I admit that.”

“Even you can admit that?” I ask.

“Yes, Ava. Even me.”

I stare deep into his eyes. I can see the remorse there: the thinking he’s truly been doing as he’s laid here in this bed. This man is genuine.

“You understand what you did?” I ask him somberly.

Damon nods slowly. “Yes, I do.”

“You told me you wouldn’t commit any violence,” I mutter.

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