She put her hand to the sink but didn’t try to stand up.
“Listen, sweetie, maybe we should start over here,” I said. “My name is Wes. I’m a fighter. My boss asked me to help with something last night. You know what that was?”
“What?” Rose asked.
“It was to help one of his guys rig up a car to explode. I found a picture of you in the glovebox with an address on it. That’s how I found you.”
“You tried to kill me,” Rose said.
“No. I checked to make sure you were alive,” I said.
Rose stood up. “But you thought I might be dead. You tried to bomb me. You put my…”
Rose’s eyes filled with tears.
I was never good with women. I stood up, shirtless, and looked at Rose. “How about you take your turn now. Tell me why the fuck someone would want to kill you. You’re beautiful and you’re a wanted woman like that?”
“You don’t know about my life.”
“I’m asking.”
“Don’t.”
“So you know how to patch up someone who’s been shot? You live in a small apartment above a restaurant. It’s all connected. I can sense it all over you. And someone tried to kill you today, sweetie. That had nothing to do with me other than saving your ass.”
“Well remind me to get you a thank you card,” Rose said. “And the reason why blood and bullets don’t bother me is because I grew up in the world, okay? My father ran underground fighting for years. My brother was a fighter for a long time. He was one of the best, one of the scariest. His last fight got him in serious trouble because of what happened.”
“What’s his name?” I asked.
“Luke.”
Luke.
Didn’t ring a bell in my mind. Then again, I’d fought hundreds of guys throughout my life. There weren’t many worth remembering. Except for the one who wore the black mask. The one who killed Shane.
Rose wiped the corner of her eyes and moved for the door. I went after her and the damn woman started to run. She barreled through my apartment. I managed to get my hand to the door as she touched the doorknob. She turned away from me, shaking.
“What is it?” I whispered.
“You fucking tried to kill me. And now you’re trying to save me? Who are you?”
I gritted my teeth. “I’m not a killer. I don’t do that stuff, sweetie. I had a… a bad fight. My boss was pissed. He asked me to help with a favor. I never touched a wire in your damn car. And you have yet to tell me what you did to deserve it.”
Rose turned. Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Deserve it. What if I didn’t deserve it? What if it was just…”
Her chin quivered.
I touched her chin, again. “We don’t know each other, sweetie. But I don’t just randomly take bullets for someone. People want you dead and maybe I can help you. You said your father was involved with fighting. My brother was… he was killed in a fight. I’ve been trying to find out who did it for years. Tell me everything you know. Everything you’ve ever seen.” My eyes, my focus, everything suddenly just went to Shane’s death. To knowing all the truth. “That’s what I want from you. I saved you so do this for me.”
“You only saved me after you tried to kill me.”
“I didn’t try…”
More tears fell from Rose’s eyes. This was my curse. My ability to destroy life all around me. Including my own. I shouldn’t have taken the picture. I shouldn’t have went to the address. I shouldn’t have done anything for Rose. My throbbing shoulder proved it. My throbbing heart. My throbbing dick.
And as if things could get any more fucked up, my apartment door exploded open, sending both myself and Rose stumbling to the ground. When I turned my head, two men were standing there with guns.
~
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Tommy pointed to Rose but kept his gun on me. I climbed to my feet and grabbed Tommy by the wrist. I broke his hold on the gun and then took out the clip.
“Can’t you fucking knock?” I asked.
“No. Not when my ass is about to get fried. What the fuck is she doing here?”
Rose kicked back, shaking her head.
The other guy - someone I’ve never seen before - walked over to Rose and kept his weapon on her.
“Hey, hey,” I yelled. “Stop this. This isn’t happening.”
Tommy eyed my shoulder. “Where the fuck is your shirt? And what happened to your shoulder?”
“Just an accident,” I said. “None of your damn business. Leave Rose alone right now. Call Aton. Let me talk to him.”
“Yeah, sure,” Tommy said. He then grabbed my shoulder, and squeezed, sending fresh wild pain through my body. “You can talk to him after I talk to him first. Tell him that the woman who was supposed to be killed was in your apartment. How are you going to explain that one?”
“Please,” Rose said. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”