“He’s very lucky,” the nurse said. “All things considered.”
“He doesn’t look so lucky to me,” I said.
“Trust me, he is. The bullet came within an inch of killing him instantly. The doctors were able to get the bullet out and put him back together. Not many can say that.”
“Is he going to make it?” I asked.
“I don’t make those rules,” the nurse said. “You know that. But he’s out of surgery. Now his body just needs to fight. He’s in good hands. We’ll do everything we can.”
I looked over and down at the nurse. She was cute as hell. She half smiled at me. I turned and faced her, actually contemplating making a move. I even reached for her, grabbing her waist. She gasped but didn’t slap me away.
Little wild nurse whore… you want it. You want me to fuck you, don’t you? It’s probably one of your fantasies…
She reached up and touched my face. My blood ran hot. It started to fill my dick, which was no big deal. The big deal though was that I was hesitating. I never hesitated.
“I promise,” she whispered. “I know he means something… to you…”
The corners of her mouth danced. She was eager for me to kiss her.
“Get the fuck out of here,” I whispered. “You have no idea what any of this means.”
Christ, I really had no idea what any of it meant.
I approached the bed as the nurse left the room. I touched the railing and stood there. Maybe the others that would visit would take the time to pray. I could’ve done that, sure, but I’d have no fucking clue who I’d pray to.
It was just me. Always just me.
“Fuck, Aton,” I whispered. “I am so sorry.”
I lowered my head and tried to figure it all out. What my next move was going to be. The truth would have to come out eventually. But first it would depend on Aton’s life. If he survived or not.
“You have to pull through this,” I said. “You have to make it all right, like you always do. I want to be there to fight and have you watch me. I want to make you some money and bring a smile to your face. I’ll do everything I can, Aton, to track him down and kill him. The Assassin. I know the truth now. That’s why I had to keep Rose alive. I’m not sure if you’ll understand it that way or not though.”
I stopped talking.
Everything started to come to me then. It wasn’t very clear, but it seemed very simple.
If Rose was backed into a corner, she’d come looking for me. She’d come looking for protection. Hell, by now, she’d know about Luke and know about Aton. She was smart enough to know what everything was coming to. She couldn't admit the lie I’d thrown her into. Which meant… if she wanted me… she’d have to come find me.
There was only one place she’d be smart enough to go.
“I have to go,” I whispered, as though Aton could hear me.
There was a lot of shit out of my hands, but what was in my hands, I had to take care of. I had to push beauty aside. It was time for things to get really fucking ugly.
15.
(Rose)
If I smoked, I would have gone through half a pack, if not more. I paced around the hallways of the hotel, holding my cell, wondering what to do. I could try and call Luke, right? Pretend I knew nothing. Play everything off as normal. But that would only make him more pissed. He’d demand to know where I was and would have people tracking me in a heartbeat.
Tracking me.
I looked at the phone and jumped. I let it hit the floor. Of course, it didn’t break. I stomped on it. Over and over, trying to do everything I could to break the damn thing.
“Oh, honey, he ain’t worth that.”
I turned and a woman pushing a food cart stood there.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“You’re going to bust up your own phone over some man? Come on now. Even if he’s paying for it, don’t do that. You take care of yourself, honey. Pick that phone up. Call that man. Tell him how you feel.”
I wanted to tell the woman to shut her mouth. But she smiled at me. She was short, wide, and had a good heart.
“You’re right,” I said.
I grabbed the phone and rushed away. I went to a set of stairs. There I held the phone tight. I wound up like a baseball pitcher and threw it as hard as I could, down the stairs to the concrete floor. The phone broke, finally. I ran down and started to stomp on it again, making damn sure it was broken. I then kicked the pieces all around, down the other stairs, wherever I could.
A sense of relief went through me.
That was quickly followed by terror. Maybe I hadn’t broken the phone soon enough.
“Shit,” I whispered.
I lunged at the stairs and went back up. I was back in the hallway, charging toward the hotel room. I needed to grab Macie and get her to drive me somewhere else. Part of me felt bad for dragging her into this, but she was the only one I could call.