She rose up so I could pull them down her legs but when I got to her thigh, the fabric stuck.
Knowing there was only one reason that would happen, I tried like hell not to lose my cool. “Your wound’s bleedin’?”
She flinched. “I’m fine.”
Shit. I pulled back the pants as gently as I could and my jaw clenched. “Who took the stitches out?”
“I did.”
“I told you I would do that.”
“You said a couple of days. It’d been two days. They were itching.”
“The top of the wound isn’t even closed,” I accused.
“It was. It must’ve come apart…tonight.”
I closed my eyes and inhaled to calm the fuck down. I was mad at myself, not her. I should’ve checked her leg after I pulled her out of that window. “Stay.” I grabbed my kit from the living room then knelt beside the bed and inspected the wound. Red and inflamed, it looked like hell. “You went running.”
“I needed to get out and stretch.”
“With a ten-inch knife wound on your thigh?” I was trying not to be an asshole but seeing her bleed was making me fucking lose it.
She didn’t answer and I kept my mouth shut in case I said something else I’d later regret. I sterilized the wound and considered putting a stitch or two back in but decided she’d been through enough hell for one day so I used a few butterfly bandages. “This should hold but I’ll check on it tomorrow.” I looked up at her. “You have to give this time to heal.”
“Okay.”
I couldn’t read her expression. “Have you been wearin’ your wrist splint?”
“Yes.”
I stood and pulled the covers back. “C’mon, you need some sleep.”
She crawled to the pillows and slipped her feet under the covers. Swimming in my T-shirt, her eyes looking too big for her face, she stared at me. “Thank you.” She said it like she meant it and I felt like an asshole for snapping at her.
I pulled the covers up around her. “You want some pain meds? It’ll help you sleep.”
“No.”
We stared at each other for a moment. I broke first. “Get some sleep.” I leaned over and kissed her forehead.
“What are you going to do?” she asked quietly.
Good fucking question. I hit the light then pulled a white lounge chair next to the bed and sunk into it. “Make sure you don’t decide to go for a run,” I said dryly.
She didn’t respond.
I laced my fingers over my stomach and put my feet up on the bed. My head hit the back of the chair and I closed my eyes.
“I watched him take his last breath,” she whispered.
I turned to look at her. Even in the dark, her face was haunted. I had nothing for her except the truth. “That’s the way he wanted it.”
She rolled over and quietly cried herself to sleep.
I WAITED A HALF AN hour after she fell asleep before I quietly left the bedroom. I found Kendall in the family room with the TV on low and a plate on her lap.
“You hungry? I made pasta.”
“No, thanks.” I went for Layna’s tequila stash then joined Kendall on the couch. “Couldn’t sleep?”
“Nope.”
“What’re we watchin’?”
“Cooking show.”
I uncapped the tequila. “Sounds like a special kinda torture.”
“Yep. It makes you hungry for everything you see then you stuff pasta in your face that doesn’t taste a thing like the shit they’re making.” She smiled like she loved it. “Denied gratification, it’s a beautiful thing.”
“You fuckin’ scare me.” I took a swig of the tequila then offered the bottle to her.
“I’ve never been scared of you.” She took a swig like a pro and handed it back. “Until tonight.”
“What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?” I swallowed two large mouthfuls and settled into the burn as it traveled down my gut and spread to my legs.
“You’re the fucking rock star of crises.”
I looked at her like she was out of her mind, because she was.
She took the bottle from me. “I mean, I know you’re all about being the hero. You live to rescue people. I’ve just never seen it firsthand.” She put the bottle to her lips and drank. “I think I creamed my panties seeing you in action tonight.”
“I dunno if I’m more turned off by that visual or shocked by the admission.”
Her eyes serious, she nodded. “I know, right? Toss-up.” She drank again and handed the bottle back.
“Are there any men not afraid to get their dicks near you?”
She breathed out through her mouth with her teeth closed. “You’d be surprised.”