The Marriage Contract(49)

She gave a tired smile. “At least you still have your charm.”

“I have more than that. Come here and—” He winced at the sharp pain that shot through him when he lifted his arm. “On second thought, maybe I’ll just lie here.”

“Smart.” She crossed to carefully sit on the edge of the bed. “How are you feeling?”

“That’s a stupid question.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know you’re in pain, but do you feel like you’re going to be sick? Or dizzy?”

Signs of a concussion. He took careful stock, because while being manly and tough was great for impressing the people around him, it wouldn’t do him any good if he passed out the second he sat up. “No. My face feels like someone took a two-by-four to it, and I’m pretty sure those assholes kicked me once I was down, but nothing more serious than that.”

“That’s plenty serious.”

He’d dealt with worse, albeit not often. Teague looked around the room again. “Not that I’m complaining, exactly, how but did I get here?”

“You don’t remember?”

He didn’t remember anything after that coward hit him in the back of the head. From the state of his body, they must have kept beating him for a while, and then transported him somewhere. There was no other reason for him being in what he figured what must be Callie’s room. “I suspect I was unconscious at the time.”

She looked away, twisting at the edge of the comforter. “You were dumped in front of me by an SUV registered to Ricky Halloran.”

“Fuck.” He closed his eyes, trying to get a hold of his anger. That little shit had always been a troublemaker, even if he was nowhere near as dangerous as Brendan. Or he hadn’t been. It looked like he was gunning for the rep, and he wasn’t smart enough to pull it off without getting himself killed. Jumping Teague in Halloran territory right after he met with James? Dumping Teague’s unconscious body from his own goddamn SUV?

He was an idiot.

But just because he was stupid didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous. Teague could anticipate what James would do in most situations—or at least he’d like to think he could. He stopped, thinking hard. Was it possible James had been the one to order the beating? His mind immediately rebelled at the thought, but he forced himself to reason through it. James had met him in good faith. The man might have changed in the years since they were close, but he was smart. He would know that attacking Teague would only escalate things. Even if it was part of his plan, he’d still wait for a time when they hadn’t just had a damn meeting. It was too obvious. Too clumsy. It wasn’t James’s style at all, even if he was willing to betray Teague.

But Ricky? Ricky was a loose goddamn cannon.

Teague cursed long and hard. “Every time I think this situation can’t get worse, the universe decides to go and prove me wrong.”

“At least you’re alive.” He opened his eyes to find Callie closer, an unreadable expression on her face. “I thought you were dead for a moment.”

And it had obviously scared the shit out of her. He ignored the protest of his ribs and raised his hand. “Come here, angel.” She crawled across the bed to settle next to him, leaving a few scant inches between them as if she was afraid of hurting him further. He smoothed back her hair, taking in her tank top and faded sweatpants. If asked before, he would have guessed that she slept in some sort of slinky teddy or something equally feminine.

Apparently he would have been wrong.

He met her gaze. “I’m okay.” Mostly okay.

Obviously her thoughts had gone down the same path. “This time. What about next time?”

There were no guarantees in life. But he couldn’t say that with her so blatantly looking to him for reassurance. Sometimes life was about the comforting little white lies you told to make the people around you feel better, at least for a little while. “We’ll figure it out before it gets to that point.”

Her expression said she didn’t believe that any more than he did. She traced his face with her gaze, and he could almost hear her cataloging every bruise and cut. “The doctor said you’ve got to take it easy for a bit, but you should make a full recovery.”

It was strange having someone worried about him. He was used to being on the other side of things—of constantly being concerned about the future and his siblings. Her scrutiny made his skin feel too tight. Uncomfortable. Because he couldn’t say the words she needed to hear in order to feel better. They didn’t exist. She was obviously too smart to fall for that kind of lie, too.