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I knew she wasn’t.
That didn’t mean I couldn’t take care of her even when she didn’t know she needed taken care of.
Then I took the seat next to her bed that Ameer had just occupied and said, “What did the doctor say?”
She fidgeted with the sheet instead of looking at me as she said, “Kidney issues. Concussion.”
She wasn’t telling me something.
But before I could ask her about it, she said, “You don’t have to stay.”
I looked at her like she’d lost her fuckin’ mind. “I’m staying.”
“Quinn…” she started, but I cut her off by saying, “I’m. Staying.”
She swallowed. “I don’t think…”
“I don’t think you understand,” I again interrupted her. “I’m staying. This isn’t something we can argue about, because I’m very, very solid on my next few steps when it comes to you. One, I’m staying. Two, when you do get released, you’ll be coming home with me.”
“Why?” she asked forcefully, then sighed. “That makes me woozy to talk like that.”
I stood up, feeling helpless.
“Because I want you to be safe,” I replied, easing her back in bed. “I don’t want you out there alone, without me there to keep you that way.”
She swallowed hard. “I am nothing to you, Quinn.”
That’s when I lost it myself.
I didn’t raise my voice, however, when it came to my next words.
No, they were all very smooth and even when I said, “Well, that’s changed.”
She slowly turned her head to look at me.
“You can’t do that.”
“I can,” I disagreed. “I’ll be disregarding any and all attempts to build the wall any higher between us. I’m here. You’re mine. End of discussion. We’re not playing this game anymore. We’re both fucking miserable. If you were where you belonged today, in my goddamn bed, then none of this would’ve happened. You’d have been safe. And I wouldn’t have had to hear that my supposed best friend had assaulted you.”
She scoffed. “You do realize, right, that she would still be here, trying to break us up. At least now there’s nothing to break up.”
“Well, she just assaulted the woman I love,” I bluntly stated, not trying to hide how I felt about her. “As a police officer, she’s held to a higher standard than most. And I don’t care if she was once my friend. She owes it to the citizens of Dallas to treat the population with kindness. What she did today was unbecoming of a DPD officer. Or any officer for that matter.”
Shayne’s poor, blackened eyes turned to me. “You what?”
“Which part are you what’n?” I wondered.
I knew which part she was referring to. I just wanted her to say it.
“The, uh, love part.” She swallowed.
I grumbled under my breath, then stood up and stiffly started to walk around the room, resuming my pacing from earlier.
“I haven’t stopped loving you since the day I was stupid enough to tell you that the police department came first.” I stopped and turned to stare at her, letting her know the seriousness of my words by holding her gaze. “I was dumb. Plain and simple. I thought I could scare you away from your brother. It was stupid, and childish. I should’ve had a full conversation with you instead of trying to play the love card, making you choose. I know that wasn’t fair. It’s not easy to step away from your family. I should know better than most. I just… I was so frustrated. Your absolute love for your brother was going to get you in trouble. He was going to bring you down…”
I started my pacing again. “I guess me leaving you, breaking your heart and mine in the process, still served the purpose I was trying to accomplish—you getting away from your brother. You joined the military, didn’t fight for us at all, and never looked back. I fell on the scraps you offered me over the years like a starving dog. Every time you called, it didn’t matter where I was, or what I was doing, I dropped everything to get to you. Leave in the middle of a shift? Did it. Leave in the middle of dinner with my family? Did it multiple times. Woke up after only thirty minutes of sleep? I’d fuckin’ die for you, so a little less sleep than necessary wasn’t going to kill me.
“I’ve been trying to get you to give me another chance for what feels like forever now. Every time I bring it up, you shut me down… as you should. I broke something that was integral to our relationship when I left, and I deserve all of this and more. But, for fuck’s sake, Shayne! You’re the love of my life. And I’m the love of yours. This stops now. Because if I have to go through one more day like today, hearing my team hurt you so badly, I just might lose it on everyone. I’ll go fuckin’ psycho on…”
