Page 43 of Caged Bliss

You are reading on AllFreeNovel.com
Font Size:

Page 43 of Caged Bliss

Chapter 23

Claudia

I’m exhausted from my shift at Cage. Tommy had me dancing all night without a break, even when I asked to do some waitressing. Rodrigo seemed apologetic, but made it clear that the big boss wanted me shaking my ass whether I liked it or not, and I was racked with anxiety from the second I hit the floor to the moment I clocked out.

It felt like Tommy was punishing me.

As I trudge up to my apartment, I slow and come to a stop. There’s a shape next to my door, a body wearing a big black jacket slumped to the side. It has to be Rodney on another one of his binges here to ask for money, and if I walk over there he’s going to harass me until he gets what he wants.

And after what Serena told me, I’m afraid I might kill him.

More guilt hits me. I’ve been keeping Rodney afloat all this time thinking he was just an asshole, but still the guy that took in two orphaned kids even though he clearly wasn’t up to the task of becoming a father. A part of me always pitied him, even though he was such a bastard.

But that part’s long dead now. I despise my uncle with every burning inch of my body, and I feel like I might be sick as I move closer to him.

The body moves. He sits up and looks at me, and I startle and stare.

It’s Angelo, not Rodney.

“Hey, baby,” he says, grinning a little. “I decided to respect your privacy.”

There’s dried blood on his face and he looks pale. I run to him, Rodney forgotten, and kneel down at his side. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“Had a disagreement with some old friends.” He grimaces as he adjusts his position. His left arm is cradled in his lap and his sleeve is sticky with more blood.

“Get inside,” I order and unlock my door. He climbs to his feet, waving off my offer of help, and shuffles into the apartment behind me. I lead him right to the bathroom and start the shower. “What happened? Tell me everything.”

He gives me the story as he undresses. The shirt comes off first and I’m distracted by his sculpted chest and abs, right up until I see the wounds on his arm and the bruises on his body.

“Angelo, Jesus, you need a doctor,” I say, staring at the ripped-open stitched gashes.

But he waves me away. “It’s not as bad as it looks. If you have any thread?—”

“No, sorry, I left all my medical-grade thread in my other apartment. What are you thinking? Go to a freaking doctor.”

He grins at me and leans his head back against the wall, back arched over the toilet tank. “I’m right where I want to be.”

Under other circumstances, that might almost be sweet. Except Angelo got into a fight earlier and murdered a guy, and now he’s sitting in my bathroom covered in a stranger’s blood and looking like hell.

“You’re an idiot,” I say, getting down on my knees in front of him.

His eyes light up. “Don’t tease me,” he says, voice low and gruff.

I try not to smile as I gently prod at the wound on his arm. “I can’t fix these, but I have some gauze. That’ll keep you from bleeding to death at least until you come to your senses.”

“That would be appreciated. Can I clean off this blood first?”

“That’s probably a good idea.”

He gets to his feet with a grunt and starts to take off his pants. I turn my back, my cheeks turning bright red. He seems to find that amusing, and I refuse to look over my shoulder until I hear the shower curtain open and close.

“I’ll toss these in the wash. I doubt the blood will come out but at least it’ll be clean.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that.”

I leave the room and jam his stuff into the machines then dig around my closet until I find an old XL sized sweatshirt and the biggest sweatpants I can find. Back in the bathroom, he’s still behind the curtain, but I feel like I can already see him totally naked with water dribbling down his incredibly defined body.

“Clean clothes are here,” I say and turn to give him some privacy.


Articles you may like