Page 53 of The Fighter

Sam’s hands hovered over my chest as a shudder trickled down my spine. “Conrad,” she said sharply.

Con immediately whipped around. “Yes?”

She didn’t say anything, just gave him a look I couldn’t decipher. And then she resumed her study of my body. And Con didn’t look away again.

Half an hour later, I stared down at a bundle of papers on the kitchen island while Con and Sam whispered about something down the hallway. I felt like a child as I read over the aftercare instructions for a concussion. Whatever. I had concussions before, and I managed to live without proper care. I tossed the papers on the polished marble and leaned against the edge, dropping my head between my shoulders. The front door opened and shut, signaling Sam had left the apartment. I lifted my head as Con came into the kitchen. He stopped short and shoved his hands in the pockets of his gray joggers. It made the fabric pull tight across his crotch, and I could see the bulge there.

“Are you mad at me?” he asked.

“No.” I wasn’t mat athim. But I wassomething.

“Then what’s going on in your head?”

I blinked at him. “For real?”

“Yeah. For real.”

“Where do you want me to start?” Frustration flared inside me, and I hated it. I hadn’t been like this, not for five years.I didn’t react to things. I didn’t even get angry, or hurt, or stressed. I just rolled with the punches because there was no alternative. But being around Con was like being bare all the fucking time. I had no Husk armor here. Just naked-ass Tav. “You understand this is a lot to process, right? One day I’m Husk, and the next I’m moved into your apartment with you. I have constant access to my sister and nephew because she has a protective detail. And I feel—” I clutched at my chest. “I feeleverythingwith you. And I liked it when it was onmyterms, when I could come to you, but you couldn’t come to me.”

“And you don’t like it now?”

“I don’t know.”

“Does it hurt?” His voice was soft.

“Sometimes,” I said, just as softly.

He came closer until he stood in front of me. I angled my body to face him and reached out to hold his hip. His pants rode low, so a strip of skin showed over his waistband. I rubbed my thumb there. He took another step, and then our chests brushed. He cupped my neck. “When it hurts, you tell me. You give it all to me.”

I shook my head. “How is that fair to you for me to constantly unleash my volatile emotions at you?”

“I don’t care what’s fair. You give me more than I think I could ever give you.”

I scoff. “You’re insane.”

“Look, I think… I think for the last five years, you were in survival mode, and you cut yourself off from feeling anything real. Now you’re thawing out. You’re feeling things you haven’t felt in a long time, but those feelings are all over the place and unpredictable, which is to be expected. They will even out, Tav. And I’ll be here the entire time.”

That made a lot of sense when he put it that way. “How long’ll that take?”

“I don’t know.” His gaze dropped to my mouth before he let go of my neck and stepped away. My hand fell from his waist, and I missed the heat of him. I glanced over at the scattered papers, not really seeing anything until a few words on one peeking out of the pile caught my attention.

I snatched it up and squinted to read.Full STD Panel. John Doe.

My fist crumpled the paper, and I didn’t even bother to read the results. John Doe was me, of course it was. I couldn’t decide how I felt. Ashamed? Embarrassed? Angry? All I knew was that I didn’t like it. I shoved the paper into Con’s chest. “Really? Did you order this?”

Con peeled my fingers off the paper. He placed it on the island, smoothing it out but not reading it. “I did.”

“Con—”

“I told you we did a blood draw.”

“Yeah, but?—”

“And I told you that you had open wounds in that filthy warehouse. Why would I not make sure you’re healthy in every way? Your results are all negative, by the way. And if it makes you feel better, Sam tested me too. My own negative results are in that pile.”

Thatmaybemade me feel a bit better, but I wasn’t ready to back down. I clenched my jaw. “You didn’t ask me first.”

“I didn’t ask you a lot of things last night. And I’m not going to apologize for that. If you had anything that jeopardized your health, I wanted to know immediately?—”