Page 8 of Guarding Glenda

“When Sam clears you, I’ll take you where you need to go.”

She dropped her spoon and crossed her arms.

“You need to eat.”

“I’m not hungry anymore.”

“Bullshit. Eat.”

“Fuck you.”

“You can hate me all you want. But starving yourself isn’t gonna help you heal any faster.” I stepped closer and pushed the soup back toward her. “The faster you heal, the faster you can get away from me.”

She snatched the spoon and leaned back over to take another bite.

I grabbed the nuggets and fries, then sat down in the chair in the corner and waited for her to finish.

“Do you have to sit there and watch me eat?”

“I don’t got anything else to do.”

She rolled her eyes and continued eating. Bruce sat next to me and put his head in my lap. I gave him a few fries and we all ate in silence.

Bruce had the last nugget, and we waited as she finished her soup. Once she pushed the tray away, I stood up.

“You full?”

“Yeah, I can’t eat that sandwich. I’m sorry.”

I grabbed the sandwich and tore a piece, tossing it to Bruce. “Why are you sorry?”

“I hate wasting stuff. But my throat is still weird.”

“Bruce has no problem taking care of it. Do you, Brucie?”

“He’s gotten big.”

“Yeah. Having Sofie around has been good for him. He needed the exercise.”

I got Bruce as a puppy when we had a run-in with a dealer trying to cross us. Fucker was also running a puppy mill. After killing the dealer and his guys, a few of us each took a puppy. We were nomads then, still unsettled. Somehow, even with all the moves, I managed to keep Bruce, hopping from chapter to chapter until Jameson formed Mobile and Hammer asked me to join ranks with him.

Reggie was with me then, too.

It was always quiet here besides Bruce and the sounds of the birds, but for some reason the silence was making my skin crawl. “You ready to change?”

“If you’ll just pass those to me, I can do it.”

Huffing a breath, I grabbed the clothes, moved the tray from over the bed, then walked out of the room. But I didn’t go far. Sam told me the extent of her injuries, but her stubborn ass was about to find out she was going to have to get used to having someone help her.

I waited in the hall and noticed Bruce hadn’t followed me out. Traitor.

As she grunted and huffed, I stifled a laugh.

“Jesus. Hey. Um. Hey!” she called out.

Turning the corner, I popped my head into the open door. “Yeah?”

She leaned against the pillow, holding the t-shirt over her tits. The gown was bunched around her waist. “I can’t get the shirt on.”