Page 191 of Deadfall

I wanted her to be happy, and I wanted her to have a choice.

As much as I had to battle the urge to demand, and take, and force, what was definitely there between us, she deserved something different. Something that was hers. When the world did nothing but make decisions for her, I wanted there to be something she knew, without a doubt, had been hers to decide, hers to control. I saw the goosebumps on her skin and walked up the steps out of the pool with her still wrapped around me. She reluctantly lowered her legs when we got to the doors that led into the house.

“Go upstairs and get in a hot shower,” I said.

“Are you coming?” She asked.

“Yeah, I have to let the torturer see me first,” I said in annoyance. “I was on my way to him when I saw you out here, actually.”

“I’m sure he’s not going to be happy you jumped in the pool,” Emersyn smirked.

I yanked her close for one more kiss. “Totally worth it.”

We parted ways in the hallway. It was awful to watch her go up to a warm shower without me, but I knew from experience Doc would find me if I didn’t go to him. It had been almost two weeks and I was on the mend. Not as fast as I wanted though. Things that shouldn’t have ached, still ached, and my ribs were a constant harassment to my breathing. The most important thing though was I did not want Doc to bench me from going to Mahoney’s island. To be honest, I’d probably sneak out after them if that happened.

“Ah, there’s the man I was coming to see,” I said as I ran into Doc, as he headed to the infirmary wing.

Doc took one look at me soaking wet and dripping all over the floor and shook his head.

“I don’t know why I bother.”

I chuckled and extended my arms to encompass the house. “Comes with the territory doesn’t it?”

“True.”

We moved into the room. I hopped up on the exam table and pulled my sopping wet shirt off so Doc could get to the stitches.

“How’d you end up working for North?”

“How does anyone?” Doc retorted dryly. “He acquired me on a job, and I never looked back.”

“Don’t you wish for a quiet office somewhere?” At his look I chuckled. “Or retirement maybe?”

He flashed me a rare smile as he pulled on his gloves. “Are you insinuating I’m old?”

“Never—” I bit back a hiss as he poked around the still sore area and okay, maybe I deserved that.

“North isn’t someone you meet and then forget,” Doc said.

“That’s true.”

After getting a clear bill of health and being told my stitches were dissolving nicely, I left the infirmary and headed back upstairs. Unfortunately, I knew I was going to be too late to catch Emersyn in the shower. Bummer. I reached the second floor landing and saw Kyllion about to enter his room.

“Hey, Kyl, hold up,” I said.

I knew he and G were at odds, and I didn’t blame him one bit. If it had been me, I would have felt a similar betrayal. Kyllion’s eyebrows raised when he saw my soaking wet shirt in one hand that I hadn’t bothered to put back on after Doc’s assessment.

“Little cold to go swimming,” he mused.

“Worth it,” I winked. “How are you holding up?”

His face clouded over and he crossed his arms. “I try to get over it and then I see him, and I get pissed all over again.”

“I’m sorry—”

“It’s not your fault. It wasn’t your call.”

I nodded and a silence fell between us—rough and awkward.