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Eventually, he pulls back just enough to look down at me.

“You okay?”

A wet, slightly hysterical laugh pushes out of me because what kind of fucking question is that?

I wipe my cheek against his shirt since I’ve already ruined it anyway. “Don’t ask me that right now.”

His tired smile disappears, but his hand stays warm and steady against the back of my neck.

“Okay.”

Then he pulls me back against him and lets me keep holding on.

I stay tucked against him until the crying finally slows enough that I can pull back without immediately starting all over again.

Up close, the red mark climbing the side of his neck looks even worse, and the skin is rubbed raw in places.

I lift my hand and barely run two fingers over the edge of it. “What did this?”

“The harness.”

My eyes drop to where the mark disappears into his shirt. “The harness did all that?”

He tilts his head to the side and shrugs. “Ruth helped.”

I look back up at him. “What a bitch.”

His mouth twitches, but he looks way too exhausted to put much effort into the smile.

I slide my arms around his waist again, more careful this time, and he lets out a little grunt before he can hide it. The muscles under my hands tighten for a second too.

I pull back enough to look at him again.

Sumner takes one look at my face and knows he’s busted.

His eyes close for a second like he already knows what’s coming.

“What hurts?”

He sighs. “I’m just sore.”

“Yeah, I gathered that.” I keep one hand lightly against his side, careful not to put any pressure on it. “Where?”

Sumner blows out a tired breath and rubs one hand over the back of his neck. “Shoulders. Ribs. Back. Pretty much everywhere.”

I look him over again, suddenly wishing I had x-ray vision. “Do you need to go to the doctor’s?”

He shakes his head. “It’s not that serious.”

My eyes narrow. “Did somebody with medical training tell you that, or are you doing that thing all men do where you pretend everything’s fine when you might have internal bleeding or broken bones or something?”

The corner of his lip tips up again. “We got checked before they released us.”

I eye him, and he laughs, but the sound cuts off when he winces and presses a hand against his ribs.

My eyebrows shoot up.

“By the doctor on staff,” he adds quickly.