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“Don’t mess with me. I’ve got my period, my boyfriend is in the hospital, and I could really go for kicking someone’s ass right now.”
He swallowed hard, staring at me like a caged animal. “Now, Rae…just think about what you’re doing.”
“I’m eating your Funyuns.”
He nodded. “And you know how much they mean to me.”
“Go get your own,” I scowled.
“Rae…remember, I’m doing this for your own good.”
I saw the hit coming and ducked, then slammed my shoulder into his stomach as I attacked. He landed beneath me with an oomph, then tried to roll me. Using my smaller body, I wiggled out from under him and scissor kicked, knocking him back to the ground. I yanked his arm up behind his back, enjoying his pained scream. Then I grabbed the throwing dagger from his hip and pressed it to his throat.
He stopped struggling at once, his hand raised in acquiescence. “Rae,” he bit out. “You don’t want to hurt me, not when we were just starting to get along so well.”
I really didn’t want to hurt him, but I slammed my fist into his kidneys for the hell of it and climbed off him. Taking a deep breath, I snatched the Funyuns from where I dropped them and popped one in my mouth. “You can get your own.”
* * *
“Get in there,” Fox said, shoving me from behind.
I was still pissed at Duke, even if Fox did make some good points. I didn’t want to go in there and listen to Duke rant about his bum leg. Not that I didn’t support him, but I knew he was hurting. My way of handling shit like this was to push past it and prove the doctors wrong. Then again, I’d never been faced with losing a leg.
I couldn’t blame him for his anger. It was something he had to work past, but I wanted him to move past it faster. I needed Duke to be strong and resilient. Maybe I should get Thumper in here to show Duke his awesome robotic foot. Then again, that would be like telling Duke to give up on therapy.
Fox shoved me again and I stumbled through the door. Duke turned to face me, still pissed as hell, but there was a hint of remorse in his eyes. He held out his hand to me, summoning me to him without any words. I forced my feet to move and sat down in the chair beside him, deciding against holding his hand. I needed distance right now.
His face fell and he nodded to me. “Guess I really fucked that up.”
“You didn’t fuck anything up,” I conceded. “But I need you to consider all options before deciding your life is over.”
“I know,” he said quietly, not looking at me. He rested his head on the pillow and stared up at the ceiling, refusing to look at me. “I freaked out.”
“That’s an understatement.”
His jaw clenched hard as anger welled inside him. His whole body went tense and his fists were clenching as he slowly pushed it back. “I’m trying to wrap my head around this, but…”
“But what?” I asked, trying to see things from his point of view.
“But I’ve got this numbness in my leg. It’s constant pain and tingling, like when I fall asleep in a weird position. It won’t go away and…” He sighed heavily.
I knew this was hard for him to talk about, but we weren’t going to get anywhere if he wasn’t honest with me. And he needed my support for that. I took his hand in mine and gave it a squeeze. “You don’t have to do this alone. I’m with you, whatever you need.”
“But what if—” He cut himself off, unable to say the words.
“Then we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Seriously, Duke. I’ve seen soldiers with worse scars than this. So have you. And if you do lose the leg,” I continued hesitantly, “then I will help you to the shower. We’ll get one of those stools you can sit on, and I’ll climb on your lap every day and fuck you until you forget why it’s so shitty to lose a leg.”
A huff of laughter left his lips and he finally turned to look at me. “Well, I guess if there’s shower sex, it won’t be that bad.”
“But that won’t happen. We’re going to go home, and we’re going to see the doctors and find out what you need to do to restore blood flow, nerve shit, and anything else that’s not working right now.”
“Nerve shit?” he grinned.
“It’s a technical term.”
“I’ll have to remember that one.” His face turned serious for a moment. “ I can’t promise that I’ll keep my shit together.”
“You don’t have to. Just as long as you remember what you’re fighting for.”
