Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 148949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 745(@200wpm)___ 596(@250wpm)___ 496(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 148949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 745(@200wpm)___ 596(@250wpm)___ 496(@300wpm)
“I understand.”
Dr. Stovall looked at me. “If they do get wet, be sure to have someone change them right away.”
I nodded.
“I would like to check on those hands in a week to make sure everything is healing properly.” Dr. Stovall gazed back at her bandaged hands. “I am also leaving Ibuprofen with you for the pain.”
Her face turned serious. “What about breastfeeding and taking the pills?”
“It is generally considered safe to take ibuprofen while breastfeeding.”
“Are you sure?”
“In general, the amount of ibuprofen that is excreted in breast milk is very low, and it is unlikely to cause any harm to Emilio.” He smiled. “Just follow the recommended dosage and not exceed the daily limit.”
“Got it.”
Dr. Stovall nodded and headed away.
Slowly, Emily turned to me.
Once the door shut, I scowled. “What the fuck was that?”
“I was upset.”
“Clearly. Blue said you were screaming.”
“I was yelling at Lunita.”
I gestured to her bandaged hands. “And how did that work out for you?”
She frowned.
A sudden realization hit me. Tension gathered in my shoulders. “Did Lunita talk back?”
“No.”
I didn’t know why, but relief hit me.
Would it have been wrong if Lunita and Emily could talk to each other? Maybe, it would help things. Or perhaps, it would push Emily further over the edge.
I walked over to her. “You fucking hurt yourself.”
“I know. It was stupid and reckless.” She looked up at me. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry isn’t enough.” I stopped in front of her. “I don’t ever want to find you like that again. Your blood all over the place. Your sobbing. Your. . .trembling—”
“I saw Olga’s cut up body and I knew it was my hands that did it—”
“Her hands.”
“Same thing in some ways.”
“It is not.”
“I felt so overwhelmed and lost. It was like the only thing I could do to feel anything was to fight her.”
I glared. “You mean to fight the mirror.”
Emily looked away.
“You should have woke me up. And don’t say that I needed to fucking sleep because you are the only thing on this earth that truly gives me energy.” My voice trembled. “Without you, there’s no need for fucking sleep. Do you understand?”
Tears left her eyes. “Yes.”
“You should have talked to me. You did not have to injure yourself.”
“Clearly, I wasn’t being rational.”
“Clearly.” I stepped forward and gently captured those bandaged hands. I slipped one finger along each of her arms, making sure there were no cuts there. “Mysh.”
She closed her eyes.
And, I relished in the warmth of her skin, the softness of her touch. “I would do anything to keep you safe. Come to me.”
She opened her eyes. “I am not the one that we need to protect.”
I sighed. “Lunita and I had a conversation.”
To my shock, pure anger decorated her face. Never had I seen this reaction from my mouse when I mentioned Lunita.
I swallowed. “Lunita said that if I kill someone she loves, she will murder a person that I love.”
“The hell she will.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Mysh. . .does she not have a point?”
“She killed Olga.”
“I killed the gardener.”
“Olga was more important.”
“To us.” I shivered, not allowing Olga’s face to flash in my head. “But to her. . .the gardener deserved to live. That was why you were trying to keep him alive. You knew.”
“Now I wished I killed him myself and then you had taken me far away from everyone. Locked me somewhere for the night.” She shook her head. “From now on, I can’t be in the house with everybody when things are tense like that. I am a fucking liability to the safety of everyone around us—”
“Mysh—”
“When I’m asleep, I want to be away from you, the baby, Paolo, Max, Blue—”
“Absolutely not—”
“I don’t want anyone else to die that we love!”
I tensed. “Lunita knows there are certain people she cannot kill.”
“You’re defending her?”
“I believe she would never hurt Emilio, Paolo, and me.”
“Why not?”
“Because she had the chance and did not.”
“Kaz, that doesn’t make me feel all warm and cozy. Fuck her. I want to be put in a fucking cage at night.”
“I will not—”
“No more!” She screamed and then looked away. “No. . .more.”
“Damn it.” I pulled Emily to me, wrapped my arm around her, and held her close.
Love was a force that couldn’t be reckoned with.
It was the tide crashing against the shore.
Something that was always present.
Always there.
Even when it felt like it was tearing everyone apart.
“I’m so sorry, Kaz.” She sobbed against my chest. “So sorry.”
“Do not apologize, mysh. It was my fault. I should have listened to you, instead I went and tortured the gardener.”
“Lunita shouldn’t have fucked him in the first place.” Emily leaned away and stared up at me. “I can’t lose you, Kaz.”
“You will not lose me.”
“I can’t lose anyone else either.” She swallowed. “New Orleans is now a priority that cannot be ignored. I don’t know if this woman can help or not, but I will not sit around, letting Lunita wreck our fucking lives anymore.”