Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
A pale blue hospital gown with a hideous geometric pattern in a darker blue covered her upper body. Her arms were exposed, resting straight at her sides on top of the blankets. In the crook of one of her elbows, the IV had been taped to her skin.
Her forearms had—
His breath solidified in his lungs as a pain akin to a gunshot wound exploded through his gut.
He stumbled backward. “No.”
Kelsie had thick bandages around one of her forearms, down near her wrists. His stomach jolted. Bile rose in his throat.
She hadn’t.
She couldn’t have.
He glanced at her forearm once again.
She did.
He wanted to drop to his knees and scream until she woke up, and he could demand to know why she’d taken such a drastic step.
“Sir!” A no-nonsense voice barked from the open door. “You need to leave this room immediately.” Strong hands gripped his upper arms and corralled him out of the room.
Only his state of shock allowed the nurse to maneuver him away. He could barely think, let alone struggle.
“You do not have authorization to be here,” she said in a tone full of disdain. “And if you do not leave the hospital immediately, I will call the police.”
“Sir, come with me.” A portly, unsmiling security guard appeared out of nowhere. “Don’t make us call the authorities.”
Ty stumbled down the hall, escorted by the guard. Everything around him faded into a foggy mist.
She tried to end her life.
Kelsie tried to end her life.
Over and over, the horrifying statement played on a loop in his brain.
“You aren’t to come back without express permission from the patient. Do you understand?”
Ty blinked. The bright sun seared his eyes. He was outside. When had he walked outside? He nodded, which seemed to satisfy the security guard, who turned his back and waddled away without another word.
Kelsie tried to end her life.
He couldn’t think of anything else.
Ty shook his head. One thing was for sure. He’d be back, and soon.
He wanted answers, and he was going to get them. Nothing short of an army would keep him away.
This time, she was going to accept help from the club whether she wanted it or not. He wasn’t above using every dirty trick in the book to get his way.
Kelsie would not slip through their fingers again.
He’d rescued her once, and now their lives were forever intertwined.
That’s why I care so much.
CHAPTER TWO
SHE FELT PAIN. Sharp, deep pain, but she couldn’t narrow down the origin.
Kelsie flexed her fingers, feeling something soft and warm beneath her hands.
With each passing second, the discomfort narrowed, and her brain came online. Her eyelids fluttered. Why were they so heavy? She used every ounce of strength she could muster to peel them open and blinked against the harsh white light.
A square television hung in the corner of the room. The walls were white, with a large dry-erase board hanging directly in front of her bed.
She’d been here before.
The hospital. You’re in the hospital.
How?
The pain had localized, centering on her left forearm. Kelsie lifted it to find thick bandages.
Oh, God.
She let her arm drop and flop back to the bed, gasping when pain rippled through her skin. The recent past came rushing back with profound force.
“Why?”
Kelsie gasped, whipping her head to the right.
“Ty…”
Oh my God. He was there, next to her bed, looking handsome, fierce, worried, and furious all at the same time. Equal parts shame and safety flooded her, making the words die in her throat.
He was there.
And he knew.
He knew.
“Just tell me why?” Agony tinged the question as though her attempt at ending her life somehow pained him.
She supposed, on some level, it made sense. He’d gone out of his way to help rescue her, held her in his arms as she trembled and shut down. This must come across as a betrayal. He’d given her a second chance at life, and she’d spit in its face.
“I didn’t really want to die,” she whispered as hot tears pooled in the corners of her eyes. They caused his face to wobble, but she didn’t miss his quick flinch before he schooled his features. “I promise. Um, it felt like I was in a trance. I did one arm...” She lifted her left arm. “But the pain shocked me back to reality, and I panicked. I was a mess, but I ran to my neighbor’s house. She’s a nurse. I didn’t want to die. I don’t want to die.”
He didn’t so much as blink. “You still didn’t answer my question.”
How was it possible that she felt good for the first time in months? All it took was being in his presence for the unrelenting fear and worry to melt away. It was why she’d left the first time around. Whatever feelings she’d developed in the five minutes she’d known this man was wildly inappropriate. Staying anywhere near him could put his life and everyone he loved in danger, not to mention she risked developing an unhealthy attachment.