Page 151 of Sin Like the Devil

“They’ve got me on methadone for when the withdrawals start,” he murmurs. “But it’s temporary. The doctor said I can either detox here or be sent back to rehab. They won’t let me out without a plan.”

I’ve never been able to quite pin him down, but I’ve long suspected that Doctor Hall is one of the good ones. Though few and far between, they’re scattered throughout the staff. Anyone else would be releasing Raine without question.

I chew over this for a moment before whispering back. “Do you want to leave?”

“Of course not. If I’m gonna detox, I’ll do it here.”

“You’d put yourself through that? Detox?”

A short breath sighs out of him. “I’ve been fucked up for so long, I don’t know any different. I’m scared to live any other way. But it’s this or go back to square one in some other shit hole… alone again.”

The thought of him detoxing alone in some hellish rehab facility hundreds of miles away makes me want to implode. He can’t leave. But I also can’t ask him to stay and put himself through this.

“Don’t freak out on me, but it’s different now.” He seems to choose his words carefully. “Back then, I didn’t have anyone to disappoint when I failed.”

My chest warms with emotion. It feels so good to be wanted by someone. But it isn’t long before fear slips back in, ever the silent assassin to hope.

“This place… It isn’t good, Raine. If you want to get clean, I’ll support your decision. But people don’t get better in Harrowdean. You deserve the chance to give this a real shot.”

“What are you saying?”

“That I don’t trust these doctors to keep you safe. None of us are safe. Not here.”

His head rubs against mine. “It’s this or leave Harrowdean.”

“I know.”

“I’m not going back to rehab. It’s never worked before. But here, I don’t know… Maybe I can clean my act up… Ready to make a go of life again when I get out.”

The giggle that bubbles up is totally inappropriate. “Raine Starling talking about cleaning his act up.”

His chest rumbles with a chuckle. “Shocking, I know. Think the world ended in that storm.”

“Mine almost did,” I croak.

We both sober, still huddled together in the tiny hospital bed. His breathing is evening out, in time to the drip of the IV feeding into him. I continue to breathe in his clinical hospital scent, savouring those faint notes of summer and seaside.

“Stay?” Raine whispers. “I’m gonna be in for a while yet.”

“Rest. I’ll be right here.”

Within seconds, the light snores coming from his mouth tell me he’s fast asleep. Nina returns to check his vitals again, grumbling about our sleeping arrangement before she vanishes.

Listening to the rhythmic beeping of the heart rate monitor, my eyes slide shut. I’m drowsing on the edge of sleep when someone thumps into the cubicle. There’s a startled inhale followed by a deep growl.

“You.”

Recognising his sonorous bark, my eyes fly open. Lennox stands near the curtain, his chocolate-brown hair tousled and face a lurid shade of red. I quickly slide out from Raine’s embrace, my eyes locked on him.

“Come to finish the job?” I goad.

“I should’ve done it myself in the first place instead of messing around,” he spits furiously. “How did you get out?”

“That’s the thing about cockroaches, Nox. We always survive.”

Stepping forward, Lennox moves towards me. I stand but hover a hand over Raine’s shoulder to shake him if needed.

“You want me to wake him up so he can hear you apologise for trying to drown me?”

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