Page 21 of Burn Like An Angel

Locating a stack of paper towels, he begins to systematically wet each folded square. His smile widens until he’s flashing pearly-white teeth.

“Ouch. I’m terrified.”

“You’re such a dumbass.” A chuckle bubbles out of me.

“There’s the laugh I was hoping to hear.”

Dumping most of the medical wash everywhere but his intended target, he lifts a wet paper towel to my face. I direct him to the bloodiest areas. Raine begins to wipe, the scent of antiseptic permeating the bathroom.

Gasping, I blink aside tears when he hits a sore cut above my eyebrow.

“Sorry, sorry.” He momentarily pulls his hand away, chewing on his cheek. “This would be easier if I could see your face.”

“Not your fault.”

“Isn’t it?” His easy smirk falls away. “I should’ve been there to stop this from happening in the first place.”

“Raine—”

“Instead, I was laid up in a hospital bed for making a stupid choice. You had no one there to protect you.”

The memory of Lennox’s body fitted to mine flashes back through my mind. His warmth seeping into me, holding hypothermia at bay long enough for the torture to end. The asshole kept me alive.

“I wasn’t alone,” I blurt.

As soon as the words have escaped, I wish I could take them back. Raine’s hand freezes, his head cocking ever so slightly, like he’s attempting to read the clues my body is giving him.

“You hate Lennox.”

My heart rate thunders. “Yes.”

Raine rolls his lips together as he thinks. “You tried to frame him for beating Noah up.”

“Yes.”

“The Z wing is exactly where you wanted him to wind up.”

“Yes.” My voice catches on the word this time, forcing me to gulp hard. “But I didn’t plan to end up in there with him.”

“Yet… You weren’t alone.” He resumes cleaning, swapping out for a new paper towel. “So what? You’re glad he was there?”

“I… I’m not… I don’t know.” I watch him toss a used, crimson-stained towel aside. “I don’t know what I feel.”

“Well, by the sounds of things, neither does he.” His voice is painfully neutral.

“This isn’t what you think it is.”

“What do I think it is, Rip?”

The bruises ringing my throat throb, feeling a pair of hands squeezing the life from my lungs. Only this time, there’s nothing choking me. Nothing but emotion—confusion, exhaustion, fear. This isn’t the time to be figuring our situation out.

“We had to look out for each other.” I try to focus my exhausted mind to explain coherently. “They tried to break us. If Lennox wasn’t there, I wouldn’t have survived.”

He tosses another used paper towel. “Does that mean all is forgiven?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Sure sounds like what you’renotsaying, though.”

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