Page 60 of Skate the Line

Surprised by the nickname, I let him pull me over to the sink. Cool water rushes from the spout, and he places both of our hands under the stream.

One by one, he unpeels my fingers from the wound. I focus on his furrowed brow and locked jaw instead of the sting crawling up my arm.

“Malaki!” he shouts, placing his hand over my finger.

Malaki enters the kitchen a moment later with Ellie following after him. “You summoned?”

If I wasn’t seconds from fainting, I’d laugh.

Malaki’s attention moves leisurely between Rhodes and me standing at the sink. He smirks and mutters, “Interesting.”

Rhodes flicks his chin for Malaki to come closer. I hiss when Rhodes releases the pressure on my finger. “What do you think?” he asks him.

Malaki curses. “That needs stitches for sure.”

Jerking my hand away, I shake my head. “No. I’m fine.”

I’m not going to the hospital.

My stomach twists. I reach for the paper towels, and the entire roll falls to the floor with my shaky movements.

Ellie is quick to pick them up and hand them to me. “What happened, Sunny? Did you get a boo-boo?”

I force a laugh between my tight teeth. “Yes, but I’m okay. Nothing a Band-Aid can’t fix.”

Her little brow furrows. She looks just like her father. “You’re going to need a big Band-Aid.”

Malaki snorts. “And stitches.”

I flick my attention to him. “I’mfine.”

Rhodes steps forward and looks to Malaki. “You got Ellie?”

“Yep. Uncle Malaki to the rescue.”

I shake my head. “I’m not going to get stitches.”

Rhodes, who is clearly ignoring me, bends down and swoops Ellie into his arms.

“I’m going to take—” Rhodes pauses and glares over his shoulder at me before finishing his sentence. “I’m going todragSunny to the hospital so she can get stitches. Be good for Malaki. Eat your pizza, watchTangled,and then it’s off to bed for you.”

I gasp with frustration, but Rhodes’s expression is so steely that I can’t even form an argument.

Ellie leans in close to her dad’s ear. “Hold her hand, Daddy. She looks scared.”

Great. A five-year-old is braver than me.

Malaki steals Ellie from Rhodes’s arms and shoots him a devilish smile. “Yeah. Make sure you hold her hand.”

Little does Rhodes know, I actually might need his hand.

Twenty-Two

RHODES

I called herSunshine.

The team set me up for failure. They kept fucking taunting me with the nickname, and then it effortlessly slipped from my mouth.

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