Page 93 of Retaliation

“Bye, P,” she chirped.

“Bye, D. Be good,” Poison replied softly as they left the room, Nina giving Nick a quick kiss goodbye.

“You really should get some rest,” Nick advised, turning to him. “And I need to take a look at your hands.”

He couldn’t help but marvel at Nick and Nina’s unconditional acceptance of him despite the circumstances. They must have known that he was the one to put Poison in the hospital.

“No need,” he retorted, shaking his head. “I’m alright.”

“I insist,” Nick countered. “They’re already quite swollen, and I don’t want any broken bones needing realignment.”

He looked to Poison as if seeking her permission to receive medical treatment—as if not believing that he deserved it, but she nodded.

“Go with Nick,” she said, her voice soft and the smile tugging at the corner of her lips reassuring.

“I’d much rather stay here, if I may?” He looked to Nick, waiting for Poison’s rejection of having him with her, but it never came.

“First, let me take a look at you,” Nick insisted. “Once you’re all cleaned up, and she got some rest,” Nick tilted his head toward Poison as he emphasized the wordshe. “Then you’re welcome to come back.”

“I’ll be here when you’re done,” she promised, squeezing his hand, and the pressure went right to his heart, overshadowing the pain in his knuckles.

“I’ll be back first thing in the morning,” Scorpion promised and bent down to place a tender kiss on her forehead.

Letting go of her hand was one of the hardest things he ever had to do, but with a last look into those emerald eyes, he burned them into his memory as he followed Nick out the door.

Each step away from Poison became a battle not to turn around. He needed to stay with her, needed to ensure she was safe. But he convinced himself that no harm would come to her in that hospital room.

He followed Nick to a treatment room in the ER wing. Neither of them spoke a word as their footsteps echoed in the empty halls.

Only once inside the room did Phillip dare to break the silence.

“Thank you,” he mumbled, taking a seat on the stretcher while Nick pulled supplies from a cabinet.

“Don’t mention it,” he responded, pulling a stool closer and examining his hands. “It’s my job to take care of my patients.”

“It’s not that,” He shook his head, and Nick gave him a questioning look. “Thank you for not asking questions.”

A soft laugh rippled from Nick’s chest. “Where Poison is concerned, one quickly learns not to ask too many questions.”

“She’s definitely something else,” he mused, staring at the bruises forming on his blood-stained knuckles.

Regret gripped his throat and made it impossible to breathe. If he hadn’t stopped, if he had completely lost control… He wouldn’t have been able to live with himself.

“Nothing seems to be broken,” Nick announced, pulling him from the edge of the dark pit of his thoughts. “Just a hairline fracture on your middle knuckle. Here,” he said, pressing a tender spot on his hand.

“Nothing I’m not used to,” he shrugged. “Thanks for taking a look, Doc.”

“Don’t mention it,” Nick smiled, removing the gloves he had put on before examining his hands.

“I should let her sleep, shouldn’t I?” He didn’t want to, but he tried not to be selfish.

“That would be best,” Nick confirmed. “Go home and get some rest yourself. I’ll take good care of her.”

“I’ll be back in the morning,” he said, and walked out of the room with a heavy heart.

THIRTY THREE

The drugs in her system took hold of her still foggy mind, and in the quietness of the hospital room, Poison drifted off to sleep.

---