Page 13 of A Past Too Broken

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful or anything, I know I put you in a tough spot. Thank you, Zay. For coming to the rescue.”

He looks into my eyes for so long, I begin to squirm. His golden brown eyes seem to see far more than I ever want them to, and everything in me is screaming that I need to go. I can’t afford to let him get too close.

Except… he already is, isn’t he? From the very beginning, the moment I found out he wanted my kill and I started us down this path of cat and mouse last year… I let him in then, even if it was unintentionally.

Calling him in my hour of need only proved what I tried so hard to deny for so long. Zay’s gotten under my skin, and I don’t think there’s any way of pushing him out—or if I even want to.

“Let me check your wound, and then we’ll get some food in you.”

He helps me lay on my side, and I only flinch a little as he removes the bandage and pokes at the knife wound. “I’m not a medical professional, but I’ve been in this life long enough to know how to patch someone up,” he says.

“So what’s the verdict?”

“You’ll live, but you’ll be out of commission for a while until it heals.”

“No.” I try to sit up, but he pushes me down, and I’m too weak to fight him. “I can’t… I need to finish this, Zay.”

Our eyes meet and he must see my desperation because he sighs and goes back to affixing a new bandage over my side. “Finish what? What’s going on, Min? You’ve spent a year being a bigger pain in my ass than his Royal Fluffy Butt over there, and I think I deserve to know why.”

“Why should I trust you?”

“Seriously?” He raises his arms in the air and then drops them to his sides. “You’re in my fucking house. You slept next to my cat all night. What other proof do you need that I don’t mean you any harm? If I wanted you dead, Min, you would have been. Last fucking year when I had you tied up in front of me, the perfect position for a little payback for all the money you cost me by stealing my kills.

“I have no ties to you other than the last year of ridiculousness. I owe you nothing.” He leans over me, his face right over mine, so close his minty breath washes over me, and I breathe his scent in as deeply as I can. “So, you either tell me what the fuck you’re doing, and let me help you, or I’ll reopen that wound and toss you into the fucking snow.”

The tension between us crackles like electricity. My heart pounds hard enough that I wonder if Zay can hear it. His burning golden gaze sets my blood on fire, and I’m almost embarrassed to admit that my cock hardens under his stare.

He must feel it too, as the gold in his eyes turns almost molten, and his dusky pink lips part, tempting me because they’reso close.

Reggie chooses that moment to pounce on me, forcing a cry from my throat. Zay straightens up, cursing as he picks up the cat intent on murdering me.

“Fucking hell. I’m sorry, Min. It’s past his breakfast time.” Zay crosses the room to set Reggie on the ground just outside the door before closing it on him. By the time he makes it back to me, I’ve managed to flip onto my back, tears burning at the back of my eyes from the pain.

Zay doesn’t ask, but pulls the bandage back and inspecting my wound. “Nothing tore, which is good.” He covers me back up. “I have some pain meds that should help dull everything.”

I try to focus on my breathing while he rummages around in the attached bathroom. By the time he reappears with a glass of water and a bottle of pills, the pain has dissipated for the most part and I can breathe normally again.

Slowly, Zay helps me sit up. He shows me the bottle of pills. It’s just over the counter painkillers, but it’s better than nothing.

He shakes a few pills into his palm, and I toss them back with a swig of water.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. I’ll go get you some food.” He leaves the bedroom, closing the door behind him. The silence is deafening. I almost want to try my luck at getting up and moving to the living room, but some space will be good for us. It’s not like we’re friends or anything.

With a sigh, I try to find a position to lie in that’s comfortable enough and close my eyes. My brain is going a hundred miles a minute right now, questioning every decision I’ve made in the last year, but my body is weighed down by exhaustion. Getting stabbed is a lot of work.

One thing keeps running through my mind, no matter how many times I try to shut it up: despite my protests, I do trust Zay. I don’t know why or how it happened, but something in my lizard brain that was only focused on survival knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to me. It’s that thought that follows me back to sleep.

* * *

The next time I wake,it’s to the smell of coffee. I let out a sigh of relief, needing the caffeine more than I need to piss.

“Mrow,” Reggie says near my head.

I jump in surprise, which makes me gasp as it aggravates my wound.

“Good, you’re finally awake.” Zay appears next to the bed and helps me sit up. “Need anything?”

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