Page 155 of Ruthless Redemption

“All I hear is rejection.”

I climb off the bed. “I think it could be your phone.”

“And I think you’re dodging the subject.”

I walk across the room to the sink as the vibration stops. “Forgive me for thinking it’s an inappropriate time to discuss a lifelong commitment while you’re so dosed you can’t feel your face.”

“I can feel all the body parts that matter,” he drawls. “Come back here and I’ll prove it.”

I keep my back to him, attempting to hide a smirk as I open a metal drawer. “I’m sure that nurse of yours will return any minute to check your stats.”

“Since when has an audience ever stopped us?”

A laugh escapes me. “We’re not having sex. Now or in the near future. You’d die.”

“A happy man,” he counters, then pauses a beat before saying, “Marry me.” It’s not a question this time. It’s an order. A possessive demand.

“Matthew, my life is with you. I don’t want anyone else, and I can’t see that ever changing. So my response is already determined, but it won’t be given until you’re back on your feet. I want to save this moment for when you’re healthy enough to get down on one knee. Doesn’t a future wife deserve that?”

He sighs in defeat.

I don’t feel victorious.

I shove the drawer closed and lift things off the counter, moving discarded cardboard packages and plastic gauze wrappers until I find his cell.

“Look.” I turn to him, holding up his device crusted in a flaky red film. “It’s filthy, but it’s still working. You have a heap of notifications.”

“Check them for me. The pin code is five-seven-two-one.”

“Give me a sec.” I grab a paper towel from a dispenser near the sink, dampen it under the faucet, then begin cleaning what looks to be dried blood from the casing as I unlock the screen. “Twenty-three missed calls from Bishop and one voicemail.”

“Listen to the message.”

I dial into his voice mail and turn up the volume as bed springs squeak behind me.

“Langston,” Bishop barks down the line. “Where the fuck are you? Call me. My patience with your sister is growing thin, and I fear for her safety if you don’t get your fucking ass here. And I assure you, the danger isn’t coming from anyone but me.”

“Shit,” Matthew mutters. “I need to get to Denver.”

“You’re not going anywhere for a while.” I throw the damp paper to the sink as the EKG machine stops beeping and shifts into an alarm shriek.

My heart plummets with the high-pitched tone. I turn to Matthew.

He’s climbing off the bed, the cords from his chest monitors clenched in a tight fist before he throws them to the floor.

“What are you doing?” I race to him. “Stop. You’ll hurt yourself.”

He collapses, falling to hands and knees with a grunt.

“Matthew,” I cry. “We’ll send your brothers. You don’t need to go—”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

The alarm keeps ringing. I start panicking.

I grab his shoulders, helping him upright.

“Did you really think I’d delay this once given clear instructions?” he asks. “You know me well enough to understand I wouldn’t waste time making you mine.”

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