Page 116 of Wicked Ends
“Cole hasn’t woken up,” I cut in, the words that wouldn’t stop repeating in my head finding their way free. “He hasn’t woken up, and it’s your fault… but it’s also mine. It’s mostly mine. Loving you could cost me everything.”
She opened her mouth to speak, and I shook my head.
“I never want to see you again,” I told her, feeling like a liar in my traitorous heart.
“You should leave town before my brother finds out about the money—you might not survive it.”
“Something happened to Cole because of the money in the bag?” Ari asked.
I pushed her away gently, not able to stand being so close for one more second. Touching her was my addiction, and if I stayed too close for too long, I’d never be able to drag myself away.
“Don’t pretend to worry about me or him, don’t pretend to care, or those photos go to the dean. I’m not joking, Ari. Don’t test me.”
I wrenched away, feeling like I was hacking off a limb and leaving it there in the hall.
“Consider what I said seriously. When Cole wakes up, if you’re still here, I can’t guarantee your safety.”
Then I turned and walked away, leaving behind my bleeding heart.
A call came through as I was heading to my bike in the lot.
“Marcus. He’s awake,” Maddox said in my ear.
“I’m on my way.”
Marcus
I drovelike a madman to the hospital, nearly spilling off my bike on one or two sharp bends around the coast. It didn’t help that as soon as I’d pulled out of the HHU lot, the heavens opened and rain hammered down. The road grew infinitely more dangerous as I turned my motorcycle this way and that, bending into the curves of the cliff-lined road, but I didn’t slow down, not for a second.
If I came off… I deserved it. It felt strangely good to let everything go. My hopes, my fucking dreams that had kept me apart from my older brother for so long. I let it go. All of this was my fucking fault. I should pay for it.
Somehow, I made it to the hospital unscathed. I rushed inside and to the floor where Cole was. There was a sea of leather outside the room. The MC brothers were here, ready to check on their president. They parted when I walked through them. They wouldn’t treat me with so much respect once they knew that it was all my fault.
I paused outside Cole’s room, afraid to open the door. Then the choice was made for me as it slid open.
“You’re here. Your brother’s been asking for you,” Gage said, face wreathed in smiles. He stepped back and let me into the room.
Cole’s eyes met mine as soon as I stepped in. The thing inside me that had been clenched tight and barely holding on relaxed.
He was okay. He was going to be okay.
“Look who finally showed up,” Cole said, his voice deeper and more gravelly than ever.
Maddox stood. I approached, and he clapped me on the shoulder as I passed.
Then, he was closing the door behind him and leaving me alone with Cole.
“Well? Doesn’t nearly dying get me a fucking hug?” Cole asked gruffly.
I leaned over and hugged him, as carefully as I could.
He didn’t smell like himself. Cole was leather and pine. Now, the sterile scent of antiseptic hit my nose like a slap.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I took the longest nap I’ve taken in years,” he said and rested his head back against his pillow. “I’ve been worse.”
I shook my head. “No, you haven’t. You had to have surgery.”
