Page 46 of Every Broken Piece
A surge of anger takes me by force and surprise. “You don’t have a say in anything, Mr. Strong.” I yank my hand from his and bury it under the blanket. The action jostles my injured wrist, and I hiss in a painful breath.
Calmly he digs my hand out from the covers and threads our fingers together again. I’m not going to lie, I like him holding my hand. It makes me feel less alone. My irrational and sudden anger dissipates as fast as it came, leaving me exhausted.
“Don’t be obstinate, little fighter. You’re in pain, take the relief.”
Concern is etched in the downward turn of his lips. He’s not what I expected. I know what he looks like from my internet snooping but Gabriel Strong in person is so unlike the man who composed those terse, direct emails.
However, there was the other Gabriel Strong, the weekend Gabriel Strong, who told me about Pax and Jack and their dog River. Who discussed books and plots and made me check in when I was out with my friends.
Maybe, like me, there are two Gabriel Strongs fighting for control inside the same man. Just like there are two Theresa James—one who craves affection, and one who’s forced to shun it.
“Tess?”
“I’m okay.” I’m not okay. I’m not okay at all and I don’t know how to tell anyone that I’m afraid to leave this hospital, that my head hurts so bad even crying makes me want to throw up. ThatI’ve never in all my life, in all the shit I’ve been through during my childhood, have felt this helpless or scared.
A tear leaks out of my eye but I’m too weary to hide it.
Gabe shifts and swipes at the tear with the pad of his other thumb. “Ah, Tess. I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
I draw in a shuddering breath and close my eyes, letting him catch each tear as they drop.
“I’ll be okay.” I wipe my face with the corner of the bedsheet. He withdraws his thumb and gives me the space I need to fold my emotions back into the darkness inside me. Because I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I need to get out of here, pack, and leave. Run. Again. Like I’ve been doing my whole life.
“You can go back to Colorado now,” I say, relieving him of whatever obligation brought him here. “It might take a few days for me to catch up on your inbox and travel arrangements, but I’ll get there.”
“You think I’m leaving you?” His voice is soft and low. It takes a few beats for me to understand what he’s saying.
“You have to.” He can’t stick around here. He has a corporation to run. He has to be in England in... I don’t know how many days, but he has to be in England soon.
“I’m not leaving, Tess. I’m here to ensure you get the best care available. To make sure they catch the asshole that did this to you. And to keep you safe until they do.”
No, no, no.Doesn’t he understand? I can’t have him here. “Mr. Strong—”
“Ms. James.” He grins and my simmering anger starts to boil over except his grin is distracting. It brings out the crinkles at the corners of his eyes and lights those baby blues into shimmering sapphires.
Stop thinking about his eyes!
The pain is creeping in. I’m exhausted just from this conversation. How am I going to relocate when I can’t even have a conversation without falling asleep?
“Why? Why do you want to help me?” I try to pull away from his touch. He slides his other hand under our clasped hands, trapping mine between them and damn it, it feels too good.
“You haven’t heard?” His grin is now a full-blown smile and it’s sexy as hell and I shouldnotbe thinking of sexy smiles.
I yank my gaze from his lips but looking in his dancing eyes isn’t much better. “Heard what?”
“We’re engaged, Tess. I’m your fiancé and I’m here to take care of you.”
Chapter twenty-seven
Gabe
Ipush open the door to Tess’s hospital room and draw up sharply, my heart damn near stopping.
The bed is empty.
“They took her for a CT scan.”
I turn my head to find Conor hunched in a chair deep in the shadowed corner.
