Page 97 of Slayin Villain
“I didn’t think Rome would be dumb enough to try something.”
“But y’all were dumb enough to send Villain there.”
Eve didn't answer.Just took the next curve harder than necessary.
I bit down the urge to cry.
The flashing lights of a squad car lit up the back alley behind the bar.Someone had already called it in.
Villain was on a stretcher.
Blood matted his hair, crusted along his jaw.There was a rip in his shirt that looked too damn close to a stab wound.
I ran to him.
“Hey!”I shouted.“Hey!That’s my man!”
A paramedic blocked me at first, but Eve stepped in, flashing whatever charm or chaos her Ol’ Lady status gave her.
They let me walk beside the gurney.
Villain groaned, head lolled toward me.
“Red…” he slurred.“You came.”
Tears spilled before I could stop them.“Of course I came, you dumb bastard.”
“I didn’t know it was a setup,” he rasped.
“I know.Shh.Don’t talk.”
But he kept going, eyes glassy and barely open.“Rome… he jumped me.Ember never came.”
I gripped his hand tight.“Save it.We’re gonna get you to the hospital.”
“She doesn’t want him anymore,” he muttered.“She told me… she picked him, but now he’s showing his teeth.”
“What?”
“Ember… said it’s mine.Then said it wasn’t.Then said… she might not keep it.”
His voice cracked, and my chest did too.
I didn’t know whether to be relieved, furious, or sad.So I settled on holding his hand and crying in silence.
Villain was under.Concussion.Internal bleeding.Nothing fatal, thank God, but he’d need to stay a couple nights.
Eve sat beside me, flipping through her phone like she wasn’t watching me fall apart.
Eventually, I gave up pretending I was okay.
“I can’t do this, Eve.”
She didn’t look up.“You’re already doing it, honey.”
“I thought she was gone,” I whispered.“I thought it was just me and him.”
“She was gone.And she stayed gone until Rome got stupid.”
