Page 17 of Sweet Vengeance
My good eye falls closed, but when it does, I see them. The three men looming over me, the hate in their eyes when they looked down at me. How can they hate someone they don’t even know? They can’t, so that means they were onlygetting off on what they were doing, reveling in someone else’s pain.
I tremble, a small sound coming out of me.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Cillian touches my hand, and I jerk it away.
“Shit, I’m sorry.” Cillian takes a step back, holding his hands up as if to tell me he won’t touch me again.
“How is he?” I ask, worried about the old guy, just as Dean says, “Maybe I should be the one to stay.”
Cillian answers before I can. “If you stay, T is gonna stay. It’s easier if it’s just me.”
“Neither of you has to stay,” I cut in. “Stop making me argue. I don’t have it in me.”
“Then stop arguing because I’m staying.” Cillian crosses his arms.
“God, you’re such a conceited jerk.”
He grins. “Thank you.”
I stare at him, wondering if my brain isn’t working properly after the hits I took tonight. “There’s something wrong with you. And how is he? The man?”
“What man?” Dean asks.
“The old man I told you they were beating up. Is he okay? Did he…?” Blood. There was so much blood.
The machine beeps, my heart rate speeding up. “Hey, you’re good. Calm down.” Cillian reaches for me, but then stops, as though remembering what happened a moment ago.
A blonde nurse comes into the room. “Are you doing okay?” She looks between Dean and Cillian.
“The guy who was brought in with him. How is he?” Cillian asks, surprising me.
“I’m sorry, we can’t share that information.” She’s glancing around as if unsure, and then lowers her voice as she says, “But you probably saved his life.” She gives my arm a gentle squeeze.
I saved his life? But I didn’t do anything other than jump into a fight I wasn’t prepared for and get my ass kicked.
“We have a room for you,” she adds.
I nod. The nurse begins disconnecting machines from the wall, but I don’t take my eyes off Cillian. He runs a hand through his brown hair. It’s lighter than his cousin’s black locks. While both have it styled so it hangs over their foreheads, Cillian’s straight while Tiernan’s has a wave.
Dean and Cillian discuss something in hushed tones. I can only assume it’s about me. Dean nods, then glances over Cillian’s shoulder at me. “If it’s okay with you, I’m gonna go. Like we said, Cil will stay with you, but if you need anything, you call me.”
“Fine. Whatever,” I say, not having it in me to argue. “Wait. Do I have my phone?” If I don’t, I’m fucked. Dad will never believe I lost it. I guess I can say it was stolen.
“Yes.” The nurse sets a clear bag on my thighs. “It’s in here with your clothes and wallet. We have your backpack too. Let me grab it.” She takes it out of a cabinet and Cillian takes it.
Dean leaves, and once the nurse gets everything together, she’s pushing my bed out of the emergency department and down the hallway. “Do you want me to take that too?” Cillian points to my lap.
“I’m good. I have it.” On reflex, my hand clutches the plastic tighter.
“Are you guys brothers?” the nurse asks.
“Dean was the brother. I’m the boyfriend,” Cillian tells her, and I fight myself not to react. Cillian calling himself my boyfriend makes my body heat both with anger and pleasure. I’m not proud of the second one.
She chatters while she pushes me into an elevator and then hits the button for the second floor. I open my bag andcheck my phone. The screen is cracked, which sucks, but it turns on and seems to work okay. When I open my wallet, the forty dollars I had are still there, and my debit card, but… “My driver’s license is gone…my school ID too.”
“Nothing else’s missing?” Cillian asks.
I look up at him, see his brows pulled together. When I say, “No,” he curses quietly. It doesn’t take a genius to understand why those things would be all that’s missing. Goose bumps erupt up and down my arms.
