Page 54 of Claimed By the Rockstars: Part One
No.
"Yeah."
We take Phoenix's car, an SUV fit for a giant alpha that smells like the same incense that's on Nash's clothes. It's a warm, pleasant scent, nothing like the sharp disinfectant that hits me the moment I step into the hospital. We navigate through the maze of hallways, Phoenix leading the way with Rafael and me trailing behind. The elevator ride is silent except for the mechanical whir of cables. Feels like we're walking into a battlefield and none of us knows what to say.
Rex's room is on the fourth floor, tucked away in a private corner. Phoenix knocks softly before pushing the door open.
"He's probably sleeping," Phoenix warns as we file inside. "The painkillers they've got him on are?—"
He's not sleeping.
Rex lies in the hospital bed, propped up at an angle that looks uncomfortable as hell. The right side of his face is wrapped in sterile white bandages that cover everything from his jaw to his temple, layers of gauze hiding every last hint of scars. Only the left side is visible. Sharp cheekbones, full lips, that ice blue eye that tracks our movement with predatory focus.
He looks like a fallen angel.
His visible eye finds me immediately, and I watch his jaw work like he's chewing on words he doesn't want to say.
"Out," Rex says finally, sounding exhausted but still carrying that edge of command that makes people obey without thinking.
Phoenix and Rafael exchange glances.
"Rex, he's just here to—" Phoenix starts.
"I saidout." His eye doesn't leave mine. "I need to talk to Bells. Alone."
"Wait,we'reout?" Rafael asks, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes," Rex says in a flat tone.
Oh shit.
Rafael's dark eyes flick between us, probably cataloging all the ways this could go wrong. But Phoenix just nods, touching Rafael's shoulder as they head for the door.
"We'll be right outside," Phoenix says, and I'm not sure if he's talking to me or Rex.
Then the door clicks shut, and we're alone.
Rex studies me and I fight the urge to fidget under the intensity of his gaze. Normally, I'd chew his ass out for looking at me like that, but considering he apparently almost died and now he's laid up in a hospital bed with bandages covering half his face, I keep it to myself.
"What did Stephen do?"
His sudden growled question catches me off guard. Not what I was expecting from the man who's been blackmailing me for weeks.
"What?" I croak.
"To you." His voice is rough, probably from the intubation during surgery. "In the alley. What did he do to make you freeze like that?"
I cross my arms, defensive. "Nothing you need to worry about."
"Bullshit." He shifts in the bed, wincing at the movement. "I've seen fear before, Bells. That wasn't just anger. That was—" He cuts himself off, jaw clenching again. "What. Did. He.Do?"
"Why do you care?" The words come out sharper than I intended. "You hate me, remember? I'm just your atomic weapon against Stephen Hughes."
"Answer the fucking question."
We stare at each other, locked in a battle of wills I'm too tired to fight. The hospital room feels smaller suddenly, the walls pressing in.
"He cornered me," I say finally, keeping my voice flat. "Got in my space. Said shit that..." I trail off, not wanting to give Rex more ammunition. "It doesn't matter."
