Savior (28 page)

"How the fuck did this happen?" Edward Bay asked as he closed the door. There wasn't an ounce of softness in his form, not literally or figuratively. Meaning he kept himself in shape underneath his five-thousand dollar gray suit and had a personality that would make a fucking ice cube shiver.

"Nice to see you too, Dad," Elsie said, her voice sounding suddenly exhausted, like the night's events had drained every last drop of energy from her. "This is Paine," she said, waving a bandaged hand in my direction. My head tilted at the guardedness of her tone, wondering where it came from, if she was reconsidering us as a couple because of all the shit that went down. Even if that was the case, it wasn't something we could talk about in front of her father so I let it drop, but it stayed as a clawing feeling in my stomach.

"Paine?" he repeated, turning to look at me.

"Mr. Bay," I greeted him, tucking my hands behind my back, making it clear I had no intention of shaking his hand. I knew it was a slight and if the fire in his eyes was anything to go by, he took it as such.

"Seriously, Elsie? Is this what this is all about? Why you've been so irrational lately? Blowing up at Sunday's dinner? Because of some itch you're getting scratched by some..." he trailed off, waving a hand dismissively.

I expected her to shrink away, to let it drop. From all I could tell about their relationship, she always backed down, always cowered. That was what he raised her to do. But she didn't. She sat up straight which I knew sent a stab of pain through her body, but she was trying to stand her ground. "Some what, Dad? Where were you going with that?"

"Drop it, Elsie," he commanded, voice frigid.

"Were you going to say something about him having tattoos? About him not wearing a suit at all hours of the day? Or were you going to go deeper than that? Comment on the fact that he's not the right shade for me? Is that it?"

I felt my brows go up. She was on a tear. Her entire body looked like it was vibrating with rage. And while a part of me was pleased that she wanted to stand up for me, the other part was wondering why she would be so livid over a little nothing comment.

"I'm not a fucking racist, Elsie Ann," he barked and I honestly believed him.

"Then what, Dad?"

"You can do better," he answered simply.

Maybe I should have bristled at that, but a part of me might have agreed with him a little. She did deserve someone who didn't keep company with people who could shoot people from a distance an eagle couldn't see from, who didn't have a brother who just got beat out of a street gang, who didn't lose his shit and nearly beat a man to death.

"You don't even know him. You can't say that."

"Fine," Edward conceded, turning slightly to me. "I will get to know you over Sunday dinner at my house then."

"We can't. We have plans at Paine's mother's house this Sunday."

"Sundays are mine."

"Until you refused to talk about Elana being missing."

"For the last God-damn time, Elsie, Elana is not missing."

Elsie's head jerked back at the same time I felt myself stiffen. There was something in his tone, something off. Elsie's head tilted a little, her air rushing out on what was almost a sigh. "You knew, didn't you? You knew she was still in town."

"Of course I knew," Edward said in a tone that suggested he was offended she might think he was in the dark about anything.

"Did you know what she was up to? Did you know she stole from Rhett and Roman? Did you know she was taking over a street gang and
cooking meth
?"

"This is family business," Edward said, giving Elsie a look that was meant to make her drop it.

"You knew. You knew all of that. Oh my God," Elsie groaned, looking down to her lap and shaking her head. "And you just let me worry myself sick over it."

"I told you to drop it."

"And I thought you were being an unfeeling asshole!" she shrieked, making my brows raise and her father actually falter back a step in surprise. "God what a shitty family it turns out I have, huh?" she asked, looking over at me, but all I saw was pain there.

"Baby, I don't think this is the time or place for this. You've had a rough night. You're tired. Let's just let this go for right now."

"Tuesday night," Edward said to her, but also to me as well, then turned and left the room. No hug for his daughter. No hoping she felt better soon. No offer to be a call away should she need anything.

I wondered how Elsie came out of his house as she did. She was warm and sweet and affectionate. Even when she was riled, she didn't pull that holier-than-thou attitude her father wore like a shield. Was it her sister that pulled her through? Those two had definitely seemed like they'd had a strong bond if the way she had spoken about her was anything to go by. If that was the case, she must be especially hurting to have had that bond ripped from her a couple hours ago.

She still had Roman though.

As much as I wasn't exactly thrilled about her best friend being a guy who was admittedly in love with her, I understood the situation. I trusted her. I didn't need to trust him. And he was good for her. They had history. He was like family to her. Now, with her sister gone and her and her dad on the outs, she needed that more than ever.

Granted, I planned on sharing my crazy family with her: my mom, sisters, aunts, grandmother, as well as Breaker, Alex, Shooter, and Amelia. But I knew that wasn't the same, at least not at first. Maybe down the road she could see them that way.

Christ.

Was I really thinking things like 'down the road'? With regard to a woman?

Seemed like I was.

A couple minutes later, the door slowly opened and into the doorway stepped Roman, as if my musings about him had somehow summoned him. He had on slate gray slacks and a deep blue dress shirt, his hair mussed like he had been raking his hands through it. And, judging by the tightness of concern around his eyes, I imagined that was exactly what had happened.

"Else..." he exhaled her name as he looked at her.

Elsie looked up, a strange, humorless smile on her lips. "Let me guess... Dad called you."

"Else, why didn't
you
call me?" he asked, looking like he wanted to cross to her, but either my presence or her uncharacteristic coolness was keeping him just inside the door.

"It's late," she went with, though we all knew what a bullshit excuse that was.

"Hey, babygirl," I called and she looked over at me and, if I wasn't mistaken, it was almost reluctantly. What the fuck was that about? "I'm gonna go to the hospital pharmacy and fill your scripts. You guys talk. I'll be back in twenty."

Walking past, I clamped a hand down on Roman's shoulder. His head turned to me and I could see he understood the meaning: figure out what is wrong with our girl.

With that, I took the scripts and headed toward the pharmacy.

When I got back the promised twenty minutes later, Rome was on the bed beside Elsie, his hand on her knee. She was curled slightly into herself, but had rested her head on his arm. When she looked up, she seemed almost shocked to see me. Feeling unsure, and not liking it one bit, I held up the bag, shaking it slightly so the pills jiggled in their containers.

"They discharged her," Roman provided, releasing her knee and moving to stand. "Talk to you for a minute?" he asked, but it was a demand seeing as he moved past me and out the door.

"Here, baby," I said, handing her the bag before following Roman out.

"What's up?" I asked as the door clicked closed.

He moved a couple steps down the hall so, presumably, Elsie wouldn't hear us. "She thinks you're going to dump her."

"What?" I said, a little too loudly seeing as two nurses across from us at the desk jumped. I gave them an apologetic smile then turned back to Roman. "Say that again."

"She said you're being weird and she thinks this was too much, too soon for your relationship and she was pretty sure that when you left to go get her meds that you were just saying that and weren't going to come back."

"Fuck," I sighed, running a hand down my face. That explained it. She was being distant and quiet because she didn't want to lean on someone she thought was going to try to shrug her off. "Did she tell you everything that happened tonight?"

"Pretty much word-for-word. Can't believe Elana stole from me."

"Elana stole from you?" I asked, brows drawing together.

Roman snorted a little. "Guess she hasn't filled you in on all the juicy details yet. I had a shipment of cold medicine go missing a little while..."

"Got it," I said, nodding. Didn't need more than that. Any idiot could see they were cooking meth in that warehouse. And everyone knew the main ingredient in meth was pseudoephedrine which was what you found in cold medicine. "Christ..."

"Yeah. So you need to get your ass back in there and make it clear you aren't leaving her. If I get so much as a whiff of you not doing what you should be doing to get her through this, I have no problem stepping back in. She deserves someone who will treat her right."

"I feel you," I said, nodding. Maybe a lesser man would have been pissed. He had outright just declared that if I slipped up, he planned on stealing my woman out from under me. But, that being said, no woman could be stolen if she was being treated right. So if I ever lost Elsie to Roman or any other man for that matter, it was my own fault. I had no right to be angry that someone else picked up what I had put down.

"Good. Now go get her home. She won't say it, but she's hurting and she needs sleep."

"You're a good man, Rome. I'm glad she has you in her life," I said. And I was. I hoped to fuck there were more men like him out there, men my sisters could come across and settle down with, men who would do the right thing even when there was nothing in it for them.

Rome nodded and turned away and I felt a small stab of regret for being a dick to him that night he admitted he loved Elsie.

But I didn't have time for that.

I had to get my woman home and show her that I had no intentions of going anywhere anytime soon.

Nineteen

Elsie

"Really, I can undress myself," I said, wiggling out of his hands.

Okay.

I didn't know if it was something Roman said to him or what, but the second he stepped back into my hospital room, whatever tension and distance I had sensed in him was gone. Evaporated. I almost started to question if it had ever been there at all, if it was just a figment of my over-fried brain.

He'd sat down on the bed beside me, slipping an arm around my lower back, then one under my legs, pulling them gently until they went over his thighs and the good side of my face rested against his chest. His lips pressed down on the top of my head and his arms wrapped me up.

"They probably want this room emptied," I said a couple of minutes later of us doing nothing but sitting there cuddling in silence.

"They can wait, baby," he said softly and I felt a shiver run through my insides.

"My ribs hurt," I said next when I couldn't take the silence.

To that, I felt him nod as he slowly released me. "Okay. Let's get you home then," he said and then proceeded to do just that.

Which put us in my bedroom. I had kicked out of my shoes and used the toes of each foot to shimmy off the socks of the other. When I reached for my shirt, though, Paine's hands pushed them away and reached for it himself.

"I know," he said, then pulled the material gently up, waiting for me to lift my hands so he could get it off me.

I really could undress myself. While my arms and palms were wrapped, they had left my fingers mostly uncovered so I could do basic things to take care of myself.

The air of my room made my skin prickle and when Paine's fingers whispered down the center of my belly toward my pants, well, let's just say... my libido didn't get the message that it had been the shittiest day to end all shitty days and I was hurting all over and couldn't have sex. All that horny bitch realized was how good it felt to have Paine's capable hands on me. His eyes went up to mine as he started to pull the material down, eyes light, almost as if he knew where my mind was going.

"Breathe babygirl," he said as my pants pooled around my ankles.

I sucked in a hollow breath and Paine's hand moved to rest gently over the huge purple and blue bruise covering part of my belly and side. "It's okay," I said, reading the darkness that shuttered his eyes.

"Elsie, it's not."

"Well it's not
okay
okay, but I'm alright. And it's not your fault," I added, needing to get it out there, despite standing in the middle of my bedroom in nothing but my bra and panties and feeling way too tired for a relationship conversation.

"Elsie..."

"It's my
sister's
fault. D doesn't work for you. D didn't even know I belonged to you. To him, I was just some random chick. He didn't know El was my sister either. It was just... a bad situation. Maybe if I hadn't hit him..."

"Tomorrow morning, I'm running out and getting you pepper spray, a tazer, a cat-shaped stabbing weapon for that janitor's key chain of yours and a mini expandable baton. Then as soon as you're all better, I am teaching you some basic self-defense. When you get good at that, I am dragging your ass up to Hailstorm and they are going to give you the royal treatment."

"Hailstorm?" I asked, brows drawing together. I was pretty sure Hailstorm was the name of that weird storage-container community up on a hill with their guarded gates and dogs and stuff. I was also pretty sure they were just a bunch of survivalist freaks who thought the apocalypse was imminent or something like that.

"Yeah, Hailstorm. Hard to explain. They're like a lawless military. Most of the people there
are
ex-military. Those who aren't, have just as good of training. They can teach you the shit you'd learn in basic, but they can also get you up to snuff on things like Krav Maga and street fighting."