Kace peeks at me and moves to the chair against the wall. Ivy moves to the chair next to him, while Zane paces at the door.

“Z, come on. They’ll be here when they can,” I say.

He spins around and his angry eyes hit me. “Not fucking good enough.” He leans out the door, bracing his hands on the trim. “You hear me? Making my girl wait for relief from her pain is fucking bullshit. Stop dragging your damn feet,” he yells.

“Zane, what the fuck,” I hiss.

“You’re in pain, babe. You should get immediate relief,” he says, his eyes softening as he looks at me.

I sigh and hold my hand out to him. “Come here.” Reluctantly, he walks over, and I pat my bed. He slides down the bar and sits next to me. I grab his strong hand as he looks at me. “Zane, the pain is a good thing. It means I’m alive.”

He tucks my hair, behind my ear and nods his head. “I know, babe. I’ve never been so thankful.”

I tilt my head and grin. “Start acting like it.” He goes to interrupt, but I put my finger on his lips. “You need to get your anger under control before it takes you over. Once it does, there’s no coming back from that. I’m alive and everything else is just bonuses now.” He squeezes my one hand, while I use the other to touch his cheek. It’s not easy with the IV pulling on it, but I manage. “I’m sure you’ve got to get to the club and take care of some things. You also need to eat and get some sleep. Go baby, go handle your business. When you’re done, come back to me, but leave the anger here. Let that shit go.”

He closes his eyes and rests his forehead on mine. “I just want to do everything right by you this time.”

“Being angry isn’t doing right by me, Z. I need your love, that’s all.”

“You have my whole heart, babe.” He presses his lips to mine and even though I’m in a lot of pain, I savor his touch. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I do need to handle my business, but I don’t want to leave you.”

I pull back and grin. “You aren’t leaving me. You’re doing right by me. Plus, I have Ivy here. Go baby.”

“Come on, Z. We’ll go handle what we need to, and you can get a few hours sleep in your own bed,” Kace says.

He stands up and pulls out his phone. “I want Porter here.”

The nurse comes in as Zane is on the phone. She isn’t happy and I can’t blame her. She takes my vitals and replaces my IV bag. Once that is all done, she gives me another shot of pain medicine.

“Hey. I’m sorry,” Zane says, briefly glancing at her.

She doesn’t say anything just shakes her head as she walks out. I appreciate his apology though.

“Alright, Porter will be here in a minute. I’m gonna go, but if you need me, call immediately. I’ll be back in a few hours.” He turns to look at Ivy. “If anything happens, call me.” Kace gets up and squeezes my shoulder before waiting by the door.

“I love you, babe.”

“I love you.”

I watch them walk away and turn my head to Ivy. “How do you do that?”

My eyebrows dip in confusion. “Do what?”

She gets up and sits on the edge of my bed. “You knew exactly what you needed to say to Zane. How do you know how to do that?”

“I know him. I know what he needs to hear. I know the club world and I know that if he’s here it isn’t helping them or him. He needs to be a man and handle that stuff before it’s too late,” I say, lifting my shoulder. “He’s being an asshole.”

“He’s worried about you. I get that.”

There’s so much I want to say. My head is all messed up right now. I shouldn’t have this anger toward him. I knew what I was doing when I pushed in front of him, but I can’t help feeling like I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him being so damn stubborn. I need to focus on something else, so I decide to turn the tables on her.

“What’s going on with you and Kace?”

She fights a smile. “Nothing.”

“That smile says differently,” I push.

“Nothing happened or anything, but he did hold me for a while when I was crying,” she says, lifting her slender shoulders. “It was nice.”


Tags: Heather Dahlgren Shattered Souls MC Romance