“It’s processed meat, not food.” I shoved the sandwich closer to him. “Take this upstairs to the patient while I make you a list of items to get from the store.”
“Why do I have to go to the store? You’re the one who doesn’t like the food we have, which is perfectly consumable.”
I raised a brow and glared at Sawyer. “And you wonder why you are still single. If this is what you feed your female companions, it’s a miracle any of them stick around for a second date.”
“They stick around for what’s in my pants, not my culinary skills,” Sawyer huffed, reaching for the plate and then disappearing from the kitchen.
I pulled open a drawer, pulled out a scratch pad and pencil, and started a list.
Arnica cream and Vitamin K
Spinach, Broccoli, and Cauliflower
Salmon, Chicken, and Eggs
Blueberries and Strawberries
Milk, Almonds, and Walnuts
I had just finished the list when Sawyer walked back into the kitchen with an empty plate. “She’s asking me questions about you.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I told her she needed to get her answers from you.”
I snatched the paper off the counter and handed it to my friend. “Here, go shopping for this.” I watched as he wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. She needs healthy food.”
Sawyer retrieved his keys from his pocket. “Don’t you think quick and easy would be better? Maybe some frozen dinners or something?”
“Quick isn’t better. That shit is loaded with preservatives, and based on the size of your waistline, I’d say you’ve been preserving for a long time,” I laughed. “Just get the healthy food you should be feeding your sister while she recovers, please.”
“She asked for an ice pack,” he mumbled as he left the room.
I grabbed the pack from the freezer and headed toward the stairs.
When I walkedinto the room, Evie lay on her back, asleep. The top corner of her lip was split. There were black, blue, and purple bruises surrounding her partially swollen eye and her neck from the fingers of her assailant. Seeing these marks only infuriated me once more. As much as I wanted to let her sleep, I needed to get some answers. The sooner I found the asshole or holes that did this to her, the sooner I could get back to my life and away from the temptation she brought.
Gently, I shook her shoulder and whispered her name. “Vee, here’s the ice pack you asked for.”
Her tiny hand retrieved the ice pack from mine and winced as she placed it on her left shoulder. “Does it hurt, or is it too cold?”
“Both,” she whimpered.
“I’m sorry beautiful, but there’s not much I can do about it. If I could, I would. You just have to tough it out for twenty minutes.”
Evie groaned but didn’t say a word. I sat on the bed beside her and reached for her hand. I felt her fingers’ warmth and the cast’s cold plaster that encased the rest of her arm. The feeling of wanting to exact revenge was an emotion I knew and could rationalize, but the need to console her was foreign to me. As much as I needed to wrap her in my arms and protect her from the evils that loom, there was a reason I died all those years ago—I couldn’t have her and still be ruthless.
“I need you to tell me what happened and who did this to you.”
“I’ve never seen them before. I’d gone to Lucas’s house to see him. He hadn’t returned my calls or texts for a couple of days.” Her chest rose and fell with the deep breaths she took. “It was late, probably around eleven o’clock. When I pulled up, his car was in the driveway, and there was a light on in the house, so I used my key and let myself in. I figured if he’d been ignoring me so far, he wouldn’t answer the door if I rang the bell, and I wasn’t allowing him to ghost me any longer. I wanted answers.”
Evie lowered the ice pack from her shoulder, but when she saw me look down at my watch and narrow my eyes, she knew she’d better put it back on. As she replaced the cold package, I laughed. Evie stuck her tongue out at me, and I knew she hadn’t found it as humorous as I did.
“Anyway,” she said. “The house was eerily quiet when I stepped in. The light came from a room at the end of the narrow hall. The living room was dark as I crossed it. I’d made it partially through when a man came barreling at me, tackling me to the ground. The back of my head hit the hardwood floor, and his left fist connected with my eye, not once but twice. I rolled to my stomach and tried to crawl away, but he grabbed me by the hair. My scalp was on fire when he gripped it tightly and slammed the side of my face on the floor.”
Hearing her describe the attack set my blood on fire. I wanted to suck the air from his lungs and rip out his heart. Clenching my jaw, I closed my eyes briefly to regain my composure. When I was confident I could control my anger and speak in a calm voice, I asked her to continue.
“The pain was so intense I could barely move. That’s when he yanked me up by my arm and slammed me into the bookcase. One of the books came tumbling down from above. The next thing I knew, he had the book in his hand and struck me with it. That knocked me to the ground, and I felt his hands around my throat, and he was squeezing. I was crying, trying to beg for my life. But he didn’t care at all.This is it; you’re going to die tonight,I told myself. There was no way I would walk out of that house alive. He was going to kill me and probably would have if another man hadn’t yelled at him.”