The Buick bounced over a pothole,jostling me awake. I straightened and glanced out the window, spotting the dark rectangular shapes of mobile homes. Relief swamped me. We were almost home.
“Hey, sleeping beauty,” Tex said. “You okay back there?”
I rubbed my face—a mistake that shot a stabbing pain through my right hand—and yawned. “Can’t believe I fell asleep.”
“That’s the adrenaline crash,” Aiden said. He sat beside me, his thigh pressed to mine, a reassuring presence. “Look at me, Will. I want to check your eyes.”
I flinched at the pen flashlight directed at my pupils. “Fuck.”
“Still equal and reactive,” Aiden murmured. I hoped he was talking to himself because I had no idea what it meant. Thankfully, he tucked away the pen and settled for prodding at my head once more.
I hissed. “I’m fine, Angel. Just a little tender.”
I shifted and moaned as pain rocketed through my body. My head throbbed like the bass beat in a club. My shouldertwinged. But it was the muscles throughout my torso that complained the loudest. I’d hit the gym a few times, but nothing could prepare me for the brutality of that fight. Theo had been a big dude, and the hits he got in hadn’t landed lightly.
I was lucky he’d missed my nose with the knee to the face. He’d misjudged and given me a hell of a shiner instead.
“Just a little tender, huh?” Aiden said, calling me on my bullshit like he always did. He pulled out another couple of tablets from his med bag along with a Gatorade. “Take these.”
“Didn’t you just give me a couple of these when we left?”
“You can handle a stronger dose of Tylenol.”
“Wouldn’t ibuprofen be better?” Tex asked from the front seat as he navigated the final turn into the driveway.
“Increases the risk of a brain bleed.” Aiden pointed to his chest. “Doctor.”
“Right, sorry.” Tex chuckled. “Doctor knows best.”
“Yes, I do.”
I popped the pills and washed them down with a Gatorade. I gulped half the bottle down, not realizing how dehydrated I’d become while sleeping.
“Doing okay?” Aiden asked. “Anything else hurt?”
“Everything,” I said, “but I’m okay. Thanks to you.”
“I didn’t do much,” Aiden said.
But he was wrong. He’d done the most important thing when he’d believed in me.
When Theo sat on my chest, I’d thought it was game over. He’d slammed my head until I saw stars. My vision began to gray at the edges, a sign of an impending blackout.
I’d panicked, knowing that would be the end of me. Then, out of the darkness, I heard him. Like a fucking angel, Aiden called to me.
It gave me the strength to fight back.
Tex parked the car. “Okay, lovers. End of the line.”
Aiden reached for the door handle. “Let’s get you inside. Are you sure you don’t want to go to the ER? You took some pretty hard knocks.”
I resisted the instinct to refuse immediately. I wasn’t a criminal anymore. I didn’t have to avoid hospitals, but I sure as fuck wanted my bed right now.
I did a quick mental assessment, flexing my fingers—earning another sharp pain for my trouble—and rolling my neck. My shoulders were tight as fuck.
“I’m sore, but it’s nothing a hot shower won’t fix.”
Aiden looked conflicted. “I can keep an eye on you, but if you develop bleeding on the brain, it can take a while to show up. A CT would be safer.”