Chapter 39
39
RUE
M y eyes flutter open. A large figure sits next to the bed with his head buried in his crossed arms. Dark head of hair. Rounded, broad shoulders.
I reach out and touch his head. “Malice?”
He looks up, but it’s not Malice.
“Midnight, what are you doing here?”
An IV is in my hand. In my peripheral vision is a monitor that shows my heart rhythm, respiratory rate, and oxygenation. I wriggle my nose. Nose prongs. Oxygen .
“Where is Malice? Is he okay?” Panic rises in my voice. “I remember him picking me up in his arms and running toward the gas station before I blacked out.” Malice is strong but can be stubborn. “Is he injured? Is that why he’s not here?”
“He’s good, Rue.” Midnight smooths his hand over my hair. “He has business to take care of and should be back soon.”
“If you’re here, where’s Riley?”
“With Dare. He’s going through something and won’t talk to Syn or me. He only wants Riley.”
“You’re okay with that?”
“I have to be.” He tents his hands in front of his mouth. “It’s complicated, Rue. Someday, you’ll go through the same with you, Malice, and Red. One day, it’ll only be you who can be enough for Red, and Malice will have to be fine with that. Other days, it’s you and Malice against the world, and Red will have to hang back. You get me?”
He skims his finger over my promise ring.
“He came through for you. Risked his life for you. Put his precious GT-R in the path of a jacked-up truck. Stood firm with his belief that you wouldn’t steal the purse money for destruction. He aimed for doing good with the money, so why take away his ‘good,’ right?”
I turn my face away from him. He puts his palm on the side of my face, bringing me back to looking at him again. “You and Riley are alike, committing wrong to do right.”
Midnight relaxes in the chair and crosses his muscular, tatted arms across his chest.
“Olivia’s at the county jail. She confessed to sabotaging your jobs by stealing so you’d get the blame and be fired, or worse, have a restraining order placed.” Midnight shakes his head. His expression darkens.
Rue would not want to be on the receiving end of his anger.
“She put that little dog in danger and set fire to my uncle’s place,” he continues. “Olivia shot out the cameras using a BB gun, believing the blame would make it back to you. She knew of you and Mason’s patrols from Johnny.”
“But why? She was in love with Red. Red and I are friends. Malice and his parents are your families. Why would she want to hurt the people that Red cares for?”
“She was jealous of you for what you have with Red and Malice.”
“Where is Red? What about my friends, Isaac, and the guys?”
“You want to see them?”
I nod. My mouth is dry. I lick my lips. “How long have I been here? What happened?” My head hurts and there’s a bulky dressing on my hip.
“Three days. Olivia shot you.”
“What?!”
“She followed Malice but lagged behind. My cousin drives too recklessly when your life is at stake, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. He was so into you, having you in his arms, that he didn’t realize you two were in danger.”
Midnight uncrosses his arms and swipes at strands of my hair stuck to my forehead.
“Sawyer saw Olivia with the gun. She aimed for your head. He pushed you and Malice out of the way, and the bullet grazed your scalp. She got in a second shot and hit you in the hip before Sawyer’s brother, Gunner, tackled her. He followed behind her. Gunner told Isaac she didn’t look right in the head. The ambulance came, and the surgeons took you into surgery and removed the bullet. You lucked out that the bullet missed major arteries, Rue.”
I close my eyes. “She wasn’t over Red.”
“She wasn’t over Malice,” Midnight corrects me. “She’s been hung up on him since she lived with my aunt and uncle.”
Would I have become obsessed and crazy out of my mind like Olivia were I not to get over Malice? I blow out a breath and open my eyes. I doubt it. I thought about him a lot in the two years between when things went bad between us and us being good with one another again, and never once did I think of hurting him or the people he cares about.
Someone knocks on the door.
“Come in.”
The door opens, and Malice saunters in. When he sees I’m awake, he rushes over and pulls me into his arms.
“Babe. Fuck.” He puts me at arm’s length. “How are you feeling? Do you need more pain meds? Hungry? I’ll go get the nurse.” He lets go.
I hold onto his hand. “Uh-uh, get over here.”
Midnight leaves his seat. “Sit. Keep your girl company.” He addresses me. “When should I tell the others they can stop by? They’re antsy.”
“An hour. Is that okay?”
“You’re the boss. An hour it is.”
“Thank you, Midnight.”
He starts to leave. I clear my throat. “Um, can I give this back to you? I want to make room for a different ring later down the line.”
I hand Midnight the moon-shaped promise ring. Malice’s eyes widen. He points his finger at Midnight. “ He gave you that damn ring?”
“Surprised?”
“Hell, yeah. He has no right hanging on to two Lee girls.”
Midnight laughs and takes the ring from me. “Believe me, bruh, Rue is all yours. One Lee girl is enough to deal with.”
Before he leaves, Midnight says something cryptic to Malice.
“Is everything good? Did you stake your claim? Send the message to my baby bro?”
“Yeah, all done, man. It should be on the news right about now.”
Curious, I flip on the afternoon news just as Midnight closes the door behind him.
“Breaking news. Fire crews are putting out a large fire at…”
They give the general location, and my breath leaves me.
“You didn’t.”
“I most certainly did. He took too long to decide, and I took too long to stake my claim. Now, all of Cambridge and Delridge understands you are mine, and I am yours.”
“But that’s Red’s place.” His man cave. A guest house on his parents’ property. A place where he and I hung out.
“Does it make you feel better that I had movers empty the place while he was at the sheriff’s office talking with Olivia? That I offered to build him a bigger place after the rest are demolished?”
How can I be angry with him when he thoughtfully took care of the “family matter” between him and Red?
“Will he be okay? Midnight told me everything.”
“He’ll be fine, Rue. His girl’s out there. Olivia isn’t it.”
“What happens now?”
“You get some good pain medications in you. Rest up. I’ll stick by your side until you’re discharged.”
“When will that be?”
“We’ll ask when your nurse stops by.” He takes my hand in his and cocoons it between his large palms. “You’re coming home with me, Rue. You’re not staying at Tessa’s.”
“I can’t. It’s indecent, and soon I won’t be working for your parents anymore. There won’t be a need to go where you go and vice versa.”
“Indecent? We’ve been indecent and more. Or did you forget all the places we’ve blessed with your fine, naked body?” His voice is low and husky.
“ Malice .” My cheeks heat. “People will talk.”
“Does it matter?”
“Small town.”
“ Our life, Rue. Anyways, we’ll be out of here in a few months.”
“You mean you’ll be out of here, moving on to bigger and better places.” I pick at the thin hospital blanket. “I saw the envelopes from Stanford and Texas A&M in your glove box. Early offers?”
“Yes.”
“Playing for those colleges will get you more exposure, Malice. You should accept.”
“ We should accept.”
“I plan on applying to DU so I can be closer to my family and friends. I am not moving to another state. I’m not ready.”
“You mean that?”
“Yes,” I say with conviction. I bring his hand to my face and drop a kiss on his scraped-up knuckles. “Isaac is my half-brother, Malice. My father had an affair. Isaac is the same age as Riley.”
Understanding dawns on his face.
“Aw, I’m sorry, Rue.”
“Nothing to be sorry for except for my father cheating on my mother. I’m happy Isaac is my brother. Me and Riley love him, and he loves us back.”
“No wonder you two are close.”
“Is that okay?”
“Hell, yeah.”
Then he tells me why it was important that he KO’d Big J.
The length he went to to protect the ones I care about.
I pull him in for a kiss. Malice is such a good guy. “I don’t hate you, Malice,” I confess. “All those times I said the words, I thought the opposite. When you asked me to hate you, that you could handle my hate, I hoped you meant love because I only love you.”
“I thought the same,” he admits. “What is the antonym of hate, babe?”
“Love,” I say.
“Yes. Love. I go where you go, Rue, and DU it is.”
My heart is somersaulting. “Thank you.”
He slides into bed alongside me. I turn into his warmth and his strength.
“You know, I’ve been meaning to say this to you.” He skims his finger over my eyebrow and then the other. Feather-like caresses. Tender. I love him so much. “Your parents’ absence isn’t a reflection of who you are or aren’t, just like my parents being gone all the time isn’t a reflection of how they feel about me. Whether they’re gone or home, they love and are proud of me. I think your parents are the same way, Rue. Say the word, and I’ll help you find them.”
“You will?”
“If it’ll give you peace and make you happy.”
I think long and hard and decide I’ll have to speak with Riley and Isaac first. I let Malice know I appreciate his thoughtfulness.
“How did you get so wise about the absence thing?” I cradle his face with my hand and stare deep into his eyes.
“From a girl who showed me how blessed I am to have great friends and family and wealth that isn’t what’s in my bank account.”
He’s right. “Then I’m equally blessed.” I’m not a loser.
I won in this game called life. With time, high school will be a distant memory. I plan on making more memories when Malice, me, and our friends live it up at Dumas University next fall. We’ll deepen our friendships and make more friends who will be our friends for life. We’ll laugh, live, and love.
I press my mouth to his. “Play your love games, Malice. We know who will come out on top.”
He smirks. “You, Rue.”
“Or you, big guy. I love you.”
“I love you too.”