Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
I stumble back, my own knees feeling weak all of a sudden. It feels as though all the anxiety and panic I'd been experiencing has vanished. Now there is nothing.
"I got you, babe," Mick says. His arm wrapping around me, he guides me back a few steps, the elevator doors closing, hiding what I did.
"Oh shit. I'll call the police," I hear someone say.
"I killed him?" The rock I'm holding falls from my hand.
"Shit, you're bleeding." Mick picks up my hand, revealing a gash. It looks deep, but it doesn't hurt. My body is so numb at this point, it’s not surprising.
"Did I kill him?" I choke the words out, my mouth drier than a desert.
"Don't worry about him." Mick tries to soothe me.
"So much blood." I can’t seem to string more than a few words together at a time at the moment.
"The head can bleed a lot."
"Right." I nod. Everything is a blur. The red and blue lights. All the people coming and going. “Do I really need an ambulance?”
“You’re going to need that wound closed up and definitely cleaned.”
“I’m coming with her,” Mick says before I get a chance to ask. Thankfully, they end up letting him but not before some bickering takes place. I think they figured out quickly they weren't going to win a fight against Mick. I don’t think anyone ever does in the end.
“Don’t talk to the police. Not one word unless it’s to ask for your lawyer,” Mick whispers into my ear when we make it to the hospital. A few of them linger outside. I nod.
The nurse comes in and gets started before a doctor quickly follows. Thankfully, they can glue it, and I don’t have to get stitches.
“Pretty badass,” the doctor says when she’s done. “You got him good.” She gives me a wink, and I realize she’s talking about the other guy. “Your teeth all good?”
“What?”
“You bit him.”
Holy crap. How did I forget that?
“All good,” I tell her, running my tongue across them. I’d kicked and scratched at him, doing whatever I could to break free. The nurse comes back in with mouthwash and a small metal pan.
I’m guessing they brought my stalker here as well for treatment. It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask about him, but I’m not sure if I should. The doctor goes over how to care for my hand and not to get the bandage wet before leaving us alone.
“Guess I’m out of commission,” I joke lamely, holding up my bandaged hand. Mick doesn’t laugh at my joke. I can now see how tense he is. “Not just video games, but you know. You’ll have to take care of me.” I wiggle my brows, wanting him to relax. I think the adrenaline has worn off now, and reality is starting to really kick in.
“Josie.” His hand cups my face. I close my eyes, tears beginning to fall.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“Don’t fucking say that.” Mick presses kisses all over my face, stopping the tears in their tracks. “Nothing to be sorry for. The nurse was right. What you did was pretty badass, even if I want to spank your ass over it.” I give him a watery smile.
"All right." A nurse enters, interrupting the moment. “I’ve got your paperwork and prescription for an antibiotic.” Mick takes them from her. “Wait.” Her eyes roam over Mick. “You’re the guy from the TikTok video.” Her eyes swing over to me. “Holy crap, you’re the girl.”
“What?” we both ask.
“He took on three guys outside of some diner.”
“Shit,” Mick mutters. I think the same thing.
“Oh God, Mick. Pedro? He’s going to find out about this.”
How can this day continue to get worse?
Chapter Twenty-One
MICK
“You have quite the rap sheet. Robbery, assault, truancy. This says you were taken in for questioning two nights ago for fighting. Care to comment?” The policeman waves a paper in my face. Apparently, hospitals are thick with cops, and we didn’t make it out of there without someone stopping us. It didn’t help that we are now TikTok famous. They hauled us both in for “questioning,” so here I sit with another cop in as many days. Even when I was an adolescent punk, my luck wasn’t this bad.
There’s no explaining to this guy that I was poor and desperate. Because of my familiarity with the police, I know nothing you can say will change their minds. They get it in their heads that you’re trouble, and that story can’t be changed.
“Your girl is saying that she has a stalker and that he was at her door. You were just protecting her.”
“She had nothing to do with this. Can’t you let her go? She was just at the clinic.”
“Because she fought with someone.”
“She defended herself against a man. Besides, it was my fault.”
“How so?”
I don’t have a ready answer for that. “It was all me. I started it. Josie didn’t do anything. Hit me with the charges.”