ask why it mattered when it hit me.
He felt guilty.
I wouldn’t be a charity case. I didn’t want his pity. But he wasn’t offering out of the goodness of his heart. He was offering to clear his conscience.
If I stayed for a bit, I’d have time to figure out my next step and his guilt would be alleviated.
It was a win-win.
“Maybe for a few days,” I agreed after a thoughtful moment. If things went downhill, I’d cross that bridge when I had to.
“Hear that, Ash? She’ll tolerate paradise for a few days.”
Everything caught up to me, and I couldn’t keep my head up. It dropped to his shoulder as I gave a soft laugh. At least I thought I did.
I wasn’t really sure.
Maximo
Jesus, she’s stubborn.
And deadweight.
I cringed at the phrase. Juliet had thought we were driving to her death. And yet she’d sat, quiet and brave.
It made me wonder what she’d lived through that made her grow so strong.
Or maybe what she’d lived through that made death seem not so bad.
And made me seem not so bad.
Because she didn’t hate me. I’d watched for it, expecting loathing in her gaze. I’d waited for her to scream or shank me with a broken tongue depressor. But she hadn’t. She’d smile at me. She’d reached for me when she was in pain.
She’d wanted me there.
Ash hit the brakes suddenly, and I tightened my hold. I should’ve put her down so she was buckled.
I should’ve put her down so she could sleep comfortably.
I should’ve put her down because I was a thirty-two-year-old man who had no business holding a seventeen-year-old in his lap.
I didn’t put her down.
Thinking she was asleep, I readjusted her when she murmured, “Ash.”
His surprised eyes went to the rearview mirror. “Yeah?”
“Your name is Ash.”
“Yup,” he said, amused.
“That’s a better name than handsome goon.”
Ash started chuckling before catching himself and disguising it as a cough, but I could see his cocky smirk in the mirror.
She thinks he’s handsome?
“You’re off door duty,” I bit out, pissed and irritated for reasons I didn’t want to think about.
“Whatever you say, boss,” Ash muttered, not even trying to hide that chuckle.
Bastard.
CHAPTER SIX
Nemesis
Juliet
I HURT.
Every inch of my body was sore and burning and throbbing. I rolled over in bed, wanting more sleep, but something had woken me.
No—someone.
“Good morning,” Ms. Vera’s accented greeting pushed through my muddled brain.
“Sleep,” I groaned.
She flipped a switch and the curtain slid open, letting in all sorts of stupid light.
I groaned again and buried my head under the pillow.
“You need your medicine and cream,” she insisted, tearing the puffy cloud of a blanket off of me. “Then, you need to eat.”
The meds and cream sounded awful. The food, though? That was worth waking up for.
I sat up and saw a glass of water, pills, and the ointment lined up on the bedside table. I was in the middle of swallowing the meds when she smiled.
“That was easy,” she said. “I thought I’d have to tell you there was coffee to get you out of bed.”
Nearly choking in my excitement, I wiped my mouth. “There’s coffee?”
“A small cup.” She tutted her disapproval. “Too young, but Mr. Maximo said he owed you.”
My coffee yesterday. I forgot about it.
Who have I become?
I reached for the ointment, but Ms. Vera shook her head. “Shower first. Carefully.”
Shower and coffee?
Oh hell yeah.
I removed the brace and was going to use the wall to get into the bathroom, but Ms. Vera wheeled something over. It resembled a scooter, just with the flat part higher up. “Put your knee here.”
I stood and put my shin on the pad, my foot hanging off back. Steering with the handle, I was able to easily wheel into the bathroom. I was tempted to soak my muscles in the bath with some salts, but everything had been rearranged and I didn’t feel like searching.
Plus, coffee was waiting, and I wasn’t about to miss out again.
I let the hot water pound my skin as I shampooed my hair until my head was raw. I conditioned and washed as best as I could without irritating the scrapes.
When I got out and dried off, I coated my face and arms in soothing aloe before cracking the door to see clothes set out for me.
I pulled on the large tee and oversized joggers, grateful they weren’t constricting. Tugging the pant leg up, I got the ankle brace on when Ms. Vera came back in.
I pushed the other pant leg up over my knee and slathered the ointment