I sit in the lot for a few minutes, wondering what I’m going to say. If she expects me to go in there and make a groveling apology, she’s going to be disappointed. A man in my position can never do a thing like that.
Yet, I truly am fucking sorry.
I realize I just need to see her, end of story, and that all this rehearsing what I’m going to say is just stalling. I go inside.
It doesn’t take long for me to find her in the intensive care unit. I watch through the window as she sits next to her comatose brother, who’s hooked up to tubes and breathing softly. He looks quite peaceful, actually, except for how pale his skin is. Dani has been crying, I can tell from her red cheeks and puffy eyes. But now she’s just talking to him slowly, her hand on his.
Then she looks up and her expression turns furious. She jumps to her feet and walks over to the door, throwing it open.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?”
She looks wild, untamed. I wouldn’t be surprised if she just launched herself at me. She closes the door behind her and walks right over to me, her whole body trembling. I’ve never seen this look in her eyes.
Stone-cold.
Ready to die.
Ready to kill.
“Don’t just fucking stand there, Angelo. What do you want? Did you come to finish the job? I’ll find you a pillow, yeah? Or are you just going to snap his neck?”
“Dani,” I say. “This was a mistake. Somebody fucked me.”
“You fucked me!” she cries, slapping me across the face. I take the blow, and then the flurry of fists that follow. They batter my chest and then I grab her shoulders, stilling her. “Let go of me!” she snaps.
I take a step back. She spins away from me, making strangled, sobbing noises. For a while, we just stand like that, her back turned to me. All up and down the ward, nurses and doctors and other staff members are looking at us.
I walk up behind her slowly. Seeing her in this much pain is twisting things up inside of me. Guilt and rage and a whole army of confused emotions move through me. I place my hand on her back.
She leaps away like a reflex.
“Don’t,” she orders, spinning on me. “You made me fall in love with you, and then you took my fucking heart out and stamped on it. So don’t you fucking touch me.”
“I love you, too, Dani,” I whisper. I don’t know why I tell her now. Perhaps I know I might not get another chance. “I didn’t even believe I could love, but with you, it’s different.”
She bites back another sob. “Don’t say that. Just stop fucking talking.”
I move closer, lifting my arms. I want to embrace her, to hold her and let her know that everything’s going to be okay, even if that might not be the truth. But seeing her like this is just too painful. She almost falls into the embrace, too, but then she glances into Wyatt’s room and something in her hardens.
Instead, she places her hand against my chest and pushes me away.
“You need to leave,” she says detachedly.
“Dani—”
“You need to fucking leave.”
“Is there a problem here?” somebody inquries from behind me.
I turn to find two security personnel standing there. One of them is about thirty-five with a grim twist to his lips and dagger eyes. The other is a little older, chubbier, with a name tattooed on his neck in fancy calligraphy. But the way his skin is folded, I can’t read the name.
“No,” I tell them. “We’re having a conversation. You can leave now, fellas.”
“Don’t,” Dani begs me, shaking her head at me. She must be able to sense the cord of anger moving through me.
“No can do,” the man with the narrow eyes says. “This is a hospital ward, pal. And you’re causing a disturbance.”
I wheel on him, resisting the urge to slam his head through the window. I know it’s not him I’m really angry at. It’s the situation with Dani. But that doesn’t do anything to stop my white-hot fury. “How’re we going to handle this?” I snarl. “Hmm? Tell me.”
The men exchange looks. I must look psychopathic. From behind me, Dani says, “Just go, Angelo. Don’t cause any more trouble than you already have.”
The security guards and I stare at each other for a long time. Then, with a sigh, I turn to Dani. “I’m