Payback

He looks at me and shakes his head. “Out of the pan and into the fire.”

“I’m sorry?”

He sighs. “You’ve seen the vest, right? He’s in an MC, or at least trying to be in one. Those guys are dangerous, Camryn, and it seems like you have a predisposition to bad boys.”

“Jett would never hurt me.” This I know. Ty was a wildcard, but Jett is steady and true.

He nods and asks me to sit up. A burning pain shoots through my sides when I do, and I whimper.

“I know it’s uncomfortable, but I've got to finish examining you.” I nod as tears begin to fall from my eyes as he lays me back and presses on my abdomen. “I'm going to have a plastic surgeon come in and talk to you about your face, if that's ok?” he says.

“Ok,” I reply, closing my eyes as he turns to leave. The door shuts behind him and the silence of the room takes over. As I lay there with my eyes closed, I hear the door creak open again. I open my eyes slightly and see Jett and a teenage boy, not much younger than me, creeping in.

“Cami, this is Austin. This is the young man that found you,” he says, guiding him to me.

“I'm s-s-so sorry,” he says, taking my hand. The horrified look on the kid’s face speaks volumes. The bruising, blood soaked bandages and the purple rings under my eyes must look horrible. He just stares at me, his mouth occasionally opening, indicating he wants to say something, but no words will come.

“Austin? Right?” I whisper. He nods, not taking his eyes off me. “Thank you. You are the reason I'm still breathing. If you hadn't gotten there when you did, I would have died,” I say, fighting my own tears from the realization of it. Austin leans down to me hugging me softly.

“If you need anything… anything at all, please let me know,” he says, turning to leave.

Jett takes his place by my side. “Sweet kid,” I say with a smile.

“He's not much younger than you,” Jett says. I nod, closing my eyes with a sigh. Jett places his hand over mine, and I smile.

“You're sweet,” I say, slowly opening my eyes to look at him.

“I try,” he says, running his thumb across my palm. Laying there just looking at him makes my heart thump loudly. Here I am, a complete mess, scarred and bruised, being comforted by what could be the most beautiful man I've ever laid eyes on. I snicker to myself at the thought of telling him he's beautiful and he looks at me, eyes narrowed.

“What?” he asks.

“I was just thinking about you,” I reply.

“What are you thinking about me?” he asks.

“Nothing, really.”

“Liar,” he says jokingly. “If it is nothing, then why are you blushing?”

A knock on the door startles me as the nurse comes in. “Hey, Cami. How are you feeling today?” she asks, while checking my IV.

“My whole mids

ection hurts,” I reply, trying to sit up.

“Oh, honey, don't try to sit up by yourself,” she says, coming to help. As she raises the bed, I feel a slight burning sensation, but not as much pain. “I'll go get you some pain medication, ok?” she asks. I nod and draw in several shallow breaths while I adjust to sitting up.

“Are you going to tell me what you were thinking?” Jett asks. I shake my head, grateful when the nurse comes back with some medicine.

The pain begins to subside quickly as she injects it into my IV, and I'm feeling more relaxed by the time she leaves my room.

Jett just looks at me, waiting for me to answer his question. His phone begins to ring and he looks down at the screen. “I have to go,” he says. “But I'll be back.” Yawning loudly, I nod and close my eyes as sleep finds me just moments after he's gone.

Bright light filters through the blinds as I open my eyes. I look over to my left and find Jett passed out in the chair. His dark hair shimmers in the light and his eyes flutter as he dreams. The door slides open and Dr. Bennett walks in.

“My dear, you seem to be doing well,” he says with a smile looking like relief.

“I'm better, that’s for sure,” I say back to him. Looking over towards the window, where Jett is sound asleep, he smiles and shakes his head. He comes over and begins removing the bandages and looks me over.