His voice was a low whisper as he growled into my ear. “Where the fuck did you learn to do that?”
I had to calm down, get myself back in control here. Deck was my biggest challenge over the years, because he knew me. Hiding who I was took talent, and I think the only way I got away with it was because he was gone most of the time. But Deck knew damn well I’d never taken self-defense, never been a fighter and never been able to get off a punch on him.
“Answer me.”
I didn’t have an answer. For once, there was no sassy comeback.
“Answer me. Damn it.”
I was slipping. I knew how to keep my mouth shut. And this was one of those times, but feeling Deck’s pulsating fury and hearing the confusion in his voice … it made everything I was doing worthless.
“I don’t know what the fuck is going on with you, but I’m finding out. In the meantime, you’re being locked down. Bullshit has ended.”
“Deck!”
“No, Georgie. I’m done.”
Oh, God. I need my phone. I had to call him. “Don’t do this.”
“Everything okay here?” A nurse came running over and looked from me to Deck and back again.
“Deck. Please.” I resorted to begging. I’d have no access to a phone, no way to contact Tanner to get me out. Shit, would he even know where Deck was taking me? Well, he would, but the question was how long would it take and by then …
“Sir, she should be in bed—”
Deck ignored the nurse. “You drank so much you nearly died. You have cuts on you that you say came from a tree but a doctor says are likely caused by a knife. You snuck out on Vic and disappeared for hours only to be found convulsing in front of Connor’s grave. And you executed a defense move when you’ve never been to a single class. What the fuck do you want me to do, Georgie?” His voice was that of a drum, pounding through the room so loud it made my head vibrate.
Then Tyler was there. “All okay, Boss?”
The nurse touched my arm. “Miss. I’ve alerted the doctor. Come back to your room and lie down.”
I shrugged her off. “How can you throw me away like this?”
Deck held me by both shoulders. “Damn it, Georgie, I’m not throwing you away. I’m bringing you back to me.”
But there was no going back, was there?
If he put me in rehab, he’d find out damn fast I never had an addiction. There would be no withdrawals, no shakes, and no friggin’ nothing. I couldn’t fake through that. Shit. Shit. Shit. I’d played it too good. Deck thought I was a pathetic alcoholic who nearly killed herself.
Deck’s cell rang and he passed me off to Tyler. Smart, both of them knew I’d make a run for it. The nurse stood there a little stunned and then she slipped past both of us, ran to the nurses’ station and picked up the phone.
“Why are you calling, Kai?”
My breath hitched, and I quickly smothered it by pretending the wound on my back hurt as I put my hand to it and winced.
Deck locked eyes with me and then walked away a few steps. Holy shit. Panic gripped my lungs with each breath. I was still fucked up from my annual purge, waking up in the hospital and then having Deck question me about things I had no way to answer unless I told him the truth.
“You could’ve died, sweetie,” Tyler said. I yanked away from Tyler’s grip and propped myself against the wall, but he stayed within inches of me. “You didn’t see him.” He kept his voice low as he leaned into me, arms on either side, palms against the pale-blue walls. “He was scared, Georgie. Getting that call from Vic and he was ten hours away …” Tyler lowered his head, shaking it slowly back and forth. “What if we’d been on a mission? What if he couldn’t get here? Sweets, if anything ever happened to you … Jesus, I don’t know what he’d do.” I looked to the side, avoiding his eyes. He wouldn’t let me and cupped my head with both hands. “Don’t know what’s going on with you, but you need to get better.”
This was me better. I had no better. No overhaul, renovation or restoration job was going to fix me. But I learned to accept it and live with pieces of me undecipherable and stained.I LOOKED OVER my shoulder and saw Tyler standing far closer to Georgie than I liked. “Why are you calling?”
“I heard Georgie got herself into some trouble.”
“I’m not going to ask how you know about that. But I do want to know why she cares if I’m talking to you.” I saw the look on her face when I said his name. She’d met Kai when he’d helped kill the sex trafficker. Was Georgie nervous of Kai? She must have known I’d never let him near her again.