Surrender To Me

BANE

WREN WAS FINALLY SLEEPING. She needed to rest to recover. Those burns on her arms, although minor in the grand scheme of things, needed time to heal. She’d be sore, and the fact that she was hurt at all ate at me. I was supposed to protect her. She was mine to fucking protect.

My eyes had finally slid shut when I heard the door to Wren’s room open. I cracked one eye open to see whether it was the doctor again or whether Hawk had finally had the balls to show. It was Hawk, and by the look on his face, he was about to fucking puke his guts up.

Good.

The fucker took Wren for granted. There wasn’t a damn thing she wouldn’t do for him, including getting into bed with a drug dealer to wipe his debts. Gently moving her from my chest, I stood up to my full height, grabbed Hawk by the front of his shirt, and hauled him outside. There was no way in hell I was letting him wake Wren right now.

The hallway was busy, with nurses and doctors walking the halls. Looking around, I saw a public restroom across the way, one of those big ones meant to fit wheelchairs through the door. Stalking in there with Hawk, I shut and locked the door, then slammed him against the thick wood. The bastard still looked a little too comfortable, though, so I pinned him in place with my forearm, making sure breathing got a little tricky for him.

Hawk clawed at my arm, trying to break my hold, but he had no fucking chance. Enraged had just met its match, and I was so fucking beyond enraged that I didn’t know what the fuck to do with that anger.

“What the fuck did you do?”

Hawk’s mouth popped open, moving but no sound came out. With a growl, I eased back a little, loosening his vocal cords.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Is she okay?” he rasped.

I bared my teeth at him. “Did she fucking look okay?” I shouted the words into his face.

“Fuck, Bane.” He clutched more tightly at the arm holding him up, tears beginning to pool in his eyes.

“Please tell me you aren’t fucking crying like a little bitch right now.”

“She’s my sister.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t fucking treat her like you should. A man’s job is to protect his sister, not put her in the fucking firing line.”

“I know. I fucked up. I always fuck up.”

Fuck me. If I couldn’t handle blubbering women, I have no fucking chance in hell of handling a blubbering man. I broke our connection, stepping back and watching Hawk crumple to the floor.

“She could’ve died. She could’ve died. She could’ve died.” On and on he went. I wanted to tell him to shut the fuck up, but those thoughts had run through my head too. Right now, I could’ve been mourning her rather than helping her chase the demons away.

“You’re so fucking lucky she didn’t die, Hawk,” I barked. “I swear on my fucking life if she had, you wouldn’t be breathing right now.”

He blinked at my words. “You think this is my fault?”

“Who else’s fucking fault would it be? You’re the one who makes deals with bookies you can’t fucking pay, and do I need to remind you what happened between us?” Raking my fingers through my hair, I planted my hands on the edge of the sink and bowed my head.

“Why are you with Wren right now?” he asked. I looked at him in the reflection of the mirror. I turned. “What?”

“Why are you with Wren right now?”

“Because she’s been mine for two weeks,” I shot back, enjoying the look on his face. The bastard didn’t know what his sister had done for him.

He swallowed, but his eyes-the same color as Wren’s-burned with rage. “What was the deal she agreed to?” Surging to his feet, he came at me, grasping onto the front of my shirt. “What the fuck did you make her do?”

“I didn’t make her do anything. You did when you stole from me. You did when you made a bet you couldn’t cover. You did by being in her life and laying your fucking kills at her door like some proud goddamn Tomcat.”

My words lashed at him, and he loosened his fingers. Stepping away, he bowed his head and asked, “What did she do to wipe my debts?”

“What do you think she did?” I wanted to hurt him. I wanted him to feel the pain I was feeling. I wanted him to feel the anguish that had coursed through my body when Andy told me Wren had been in a fire. I wanted him to emotionally bleed out in front of me.

“She’s one of your whores?” he whispered.

I wanted to throw that in his face, but I held my tongue. “She’s mine,” I ground out. “She agreed to do whatever I want with her for two weeks to wipe your debt. She agreed to this because she fucking loves you, Hawk. She would do anything for you, and you fucking know it.” Pushing off the edge of the sink, I straightened my shirt from where he’d wrinkled the shit out of it. “And now it’s time for you to own your shit. Where did you get the money to pay me back?”

All the color leached from his face. I expected him to shut down on me, but when he looked up, there was pure torture in his eyes. On a sigh, he said, “I went to Sanderson. He gave me the money.”

Motherfuck! Without thought, I punched him in the face, the force of the strike spinning him around and leaving him sprawled on the floor, bleeding from the nose. Leaning down, I hissed, “You dumb fucking cunt. You have no idea what you’ve done, do you?”

Unlocking the door, I yanked it open and stalked back into Wren’s hospital room.

WREN WAS DISCHARGED a few hours later. She didn’t ask whether Hawk had shown up, but she couldn’t hide the disappointment in her eyes. She wanted him there if only to find out the truth. I’d already taken care of that for her, and the thought of causing her any more pain was tearing me apart.

Getting shot point-blank in the chest was a more palatable way to experience that kind of trauma.

An orderly wheeled her out to the car I had waiting, Dagger behind the wheel this time. I slid in beside her, smiling when she rested her head on my shoulder.

“Where are we going?”

“My place.” When she opened her mouth to argue, I placed my finger against her lips. “No arguing. Your place is condemned. I can get you set up in an apartment, but I want you in my bed with me for the next couple of days.” “Why?” she whispered.

“So I know you’re safe. If I can touch you, smell you, taste you, then I’ll know you’re okay.”

I braced for the argument that always seemed to come right after a declaration like that, but she was quiet. Thank fuck for that. “Have you heard from Hawk?” “No,” I replied darkly.

“I should call him to find out what happened to him.”

I handed her my phone. “Call him now.”

She did, dialing his number and pressing the device to her ear. It rang out on the first attempt, and on the second, it went straight to voicemail. Handing it back to me, she mumbled, “He’s not answering. I hope he’s okay.”

“He’s probably just trying to come to terms with your accident.” I left it at that. I would tell her we’d had words, but I didn’t want her to worry about him right now.

When Dagger pulled the car up to my building, we got out, and I took Wren up to the penthouse where I settled her in bed. Although she protested, I could see how tired she was. By the time I returned with a glass of water for her to take her medication, she was already asleep. I stood there for a moment just looking at her, wondering when I’d become such a fucking pussy.

I never watched women sleep.

Women never slept in my bed.

Except for Wren.

Fuck, she looked perfect in it too.

I just hoped she’d finally seen that I wasn’t going to let her walk away from me. She kept throwing the two-week timeline at me like a shield she could use against her heart, but I knew she wouldn’t walk away-she couldn’t walk away-just like I couldn’t walk away from her.

Sitting in the living room, I opened my laptop and started to work on the roster system for my Dolls. Since I wouldn’t be returning to the office for a few days, I figured I had to get some shit done. The new Doll, Veronica, was starting tonight. Normally, I was there for every new employee’s first shift, but with Wren still recovering, I didn’t want to leave her. Dagger had everything in hand, though.

Beside me, my phone began to ring. “Yeah?”

“Mr. Rivera,” Detective Cox drawled, the sound of her smug voice sending my blood pressure soaring.

“What do you want now, you useless cunt?”

“Such a way with words,” she purred. “I was just calling to let you know we’ve secured that witness. Got their testimony, too. It’s only a matter of time before we’ll be taking Tony…” she paused and laughed, “… my apologies, Dagger, in for questioning. Your days are numbered, Mr. Rivera. I’d enjoy your girlfriend now while you can.”

“You don’t have shit on me, Cox, so why don’t you go and try this shit on someone else. Dagger won’t say a word to you even if you do haul him in for questioning.”

“We’ll see,” she shot back cryptically and hung up. Dropping my phone to the couch cushion beside me, I glared at it and then swiped it up again.

“Boss?” Dagger answered when I called him.

“Cox is threatening to bring you in for questioning.”

“Want me to get rid of her?”