The Scars That Define Us (The Devil's Dust #2)(51)

I give her ass another slap to help stimulate her.

“Please, can I go?” she sighs, submitting to me.

I give her ass one last slap, watching her skin glow bright red. I slowly apply pressure with my finger at the opening of her ass, her pleasure rising as she moans louder. She throws her face into the mattress as she rides her orgasm, and I know she’s satiated.


Dani

I walk into the hospital room and see Babs is awake. “You’re awake?” I exclaim.

She smiles half-heartedly.

“How long have you been awake?” I ask, sitting next to her.

“I woke–” She pauses. Her voice sounds awful and it’s hard to understand what she’s saying. Her red hair is matted into a nest around her head, and her face is cut up. She has bruises of the ugliest color spotted all over her face and forehead. She looks terrible.

“Last night,” she says, struggling with the words. My eyes fill with tears; her words are strangled with force.

“I see we have visitors this morning,” a doctor says, walking into the room wearing blue scrubs.

“Can I have a word?” I ask him.

“Certainly,” he says, stepping to the other side of the room.

“Why is she talking like that?” I question, trying to be quiet so I don’t offend Babs.

“Well, she was hit by a car—”

“I feel like I’ve been hit by a Mac truck,” Babs yells, interrupting the doctor.

I give a weak smile, walk to her side of the bed, and grab her hand for support.

“Well,” the doctor continues, “she’s been hit by a car, and when she fell, she hit her head. With some therapy, I feel she will make some recovery, but she still needs to undergo some testing and extensive observation before I can be certain of anything.”

I nod in understanding. “Did you guys call her husband?” I ask, looking at a scared Babs. Her eyes are squinted, causing little wrinkles to form in the creases, her lips (usually in a smirk) are pierced with concern. I hate seeing her like this.

“We did,” he says, placing a stethoscope on her chest. “He was the only one listed as an emergency contact.”

I look back at Babs. “Has Locks been to see you?”

She shakes her head no. If I have ever wanted to kill anyone, it would be him right now.

“You can visit for a few moments but it’s crucial she rests at this point,” he tells me, writing on a clipboard.

“Let me know if you need anything,” he says to Babs before walking out of the room.

“Do you know who hit you?” I ask.

She shakes her head again.

“Do you need anything?” I don’t want to leave since I just got here, but I know I have to go before I’m kicked out.

“No.” Her words are slurred and hard to understand as she looks toward the hospital window. I walk over and give her head a kiss before reluctantly leaving.

How could Locks not show up? I get that things are not good between him and Babs, but what a shitty way to say “I want a divorce.”

I bite my lip in anger and walk onto the elevator.

***

Shadow and I lounge on the couch watching TV. I have my legs in his lap and my head on a pillow I dragged from the bedroom.

I take my eyes off the screen and look at Shadow, curious why he’s not out with the boys or why Bobby hasn’t come back to the apartment lately.

“You and Bobby still not talking?” I ask, but I already know the answer.

Shadow slowly moves his gaze from the TV to me, one eyebrow raised.

I feel like I wrecked Bobby and Shadow’s friendship. Bobby has been there for Shadow for so long, way before I ever was and way more than I ever could. Bobby understands Shadow; there is no question they are family. I sit up, suddenly feeling sick.

“You can’t keep doing this, Shadow,” I tell him angrily. He’s holding such a grudge on Bobby, but not me, and I don’t understand why.

“Don’t start with me, Dani,” Shadow warns.

“Don’t give me that shit,” I snap. Shadow’s face goes blank with the sound of my tone. “You can’t act like an * to your brother, but not me.” He moves my legs off his lap and stands.

“What did you want Bobby to do? Strap me to the bed so I couldn’t leave. I thought you were done with me, and everybody treated me like shit. I thought a simple night out would be nice!” I yell, the situation pissing me off. I owe it to Bobby to stand up for him, considering he stood up for me when nobody else would.

Shadow rubs the back of his head with one hand while the other rests on his hip, his face red with anger and hostility.

“I know Bobby touched you, I know he put his hands where they didn’t belong,” Shadow hisses.

My teeth bite my lip in anger. What happened was inconsequential, Bobby and I would never cross that line.

“If you’re going to hate Bobby, you have to hate me, too,” I continue, stepping up to him, ready to go head-to-head.

“I’ll never hate you, Dani. Believe me, I’ve tried. Hating you would make things so much easier.” His tone is harsh and angry. He licks his pouty lips as he grabs the back of my neck and pulls me closer. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Don’t bring this up again, Dani.” I open my eyes to two blue, tortured ones staring at me, waiting for my reply.