Page 40 of Burn Bag (Owens Protective Services #31)

I wiped my hand over my face and found, yes, I had a tear dribbling down my cheek. I shrugged, not really caring. “She’s really gone.”

Red hauled me up by the shirt, glaring at me hard. “Your wife is in the hospital, and all you care about is your fucking truck?”

“No,” I jerked out of his grasp. “She was the first thing I asked about. She’s back there with the doctor. There’s nothing I can do for her right now, but then Slider told me about…” My voice cracked on the last word and I couldn’t go on.

“Christ,” Red sighed. “I thought she died. Maybe you could lead with that next time.”

“I was in shock. ”

“Well, no shit. If Zoe totaled my truck…well, that would never happen because she knows not to drive my truck.”

I snorted in amusement. “I thought Daphne did, also. It turns out, she doesn’t listen so well.”

“Fucking hell,” Red sighed, shoving his hand through his hair. “I seriously thought we were about to bury a body.”

“Nope, just my beautiful truck.” I sighed. “Christ, who knew marrying this woman would come with so many complications? I mean, what the fuck was she doing, anyway? I fucking told her not to drive my truck. I told her not to leave the house, in fact.”

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. The grieving process couldn’t last forever. I would never forget my truck, but Daphne…she fucking knew better.

“She jerked the wheel because she was about to hit a fence,” I muttered. “How the fuck do you go from almost hitting a fence to running through a building?”

“Duke is fucking pissed.”

“Lock probably is also. Fuck, our insurance is gonna go through the roof.” I stared at the ceiling, wondering if insurance would cover me.

“She wasn’t on the insurance yet,” I laughed humorlessly.

“There’s no way the insurance company will pay out.

Not only was she at fault, but she wasn’t insured to drive it. ”

“I don’t suppose you could claim that a fence frightened her,” Red muttered.

“I fucking loved that truck,” I sighed.

Red clapped me on the shoulder. “I know, man. I know.”

“I’ll never find another like her. Do you know they’re actually phasing out the V8 models in favor of electric?”

Red grimaced. “It was bound to happen.”

“V6 engines with some hybrid bullshit. I need a man’s man vehicle, and that baby was it. She was the epitome of the perfect vehicle. Maybe I could fix her up?”

I looked to Slider hopefully, but he just shook his head. “The damage was too severe, man.”

I sank down in the chair, burying my head in my hands again .

“Hey, I’ll take you out truck shopping tomorrow,” Red said.

“It’s too soon,” I whimpered. “I’m not ready to replace her yet. I need time to grieve.”

“Yeah,” he croaked out. “I get it.”

I nodded, and together, we sat in the waiting room, reminiscing about the good days with my beautiful truck that would never see the light of day again. It was a sad time, but somehow, sharing our best memories helped just a little.

She was shaken and had a nasty gash on her head, but was otherwise okay. She’d be sore for a while, but nothing broken.

I breathed a sigh of relief at the doctor’s words and asked to see her.

I was still trying to rein in my temper as I stalked down the hall to her room.

How could she be so fucking stupid? There was a reason I told her not to drive my truck.

It was way too big for her, and if she wanted to drive it, she was going to do so with me.

I shoved the door open to her room and instantly deflated about fifty percent. She looked so pitiful in that bed, curled up in a ball. I almost forgot about why I was mad at her. The nurse—our nurse, Kristy—was by her side, patting her arm to comfort her as she cried.

When Kristy looked up at me, she shot me a stern look like this was all my fault. My anger renewed itself as I let the door swing closed and walked into the room.

“Let me know if you need anything, sweetie.”

Kristy shot me another pointed look before making her exit. Unsure if I could keep my temper in control, I shoved my hands in my pockets for good measure, then approached Daphne in the bed.

“How are you?” I asked, keeping my voice low and even.

“Okay,” she said, trying to smile, but failing miserably. “Sore.”

I nodded, reminding myself to keep a civil tone. “That’s to be expected when you get in an accident.”

Her lower lip quivered, but what right did she have to cry when it was my truck that was destroyed ?

“I fucking told you not to drive my truck,” I snapped. “Didn’t I tell you it was too fucking big for you?”

“I know and I’m so sorry!” she cried, bursting out in tears.

“I swear, I didn’t think anything would happen, and I didn’t want to interrupt you at work!

It was just a trip to the store. I thought I could be there and back before you ever knew about it.

I was going to surprise you with dinner,” she continued to cry.

Hiccuping sobs wracked her body as she tried and failed to sit up. I could hardly understand her over the cries rattling her voice.

“I’ve been—cooking show and—studying. Thought I could—” She sucked in a huge breath as more cries rattled in her chest. “Make you a nice dinner!”

More tears broke free, streaming down her face as she pushed herself up. “—dessert with whipped cream.” She cried something incoherent before finishing with, “—be perfect!”

By the time she was finished, she buried her face in her hands, and tears actually poured between her fingers with how hard she was crying. As angry as I was, I couldn’t stand to see her this upset, crying so fucking hard that she was hunched over and bodily shaking.

“Aw, fuck,” I muttered, rushing to her side. I sat down on the bed and pulled her into my arms, rubbing my hand up and down her back soothingly. “Baby, it’s okay.”

“It’s not!” she cried, beating her fist against my chest. “It’s not okay! I should have listened. I should have stayed home!”

“Hey, it’s not like you could stay home forever. You were bound to have to leave eventually.”

“I ruined your truck!” she cried. “I could have killed Harper. What kind of monster am I?”

Frowning, I rubbed her back and squeezed her tight. “Hey, listen to me. This is not your fault. I should have been there. I should have found a car you could drive. If this is anyone’s fault, it’s mine.”

She tore herself back, staring up at me in horror. “No! Don’t even say that! I’m at fault. I ruined your beautiful truck. I crashed into a building!” Then her eyes went wide. “Oh God. Did I hurt anyone inside? ”

“No, baby. Everyone’s fine. And Harper is fine, too.”

“Are you sure?” Her pitiful face morphed into the saddest face I’d ever seen before she buried her head in my chest and started crying uncontrollably again. “I’ll never drive again. I’m such a horrible person!”

“Baby, you are not a horrible person.”

“Yes, I am! I ruined your truck.”

Sighing, I did what any good husband would do. I lied. “It’s just a truck, baby. The only important thing is that you’re okay. I can replace a truck, but I can’t replace you.”

Sniffling, she finally looked up at me through wrecked hope, her lip quivering. “Do you mean that?”

“Of course, I do.”

I so did not.

I mean, obviously, I didn’t want her to be hurt, but that truck was my baby.

Yet, I was sitting here, telling her it was okay because she was obviously destroyed by what had happened.

I didn’t need to kick her when she was down.

She was doing a good enough job of that on her own.

And what kind of husband would I be if I put a higher price on a truck—even one so beautiful and loyal as my baby—than my own wife?

So, I held her and rocked her until she finally fell asleep and let the pain meds take over. When she was asleep, I laid her back in the bed and walked out of the room, stretching from being scrunched up on the bed for so long.

Red was leaning against the wall, grinning at me as I exited the room.

“What the fuck is that look for?”

“Didn’t hear any yelling in there.”

I scowled at him, stalking past him. “Kind of hard to yell at your wife when she’s having a fucking nervous breakdown. I swear to God, I don’t think there are any more tears left in her body.”

“Trust me,” he chuckled. “There are, and they’ll come out when you least expect it. ”

I shoved a hand through my hair, widening my eyes in confusion. “How did I end up like this?”

“What? Pathetic and dimwitted? The moment you walked down the aisle and said I do.”

“I was in there,” I said, remembering walking into the room. “I was prepared to lay into her for ruining my truck. I mean, I was of course going to control myself, but I was ready. And then…” I trailed off, waving my hand in the air as if that said it all.

“And then the waterworks hit and you caved.”

I nodded, still not completely understanding it. “I hate it when she cries.”

“That’s a good thing. It would suck if you liked to see her cry. They call those people psychopaths,” Red retorted.

“And I just sat there…” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. “I actually fucking told her it was my fault because I hadn’t left her a vehicle to drive.” I looked up at Red, still shaking my head. “I took the blame for an accident I had nothing to do with. How the fuck does that happen?”

“Love, my friend.” He clapped me on the shoulder and laughed. “I would say you’re well on your way to being in love with the woman. Can’t say there’s a good way out for you now.”

I couldn’t believe it. I just couldn’t wrap my head around the insanity of what just happened. I actually consoled my wife after she wrecked my beautiful truck and destroyed the garage.

“I’m so fucked.”

“That’s one way to put it. All you can do now is grab your dick and hold on tight. You’re in for one hell of a ride.”

He clapped me on the shoulder and walked away, but I just stood there, replaying everything that happened with Daphne in my head.

“I actually fucking told her it was my fault,” I murmured to myself. I shook my head and stalked away from the room. “I need my head examined.”