Page 49 of Darkness of Mine

“Stay. Please.”

I look up at him and realize Jude might be just as scared of losing me as I am of losing him. I nod and shift so I’m sitting with my back against the plastic headboard as River, Oz, and Eli stream inside.

“How’re you feeling?” Oz asks, taking a seat opposite me on Jude’s other side.

Jude squeezes my leg. “Better than I have any right to be.”

River stops at the foot of the bed. “The surgeon said there was a lot of blood loss, but the bullet missed anything major. Nothing’s broken either, which is good. Your recovery shouldn’t be too bad.”

Jude looks between River and Eli. “Where’s Angelica?”

The muscle in River’s jaw pops. “In the waiting room with a couple of Uniforms.”

Jude nods.

I twist to face him. “What happened?”

Jude shifts, only to hiss out a harsh breath. He closes his eyes for a moment before focusing back on us. “There was a knock on the door. I answered and Angelica was standing there with a gun aimed at my chest.

“I was stupid. I didn’t have my weapon on me. She backed me into the living room, and I was just trying to keep her calm.She kept asking where Freya was, saying she needed to see her.” Jude lets his head sink into the pillow as his teeth snag his bottom lip. “I almost had her. She was listening to me, and I went in to take the gun but I moved too fast. She freaked out and pulled the trigger.”

Jude’s hand rests on my thigh. “I honestly don’t think she meant to shoot me. She was just scared and manic.”

“She could have killed you.” River’s voice is concrete.

“But she didn’t.”

River grinds his teeth and runs a hand through his hair.

“How did she get to me?” I ask Jude.

“When I went down, she panicked. I managed to get her to listen to me and told her where you were and what the code was.”

I nod, glad he’d been able to do that. If I’d have been stuck in that room while Jude bled out it would have killed me too.

Oz reaches over to squeeze Jude’s hand. “You did good Jude.”

Eli nods from where he’s resting against the window. “Yeah, we’re glad you’re okay.”

“New rule,” River says. “None of us are left on our own. This shouldn’t have happened.”

I keep my gaze locked on Jude’s chest. “Hewouldn’thave been on his own,” I grit out.Not if I hadn’t been locked up.My unspoken words are deafening, and River’s eyes settle on me like twin fires.

“Uh, Freya,” Jude says, clearly trying to break the tension. “Your sister said she had to give you something. That’s why she’s here.”

Eli pushes away from the window. “Then we need to talk to her.”

I look down at Jude.

“Go,” he says. “I’ll be fine. These drugs are about to knock me out anyway.”

I worry my lip and curl my fingers around his. “I’ll come see you tomorrow?”

His smile is tired, but there’s a lightness to him that’s been missing the last few days. “I’ll be here.”

“I love you,” I whisper.

“I love you too, Angel.”