Page 95 of Ruthless Touch

“Gun!” I hear Elise’s voice in the darkness. Then comes the clang of the chain-link fence. She’s scrambling back over to make it to me.

I push through the pain, forcing myself to shake off the crushing pressure on my brain.

It’s just in time for the Jeokpa to raise his bat for another strike.

I grab the weapon mid-swing, locking us into a deadly tug-of-war. We push and pull in our fight for control. The solder is determined, but he’s still no match for me.

My size and strength give me the edge. I shove him backward until he’s the one slammed against the wall.

I crack my elbow into his face and break his nose. He drops to his knees as I wrench the bat from his weakened grip and then bring it down on his head.

Over and over and over again.

I beat him until his body stops twitching and his pulse fades. The baseball bat slips from my grip and clatters to the ground beside his body.

My fingers come to my temple and are immediately coated in blood. I wipe it away and stagger toward the chain-link fence, my skull still ringing with pain.

“Gun.” Elise rushes to me as soon as I’ve managed to climb to the other side. “We have to get you emergency treatment. Your head is bleeding.”

“Loft,” I grunt. “We’ll figure it out there.”

I’m a wreck by the time we make it back to the loft. Elise is supporting me as I’m half slumped over, an arm thrown over her neck.

The world spins like a carnival ride gone wrong. I’ve stopped trying to fight it, biding my time ’til I can take some pain killers.

She gets us inside and makes sure to lock the doors—all three deadbolts—before I collapse on the couch. I’m seeing double and fighting the urge to vomit all over the clean floors.

The pain in my skull feels like someone’s taking a sledgehammer to the inside of my cranium.

It’s an agony that no words can do justice.

The kind of pain that trickles to other parts of the nervous system and affects the whole body. I can’t see straight, can’t walk straight, can’t do anything but surrender to the torture.

Elise crouches beside me, her hands gentle as she starts working off my boots.

“Stay with me, Gun,” she murmurs. She’s grabbed a few towels that she uses to gingerly dab at the gash on my head. “Don’t you dare pass out on me.”

“Pain meds,” I grunt through gritted teeth. “I keep several stashes. Closest are in the kitchen cabinet.”

She rushes to get them, calling over her shoulder, “We need to call a doctor. I could try to get Priscilla to come out this way?—”

“No,” I rasp. “Just stay with me.”

When she returns with the prescription bottle and a glass of water, she grabs my hand with both of hers, deep worry etched into every line of her face. “Always. I’m not going anywhere.”

Over the next hour, Elise becomes my at-home doctor, keeping me conscious and helping with anything I need.

She holds the glass of water as I sip and hands me the pills when I need them. She finds a proper bandage in the medicine cabinet and applies it to my temple once the gash is properly cleaned.

I grit my teeth and keep my eyes closed, letting the pain slowly settle. The medication isn’t far behind, working its chemical magic through my bloodstream.

Elise holds my hand in both of hers, her touch warm and soothing. Every so often she asks what else I need. After the tenth time, I crack a slight grin, lifting an eyelid for a look at her.

“Isn’t it obvious? Only you, Goyangi-ne. Nothing else.”

A tiny smile breaks across her worried features. She brings the back of my hand to her lips for a soft kiss that eases the throbbing in my skull better than any pharmaceutical ever could.

As I lie there with my hand in hers, I marvel at how we’ve really started to care for each other. Despite everything working against us.