Page 18 of Tarnished Hands (Chained Hearts Duet #7)

Chapter Eighteen

EZRA

T ony lives with me now. I hired a full-time day nurse and a night nurse, and he’s doing better. However, it hurts me as I watch those moments when depression hits him. Tony was always full of life. And now, he is a shell of who he once was.

“I want to do something,” Tony says from his wheelchair.

“You can, but you must give yourself time to heal.”

He waves me off. “There’s a law school not far from here. I want to go.”

“Why?”

“Because if I can’t practice medicine, at least I can do law from a chair.”

He’s right, I guess. Most lawyers sit in their offices, apart from when they’re in a courtroom.

“This is something you’re sure you want to do. I mean, we can wait until you’re feeling better.”

“It is.” He nods.

“Okay, well, lawyer Tony, it is.”

His smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes, but it’s better than it has been the last week he’s been here.

* * *

“You forget whose bar this is?” Lucas asks as I approach. It’s late, Tony is asleep, and I just really need a fucking drink. The last time I was here, Piper got mad at me, and I lost an employee. Lucas throws his cigar to the ground and steps up to me.

“Is it open?” I ask.

“It sure is, but I’m not sure you want to go in.”

“Why?”

“Piper is in there, drunk. And some guy—” Before he can finish the sentence, I pull open the door and stalk inside.

It’s darker than the last time I was here, and the jukebox is playing girly music.

When I look at the dance floor, I see her.

Leather pants, high heels, and her hair piled up on top of her head.

She’s swaying her hips to the music while the guy behind her puts his hands on her waist.

She doesn’t push him off.

And that makes me fucking see red.

“Maybe you should leave,” Lucas says as he eyes Piper. “She does this. Likes to have fun with men.” His words sink in, but he’s wrong. She likes the company of men, true, but it’s not what she craves or wants. I’m what she wants, craves, and needs, even if she won’t admit it to herself.

I continue to watch her dance, and I clutch my hands at my sides, digging my fingernails into my skin until I make them bleed.

“Oh, he’s trying to kiss her neck,” Lucas announces.

And that’s it.

I move.

And before I can even stop myself, I’m in front of her.

Piper’s eyes are closed, and her mouth is pressed into a thin line. I step up closer, almost touching her.

“Man, fuck off,” the who’s about to lose his hands for having them all over her says.

“I’d remove your hands before I do it for you,” I growl.

Piper’s eyes fling open at my words, and her hips stop gyrating. Those devil eyes of hers find mine.

“No, you fuck off. We’re having fun. Aren’t we, sweetheart,” the asshole says.

I reach for her, grab her by the waist, and pull her into me. Her body comes easily, and her hands rest on my chest as the guy’s hands fall to his sides.

“We’re leaving.”

“Like fuck you are,” the guy says. And when I look back at him, I see a gun pointing at my face. Piper just smirks. I move her to my side, and her hands stay on my chest.

“You don’t want to do that,” I warn.

“No?” he says, smiling. “I think I do.” I watch as he moves his finger to the safety, and before he can even get it there, I disarm him and now have the gun in my hand, pointing at his head.

“You piece of shit, I’ll kill you for this.

” I aim lower and shoot him in the foot.

He screams, and I drop the gun. Then I pick Piper up and walk out with her, passing Lucas on the way.

“I’ll clean up your mess, but it will cost you.”

I say nothing. Just give Lucas a simple nod.

When we get to my car, I set her down and open the passenger door.

“I—” She turns and vomits all over the sidewalk. I grab her ponytail to keep it out of the way, and when she’s finished, she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand.

“You good now?”

Piper nods, and I grab a bottle of water from the back seat and hand it to her. She rinses her mouth with it before she climbs into the car. I lean in and buckle her up, catching a whiff—she smells of that man , alcohol, and vomit.

“Why did you come?” she asks, her eyes glassy.

“Drink the water,” I tell her, handing it back to her.

She takes it but eyes me. “You have the prettiest eyes,” she whispers. I look at her then and wonder how I can walk away from her.

“Yours or mine?” I ask.

“Yours,” she says and then turns in the seat. I watch as she brings her legs up and tucks her knees to her chest, her heels barely hanging on her toes. I take the water from her as she closes her eyes.

Then I close the door and walk around to my side.

And by the time I slide into the driver’s seat, she’s softly snoring.