Page 156 of The Illicit Play

“It wasn’t my fault! It was a fucking accident! You think I want to see her this way?” He wrestles against me, fisting my sweater and tussling with me in the hall.

He’s taller than me, but I’m fucking stronger, and I have him pinned on the floor in a second.

“You stay away from her,” I warn him. “You’re no fucking good for her!”

“I know!” he shouts back, his expression crumpling like this is pure torture. “I thought she was dead.” His whispered words are broken, his eyes glassing like he’s reliving the horror show all over again. “I thought she was dead.”

“Grady.” A soft hand lands on my shoulder, giving me a squeeze. “Let him go.”

Glancing up, I notice Blake. She’s staring down at Mac like she can feel his pain.

I want to snap at her to not give him any sympathy. He doesn’t deserve it. I know about this guy. He’s wild and reckless. He would have been speeding. He put Teah in danger!

“I want him out of here,” Mr. Rogers barks. He’s talking to someone down the hallway, and the scuffling of feet tells me it’s security. “Get him out of my sight.”

“I’m not leaving her,” Mac growls from the floor, and I tighten my grip on him. “Get your fucking hands off me.” His blue eyes burn with intensity, his thin lips forming a scowl. I glare at the piercing in his bottom lip, then take in the black bruising around his eyes. He must have broken his nose. There’s still blood on his shirt.

Fuck. I can hear the screeching of tires and crunching of metal.

I want to know exactly what happened.

But I also don’t.

Because picturing Teah’s body being slammed and crunched that way, her neck snapping back as her bones cracked and broke… Shit. How much pain was she in?

“We’ve got him.” A security guard taps me on the shoulder.

“I’m not leaving her,” Mac tries again. “Don’t touch me.” He wrestles against the guards, and it takes two of them to drag him down the corridor, his shouts echoing off the walls. “I’m not leaving her! She needs me! She needs me!”

CHAPTER 54

BLAKE

The man’s cries are haunting, filling the hospital with his fear and desperation.

I don’t know who he is. I’m guessing Teah’s boyfriend from what Grady was saying.

He seems to really care about her. That look of devastation on his face when he thought she was dead was kind of harrowing.

But man… Grady wasn’t having it.

I’ve never seen him so angry before.

He’s still in love with her.

It’s obvious.

And it’s taking everything in me to keep my emotions in check.

Leaning back against the hospital wall, I watch Grady calm Teah’s father. His voice is so soft and soothing. I love it. I love how deep it is.

I watch his lips move but can’t hear what he’s saying.

Keeping my distance seems like the right thing to do. A moment later, Teah’s mother comes out of the room.She’s crying, tears trickling down her face as she steps into Grady’s embrace.

He comforts her, too, and it’s becoming clearer by the second.

He’s part of this family.