Page 27 of Frenemies
My hands fisted at Derek’s words. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. Still… “Cause you did such a great fucking job of playing daddy.”
“I did what I had to to keep her safe.” Derek slipped his key in the cell door, clicked the lock in place, and lifted his chin. “Have you?”
I spent the past few months hunting down the enemy to protect my niece. At least that’s what I told myself. But was it really for Riley, or did I just want revenge? Maybe I just wanted to hide?
“You think you deserve Riley’s love, and then you better climb out of whatever hole you fell in. I’ll be damned if I let you bury my daughter beside my sister.”
A twang of guilt rocked through my chest as I met Derek’s dark blue glare.
“This shit is all on you, Chase.”
Nothing could’ve prepared me for this. Not health class, not the movies I’d seen, or the talk from Dr. Creswell. When we got Chase back here, I thought it would be a good idea to have someone check him over.
Since all the medical professionals I’d met in Miami were clearly lacking in their field–what kind of hospital lets a patient walk out–I called my personal doctor.
Lord knows what and who Chase had been doing for the past couple months, but if the whore I found in his motel room was any indication, then he definitely needed a few tests run.
Good thing for him they all came back clean. So, he still had some sense of judgment in that tiny neanderthal brain of his. Though right about now, I was seriously doubting that.
I glanced down at Chase, shivering while he clutched the blanket around his shoulders. This was day three of withdrawal care, and I gotta say, I was not a fan. Don’t get me wrong,
I knew this wouldn’t be easy for either him or me, but nothing could turn a girl off faster than seeing her man yack his guts out for the hundredth time.
“Give me my stash.” Chase flipped his body over and glared at me with rage glittering in his eyes. “I need something to take the edge off.”
“Here,” I thrust a cup of ice chips his way. “Chew on these.”
“What the fuck is ice going to do for me?”
I huffed out a sigh and arched my brow down at him. “I could shove them up your ass if you think that would help.”
The term empty threat never held more meaning. The one place I was going nowhere near was Chase’s ass. I suppose I could have Beast come in here and do it for me. He was covered in grease half the time anyway. Honestly, I don’t know how Jaz put up with it.
“Stop fucking with me, Naomi, and go and get me a goddamn line!”
There’s a brilliant idea.
“And what good would that do, hmm?” I paused to give him a pointed look. “You’d just have to go through all this shit again when the drugs wore off.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” Chase barked back.
“Yeah, well, I do. Do you have any idea how much this manicure cost?” Of course, he didn’t. Why would he? The man probably hadn’t spent more than forty dollars on a pair of pants in his life.
“I hate you.”
“Sure you do.” I leaned forward on my tiptoes and stretched my arm out to dab the sweat off his forehead.
Chase swung his arm out, slapping me away. “Don’t fucking touch me.”
I rolled my eyes. He should be thanking his lucky stars, I was still touching him.
“Stop whining,” I hissed while once again swiping the cool cloth over his skin. “You’ve got no one to blame for this but yourself.”
“Wow, great pep talk.” He shot me a look before groaning and rolling over to face the wall. “You should be a motivational speaker.”
I would be a great motivational speaker. There wouldn’t be any of this—listen to your heart, and good things will come bullshit. I’d tell them how it was. You want a guy to notice you, put on some make-up and buy a decent pair of pants.
Know what wasn’t good for motivation? This room. It was dank, dirty, and smelled horrid. Then again, that could be Chase. I got that Derek didn’t like Chase, but he should be taking better care of him. Did he think I was going to sponge bathe him?
