He shook his head and I could feel him tremble under my touch. “I’ll never see that. I’ll never give up and I’ll never walk away from you. You’re my whole fucking world, Florrie. I live and breathe for you. Can’t you see that?”
“No, I can’t see that. Because if you really loved me, you never would have shredded me the way you did.” He released me and I stepped away, snatching my duffel off the bed. “Do us both a favor and be gone when I get back. You have two weeks.”
I turned and walked out of the room, my heart breaking the entire way. I heard his roar of anger and the smashing of anything he could get his hands on. I leaned against the wall in the hall and dropped my head into my hands. Tears poured down my cheeks and my heart seized in my chest. I didn’t really want him to leave, but I couldn’t stand the thought of him staying either. I was broken, and Alec was one person that I couldn’t stand to see me as weak. Pushing him away was so much easier to deal with. So, I straightened and sucked back the tears. I just needed to go out on this job and then I could deal with him when I got back. I just needed space.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONEAlec
Two miserable fucking weeks without her. I had barely survived. At least when the team first split up we had talked on the phone. Now it was radio silence. I was like a fucking puppy, wandering into Cap’s office every day for even a scrap of news on Florrie. Every day it was the same. The team is fine. There’s no news. Go home and get better. That was his go-to line. I was off work for another week. That was the standard order after a concussion. But she would be coming home any day now. I would have her back, even if she hated me. I could hold her while she slept or slip into her room at night and watch her sleep. God, I was turning into Knight, desperate for just a look at her.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Cap asked. “Seriously, I told you every day for the last two weeks that you can’t be here and you just won’t fucking listen.”
“I’m stubborn,” I said, stretching for a run.
“If you keep pushing, you’re going to have even more issues.”
I didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about. Sure, I had some dizziness and might have passed out a time or two in the last two weeks, but I was pushing through. All that other crap was just that, crap.
“I’m fine.”
“You know, Hunter is pissed enough at you without you ending up in his medical room every other day.”
“It hasn’t been every other day, and I didn’t ask anyone to take me there.”
“Well, no shit, dumbass, but when you collapse in the training center, someone has to step in and take care of your ass.”
“Next time, just fucking leave me. I’ll come around eventually.”
He sighed and spun around, heading in the other direction, but stopped suddenly. “You know, you might not give a shit right now, but despite what happened, everyone around here cares about what fucking happens to you. Even Florrie would be pissed right now if she knew what you’re doing.”
I scoffed at that. Florrie was the one that gave me the concussion, and considering that she hadn’t contacted me in two fucking weeks, I was pretty sure that I was the last thing on her mind right now.
“Florrie’s probably hoping that I pass out and don’t wake up. Don’t bullshit me right now.”
He gave me that pitying look that he gave the guys sometimes. I knew it was coming. I was entering ‘big guy’ territory. I could see it in his eyes. Any time one of us was injured or heartbroken, he didn’t know what to say. So, he labeled that person ‘big guy’ and inevitably made whoever it was feel like shit.
“Don’t,” I snapped.
“Don’t what?” he asked, holding up his hands as he took a step back.
“I know what you’re thinking. I’ve seen it before.”
“Look, I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I’m just worried about you, big guy.”
I closed my eyes and clenched my fists. I would not hit my boss.
“Oh, is…is that what you’re talking about?”
“What do you think?” I asked.
“Sorry, it just kind of comes out. You know, I don’t know what else to say.”
“How about you just don’t say anything? Do you want me to start calling you big guy?”
“I don’t have any reason to be called that.”
“Yeah?” I asked, advancing on him. “How about when Maggie kicked you out of the house after she found out she was having triplets? You okay, big guy? Or how about when I tell you that Reid was kissing your daughter?”
His jaw dropped in shock. “Which one?”
I rolled my eyes. “Really? Which one is most like Maggie and closest to Reid in age?”
His jaw clenched and I briefly thought that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to bring this up right now, but I just couldn’t help but stoke the fire. “You alright there, big guy?”
His eyes flared and his body tensed. It hit me just before he ran at me and tackled me to the ground that taunting the bear when I had a concussion was maybe not the brightest idea. But when I saw that fist flying at me and felt the crushing blow to my jaw, my body finally released some of the tension from the past few weeks and I couldn’t regret a thing. That is, until I started to black out.
✯✯✯✯✯
“Fuck, this is really bad.”
I stirred slightly at the worried voice, but
