Semua Bab Fighting Back (Fighting For Love 5): Bab 21 - Bab 30

Two days laterThe nurse watched closely as Nick bound the end of his stump in bandages. The trick – as he’d learned through trial and error, and most definitely the hard way– was the tightness of the wrapping. Too loose and the still-sensitive stitches weren’t protected from the bed sheets or his jeans; too tight and it hurt pretty badly.“Good, Nick,” Cheryl Walker said approvingly. She’d been happily surprised to see that he was able to both clean and dress his own amputation with confidence… many, many of her patients couldn’t bring themselves to so much as touch their own wounds. “How’s it feel?”He shrugged a bit. “Better.”“Well, you have no infection at all, and the healing’s going well.” Cheryl consulted the notes. “Doctor Bishop says that you can get your first prosthetic fitting next week.”“Yeah.” Nick took a deep breath, straightened in the chair. “He told me this morning.”“You ready for that?”“I am.” Nick stared down at his stump. “Anything to quit hopping, I swear.”C

Mitch clutched Reena’s hand and glared at the guy in the front seat of the SUV. “Why the fuck are we stopping here?”The man – he’d said his name was Dallas, but he hadn’t offered anything more than that – met Mitch’s look in the driver’s mirror. His hard blue eyes held the glare, and clearly showed that he was totally unfazed by either Mitch’s size or demeanor. Then again, the guy was just as big as Mitch was, and his badass vibe was just as strong. Quite probably stronger. A guy like this wasn’t going to be put out by harsh looks or harsh words. Hell, Dallas could undoubtedly dish both out – and in ample amounts.“Mitch,” Reena reproved.“What, babe?” he gritted out. “We’re in the middle of some nowhere neighborhood and he’s stopped the SUV. I want to know what the fuck.”Dallas shrugged. “Me and Reena walk to the safe house from here.”“From here?” Mitch looked around again. “How far is it?”“Not far.” Dallas opened his door, nodded at Reena to follow suit. She opened the back doo

“So… you’re giving the rest of the money to the ‘ex-celebrity-who-shall-forever-remain-nameless’ safe house?” Mia asked Reena five hours later. “That’s your final decision?”Reena nodded. “I already informed the judge and the D.A.”“What decided you?” Katie asked her through a mouthful of cheese-and-cracker. “Was it the ex-celebrity?”“Well, yes and no.” Reena nibbled on some nacho chips with guacamole. “I mean, she was totally impressive as a person and she’s totally dedicated to making life better for so many people, and so those were huge factors. I love what she’s accomplished, and the fact that she’s done about ninety percent of it with her own money is amazing. But what really made it a done deal in my head was what she wants to do in terms of expansion. She was applying for grants and looking for funding, since what she wants to do is pretty expensive.”“And what’s that?” Mia said, sitting back down. “What are the expansion plans?”“Well, the property that she currently owns is

“My first thought when I couldn’t get pregnant was to blame myself for failing,” Katie said, her voice almost toneless. “And when Doctor Reed told me about the scarring on my uterus, and how that would make things difficult, if not impossible, my go-to reaction was to tell Adam that I was broken. That I was damaged and faulty, and that he should leave me and find a real woman who could make him happy, because I wasn’t ever going to be able to do that. That I’m too damaged and dirty to do that, and I don’t deserve him.” She’d hesitated, then choked out the next words. “On some level, I believe that I don’t deserve happiness. Or love.”Mia had been horrified. “Katie… oh, my God.”“I know.” Katie had tried to smile, but both her hands and her lips had been shaky. “It’s my default setting, you know? And Adam says that he can love me fully – but he can’t help me the way that I need to be helped. So he insisted that no matter what we decide to do about having a family, I need to get some he

Nick hesitated, then told the truth. “Falling, full-stop. I don’t want you to see me like this.”“Why not?”Nick decided to just lay all the cards on the table. What was the point of being bashful now? “Because I feel like a pathetic weakling,” Nick confessed. “I hate needing anything from you – I hate feeling like less than an equal.”Adam regarded him. “Is that why you never told me about what was happening when you were visiting doctors?”“I – what?” Nick stared in confusion at the change in topic. “What?”“I love you like a brother, man, and you didn’t trust me with what you were going through back then.” Adam spoke softly, but Nick heard real anger and steel under the softness. “You didn’t trust me then, and nothing can be done to change any of that. I get that. But you can trust me now, Nick. I swear it. You can trust me to catch you when you fall, and you can trust me to not laugh or make a joke when it happens. Most of all, though, you can trust me with your weakness. I won’t