Page 31 of Swerve (Boosted Hearts 1)

I sat up quickly, and for once my head didn’t start pounding. Neco and Van were on the other side of the room. They were toe to toe, all but snarling at each other. Zeke had still been here in the morning. Looked like the afternoon guard hard arrived to take over and no one had told him I was already covered in that department.

“She said she didn’t want you here,” Van growled under his breath.

“Well, now she does,” Neco gritted out.

Van dragged a hand though his hair, a rough breath bursting past his lips. “You’re family, you know that, but Nec, you’re not good for her. You two aren’t good for each other. You need to back off.”

“I’m not discussing this with you. Where Ruby’s concerned, your opinion means nothing.”

Van stared at him for several long seconds, jaw working. “I think she should stay with me while she recovers . . .”

“Not happening,” Neco fired at him before he could even finish.

“That’s not your call.”

“It is now,” Neco bit out.

Van stilled, head tilting to the side. “That right?”

Neco stared Van down. “That’s right.”

“Shit.” Van put his hands on his hips. “She know about this? Or did you make that decision for her as well?” He laughed humorlessly. “This shit with her is getting old, seriously. The last big decision you made concerning Ruby, without her, put her in here. You don’t know what the fuck you want . . .”

Neco put his forearm to Van’s throat and shoved him against the wall. “Like I said, Ruby and me, that shit doesn’t concern you.”

Van held his hard gaze. “You’re not the only one that cares about her. We all do, and we won’t let anyone hurt her, not again. Not even you.”

“I would never hurt her.”

“You’ve got good intentions, Nec. But emotions are running high, you’re making decisions you should not be making right now.” Van didn’t try and shove him away, just held his friend’s gaze. “End of the day, you’re just as fucked up as the rest of us. You, me, Zeke—shit, even Jude . . . we can’t have that . . . that’s not for us. I won’t stand by and let Ruby be your crash test dummy.”

The door opened and Neco quickly stepped back, eyes sliding to me. He jerked back when he realized I was awake, that I’d witnessed whatever the hell that was.

A nurse walked in, and everyone stayed quiet while she chatted to me, doing her thing. I was being discharged tomorrow, and I had no idea where I was going. I wasn’t ready to go back to my apartment, and going by what I just heard, there were at least two growly, overprotective men who felt responsible for me. Well, I was done with that. I was responsible for me, and I would decide where I went.

“Okay, you guys need to go so I can check Ruby’s bruising.”

“I’ll stay,” Neco said instantly.

Oh hell no. He was already acting possessive. He hadn’t left my side once since last night, except for coffee breaks. If he saw the state of my stomach, he’d lose his shit. And honestly, I needed a minute. I was starting to feel smothered. “Nope. Both of you out,” I said.

Neco scowled. “Ruby . . .”

“I said out. Now.”

Neco looked reluctant to leave, and I didn’t understand it, this sudden change in his attitude toward me. I didn’t want to think about it or analyze it too much either; I had too much already going on in my head, I couldn’t deal with this as well.

“I’ll be just outside,” he finally said and headed for the door, Van following after him.

Once they were gone, I looked up at the nurse. “Can I use a phone? And I’d appreciate it if you could keep them out while I’m using it.”

The nurse smiled. “Sure thing.”

CHAPTER NINE

Ruby

I lay with my feet up on Lulu’s couch while she made us dinner. Harry had just left after a short visit, and once he’d taken a minute to cool down after seeing my bruises, he told me to take all the time I needed, that my job was waiting for me when I was ready. Harry was a great guy, but God, I hated that he’d seen me this way.