Beyond Ransom (The Ransom Series) by A.T. Douglas Page A

temper snaps, and I can’t control
it.  “You do realize my entire life has been one endless succession of people
ordering me around?  I’m not sure I’ve ever made a significant decision that
was completely my own in all my life.”  I think on this statement for a moment
and correct myself.  “Well, until last night, that is.”
    It takes a moment, but some of the
anger finally leaves Leo’s face.  He looks behind him and then to the hallway past
me, checking for onlookers before closing the distance between us.  His hand is
on my good shoulder with the slightest touch, and I can almost feel the warmth
of his body radiating into me.
    “I’m trying to protect you, but I can’t
protect you from yourself,” he says in frustration.
    I take the opportunity to grab Leo’s
free hand with my own and squeeze it gently.  It’s not clear to me why I feel
like he needs support more than I do in this moment, but I want to give it to
him.  For a moment the cement walls and stale conditions of the prison around
us seem to melt away and it’s just the two of us standing there, perhaps both
trapped and lost.  I wonder if together we can be free.  Maybe we can both be
found.
    “I’m not being self-destructive just
for the hell of it,” I explain.  “I’m learning not to
be afraid, and I guess that has consequences.”
    “You should be afraid.”  Leo’s face and
tone are serious.  He pulls me by our connected hands to encourage me to move
again.
    “Why do you keep saying that?  Mark’s a
bad guy.  I get it.  I’ve seen it.  Why do you feel like you need to engrain
this in my brain?”
    Leo glances back to me as we make a
turn at the end of the hallway.  “Because one of these days he’s going to break
you, and I won’t be able to stop him.”
    I’m about to press him further when we
come to what appears to be an empty locker room.  Half of the space is filled
with bathroom stalls and sinks, and the other half features an open tiled space
with showerheads and temperature knobs on the wall.  I’ve never been happier to
see a shower in my life.
    Leo directs me to a long counter under
a metal mirror that covers the wall.  “We need to fix your shoulder.”
    I have no idea what he needs me to do,
but it doesn’t matter because he takes care of everything for me.  He scoops me
up in his strong arms and lies me down on the counter with my injured shoulder
hanging off the side.
    The way I’m lying here looking up at
him reminds me so much of last night, and I can see the same feeling reflected
in his hungry eyes.  For a moment our heavy breathing is the only sound between
us, but the moment quickly fades away.
    Leo seems to snap out of it as he
adjusts his position around me, grabbing my wrist with
one hand and putting pressure against my armpit with
the other hand.  “This is going to hurt like hell,” he warns, “but the pain
will go away afterward.”
    I take two deep breaths, though I’m not
sure they really do anything to prepare me for what he’s about to do.  “Ready.”
    “I’m sorry,” he whispers, and with
slow and steady force, he pulls my arm while countering with
pressure at my shoulder.  I scream out involuntarily
and squeeze my eyes shut.  It is the most excruciating thing I have ever felt
in my life, but when my
shoulder clicks back into place there is instant relief.
    Leo holds me there a moment until I
brave an attempt at movement of my arm.  It’s still tender, but I have free
range of motion of the joint again.  Leo put me back together.
    “Thank God,” I say, utterly relieved.
    “You don’t have to call me God,” Leo
says with a smirk.
    I’m so grateful for the little bouts of
humor he sometimes injects into our interactions.  Despite it all, he can still
say things to make me smile.
    I sit up and try to hop off the counter , but Leo abruptly stops me.  We’re having one of those moments
again, those connections that start from something so