Fractured Hearts (Shattered Lives, Book Three) by Rissa Blakeley

hands shook as they, once again, wiped the sweat from my brow. “I would!” I shouted.
    “Yes, we know. Come on, mate. I’ll help you get settled.”
    She wouldn’t even look in my direction. “I can’t lose you, Elaina. I can’t… I’ll die.” Gunther grabbed me and ushered me back into our room, closing the door behind us.

    After helping Elaina to her feet, Quinn held her in a tight embrace, then brushed back the hair sticking to Elaina’s tear-streaked face.
    “It’s going to be okay. You guys will work through this. You love him and he loves you. Don’t make any decisions just yet. All right? Once you get through this detox, then decide what you want to do.”
    Elaina nodded into Quinn’s shoulder and pulled away. “I think I need some fresh air.”
    “Do you want me to go with you?”
    “No, I’ll be fine. I have my gun.” Elaina left Quinn standing in the hallway in her wake of despair.

    My body slick with sweat, Gunther grabbed my elbow and guided me back toward the bed. “Hold up…” I covered my mouth with the back of my hand. “I’m going to be sick again.”
    Rushing toward the bucket near the bed, I collapsed to my knees and dry heaved for an eternity. Gunther leaned against the wall, ankles and arms crossed, watching the disaster that I was.
    I glanced up at him, drool stringing from my lips, air hardly passing through, wondering what was running through his mind. My arms draped across the top of the bucket and I rested my head on them.
    “You all right, mate?”
    Gasping for air, I mumbled, “Yeah… Fuck. I just need a minute.”
    “I’m right here if you need help.”
    “Yeah…” Panting for a few moments, I leaned back onto my heels. “God, I’ve fucked everything up between her and me.” I grabbed the empty bucket and threw it across the room.
    “Hey, now… Just relax.”
    “I can’t lose her. It will kill me.”
    “I don’t think she’s going to leave you.”
    My devastation-filled eyes met his. “You heard her. You were right there.”
    “I know. She’s just frustrated, angry, and hurt.”
    I tried to stand, but fell back on my ass. Gunther grabbed my arm and dragged me to the bed. As I lay back, the sobbing hit hard once again. “Fuck me…,” I choked out.
    “Calm down a bit, mate. You’re going to make yourself sick again.”
    “If she walks away from me, I will put a bullet in my head. I swear to you.”
    “Don’t talk like that.”
    “I can’t do anything without her. She’s the reason I’m still here. Every time I held that gun to my head, I thought of what it would do to her.” Rolling on my side, I curled into a ball, hoping the pain would ebb at some point.
    “You want me to leave you alone?”
    “Yeah…”
    “You won’t do anything stupid?”
    “No…”
    He patted me on the shoulder and headed out. I groaned as the door clicked shut.
    God, I feel like such a fool. How could she even love me? I’m a goddamn tragedy.

    When Gunther opened the door and stepped out, Quinn was waiting for him.
    “Christ, he’s a wreck.” He ran his hand over his head. “He’s sobbing. I feel bad for him. He can’t seem to hold it together for more than a few minutes at a time.” He looked around. “She leave?”
    “Yes. She said she needed some fresh air.”
    “What?! She can’t go out there alone! Why did you allow that to happen?!”
    Quinn threw her hands in the air. “What do you want me to say, Gunther?” Then with a sigh, she said, “I’m going to our room and try to relax. All this insanity has me on edge.”
    He didn’t say a word to her, but stormed down the hall and out of the side entrance. “Elaina!” Gunther yelled, bursting out of the door.
    He headed toward the back of the school, then around the trucks. There she was…sitting on the swings. Relief rushed through him, imagining what would happen to Henry if he had to tell him Elaina got killed by an undead.
    “Fuck me,” she mumbled as he approached her. “Can’t a