Chapter 189:
Rylie couldn’t find the words to reply.
Johnny watched her grow smaller in the distance, carried in Brad’s arms, his thoughts tangled.
There had been a time when he tried to see Paola as the right match. He had put effort into it, hoping something real would take root, but the feeling never came.
It was only now, watching Rylie, that he understood. What he hadn’t found with Paola, he had glimpsed in Rylie. Something about her filled the space he never knew was empty.
This version of Rylie — the strength, the clarity — made sense to him. She was the kind of woman he could picture building a life with.
But before he could even begin that path, a single night had spun it all off course.
He sat with the weight of helplessness pressing on his chest.
If Rylie’s heart leaned toward Brad, the country’s prized naval hero, what chance did he stand?
At the hospital, the examination took a turn. Her wound wasn’t just a surface scrape.
The injury, while shallow, was caused by a rare kind of weapon. The fragments had a precision to them and were designed to inflict lasting damage. That explained the steady bleeding.
Treating it demanded delicate work. Brad stood close, watching every move the doctor made, his brows tight with worry.
Well aware of the nature of the weapon, Rylie bit down gently, doing her best to manage the pain. When she saw the doctor faltering, she wanted to say something, but Brad stepped in first, calm but firm. “I’ll take it from here.”
The doctor paused, unsure. “That’s not standard procedure.”
“I’m trained for this. Military field medic, I’ve handled these before.” His voice was steady. “This isn’t the kind of wound you treat like an ordinary cut. One wrong move, and you’ll make it worse.”
Without waiting for another word, Brad took the medical tools from the doctor’s hands and sat across from Rylie. His fingers, starkly defined under the sterilization lamp, glowed a cold white. As he moved closer, the collar of his uniform brushed her skin, bringing with it the faint scent of gunpowder and cedar.
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“This won’t take long,” he said quietly, adjusting the angle of the tweezers.
“Try to stay relaxed.”
“I’m ready. Do it,” she replied. Her lip started to tremble, bracing for the pain.
A warm fingertip reached her mouth before she could bite down. His voice dropped lower. “Bite me if you need to.”
Brad cupped the back of her head, allowing her to rest against his shoulder. The doctor stiffened at the sight. Tiny shards of metal shimmered beneath her skin, catching the sterile light as her body trembled.
The pain was sharp and unrelenting. Rylie clamped her teeth down on his finger, sinking in with no restraint.
Brad kept his focus. Not once did he flinch. He stayed steady until the final piece came loose. Only then did his shoulders lose their tension.
She let go of his hand, revealing a row of angry marks surrounded by smudges of blood and saliva. The bite had gone deep.
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