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"You’re a businesswoman You meet with new clients all the time There’s no way you could’ve known" He picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles "Tell me the rest"

"I’d just takenbiker dude approached me and asked if I had five bucks for food I reotten asked the sanized hiht Next thing I knew, soht back The biker guy punched me in the stomach I think I must’ve fallen forward, and his knee srabbed an to shake

"It’s okay I’m here Take a breath"

She nodded "The rest is a little blurry I think he backhandedain, two, uy let o, biker dude pushed me into the car and I fell down"

"Did it knock you out?"

"No It disorientedI huddled next to uy ith Nao sure I saw hiot into my car, locked the doors, and called Shiori"

He would not add to her misery and ask her why she hadn’t called him Would Not

Amery lowered herself back to the pillows and closed her eyes

"How bad does it hurt?"

"More than I thought it would" Tears trickled out of the corners of her eyes "How can you do this, Ronin? Live with this kind of pain? They barely touchedlike a baby"

"Barely touched you--baby, he hit you in the facefor a way to settle down the ee aware of what awaits me You didn’t ask for this" He pressed his lips to her forehead "It’s my fault"

"No, it’s not"

He brushed soft kisses across her eyes, her nose, her cheeks, her teentle when his lips reached hers He forced hi her skin as a chance to show his love and care of her and not a reason to go into a killing rage

Yet

After he’d kissed every mark, he whispered, "I love you If I could take the pain for you, I would"

"I know But it’s not your fault I was feeling cocky for showing that bitch I can take care of myself, and she proved I can’t I humiliated her; she returned the favor" A h a thousand concussions than see one singlesomeone you love hurt"