“No.” I try to pull her along, but she resists. I can force her, but I don’t want to.

“Show me, Judge.”

“You want to see?”

She nods, looking uncertain.

“Are you sure about that?”

She nods again.

Holding her gaze, I unbutton my shirt and slide it down my back. It pulls where it sticks to the fresh blood. Mercedes walks around me.

“Oh god. Oh my god.”

I turn to find her eyes wide, cheeks wet with tears streaming down her face. I draw my shirt up as she drops onto the bed, her hand over her mouth.

“Let’s go. We need to go.” I help her to her feet, and she doesn’t struggle. She only grabs her purse as I lead her out to the car and take her home.

7

Mercedes

"Judge."

I stop in the entryway, peeking up at him from beneath my lashes. I’m half afraid of what I might see in his eyes, but it doesn't matter because he won't look at me. He's staring into the distance, his jaw set, something unreadable in his expression.

He didn't talk to me the entire way home. I know he's thinking about the baby right now... I didn't dare tell him there are two, but I can't stop thinking about his wounds. He took that flesh payment for me. It means something. It means everything. But he's so shut down I can't get through to him.

"Judge, I—"

"Go to your room, Mercedes." His voice is so cold it makes me shiver.

Still, I can't move. I need to fix this somehow. I need to take care of him, and then I need to make him understand.

He turns his back on me, crimson seeping through his shirt as tension bleeds through his every muscle.

"Go to your room," he repeats. "And if you even think about leaving again, you should know there are guards at every door now. One try, and I'll have you strapped to the bed for days. Do not fucking test me."

He heads down the hall, his shoes echoing in the direction of his office, and I stand there, frozen in silence. A part of me thinks I should listen to him because I've never seen Judge like this. But even so, I can't allow him to suffer. So with more determination than I really feel, I go into the kitchen where I know Lois keeps some first-aid supplies. I grab what I need and gather the courage to go after him.

The door to his office is cracked when I pause outside, and I can see him at the window, sipping from a bottle of scotch. It's a haunting sight and, admittedly, a painful one.