She flashed daggers at Cash, who again threw his hands up. She stepped to him and pushed him out with one outstretched finger. Then she turned toward the hospital bed. The delicate veins in her neck popped. Her narrowed eyes zeroed in on him like a predator sighting its kill.

Cash was bull’s eye right. Winters was a dead man. Who knew a petite one like her could scare him clean out of his skin? Funny thing was, he should have known how well she’d do fury.

“You mind telling me what the hell is your problem?” Her hands flew to her hip. What she lacked in height and weight, she more than made up for with attitude. He felt smaller and smaller in his bed with her reading him the riot act. But he deserved it. It was a pansy-assed move to have the nurse do his dirty work.

The nurse rushed in behind her. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Winters.”

Christ, could this get any worse? Someone needed to save Sandy, or whatever the nurse’s name was, before Mia killed an innocent woman.

The air conditioning kicked on, chilling the room even more, wisping up the already sterile hospital smell. He hated it. The stench was stuck in his nose. Mia was yelling at him. Nurse Sandy left, no doubt calling for security. And he was trapped in the bed, tied down by wires and hooked up to monitors. Mia’s warpath left no escape. He was stuck and had to think of something to say. But nothing intelligent surfaced.

“I’m sorry. I just need… some space. Or something.” Not intelligent. Bumbling, stumbling idiot might’ve been a better description. He needed to tell her the honest truth and be done with it. This was for her. And despite whatever crazy, emotion-fueled insanity he continued to drown in right now, he should, at the very least, man up, and give her some sort of explanation.

“You needed space? You’re a freakin’ liar.”

“Mia, look…” He pulled at his shaggy beard, wanting to tear it out and replace the pain in his chest with a different, more physical pain. “My life is dangerous. Nothing’s safe, obviously. You met me, and look how your life’s been turned upside down. Hell, your pretty little cheek is still bruised.”

“Don’t talk to me about my pretty little cheek. You don’t have any right to wake up and pull this stunt.” Her voice broke, and it hurt down to his soul. “You don’t know what you’ve put me through.”

“See, the thing is, I do. You never should’ve dealt with any of it.”

“Colby, that doesn’t matter. You and me. That’s what matters.” Her words were painful enough to last until his last breaths.

“Damn it, Mia. Don’t you see? I’m doing this because of you. Because you matter to me. You’re the only thing I can think of. I wake up wanting to see you after I dreamed of you.” Admitting it only made the hurt worse. His stomach tightened. His throat constricted. He was dying to embrace her and could barely string together the words. “Mia, I… Look, I feel for you. I—”