Seduced by the Loan Shark by Roxie Rivera Read Free Book Online Page B

a quarter of an hour before a
    nurse came to fetch me. I hesitated outside
    the curtain closing off Ronnie's exam
    room. Gathering my courage, I pushed
    aside the striped curtain and stepped into
    his room. At first, he didn't see me. I was
    glad for the few seconds to compose
    myself. Rolled on his side and draped in
    one of those thin, ugly hospital gowns, he
    stared at the wall.
    Well—out of one eye, at least.
    His battered face was so swollen. One
    eyelid was closed. His taped, bloodied
    nose was clearly broken. The reddish
    purple mottling on his cheeks and chin
    looked awful and painful. One arm was in
    a sling and obviously broken. His careful
    breaths reminded me of the way I'd taken
    to breathing after the car accident. With
    multiple broken ribs, each breath had been
    excruciating. No doubt Ronnie now
    experienced the same thing.
    "Hey," he rasped upon seeing me.
    "Hey," I said and closed the curtain
    behind me. I made my way to the chair at
    his bedside and sat on the edge. Carefully,
    I took his good hand, the one with IV's
    attached, and raised it to my lips for a
    quick kiss. The heat of tears prickled my
    eyes. "Jesus, Ronnie."
    "Yeah." His forlorn and ashamed
    expression tore at me. "I really fucked it
    up this time, Cass."
    "What happened?"
    He swallowed hard and lowered his
    gaze. "I went to see a guy about getting in
    on a game. I just—I thought if I could get a
    hot streak going, I could earn the money I
    needed to make things right. I was
    counting cards and it was going really
    well. I was up thousands—and then they
    caught me."
    "Ronnie," I groaned his name. "Things
    were already being made right."
    "With Hagen, maybe," he conceded,
    "but the others?" He shook his head.
    "Hell, Cassie, I owe money all over
    town."
    "How much?" I didn't know if I could
    even stomach hearing the number but I
    needed to know.
    "A lot, Cass. So much," he added
    remorsefully.
    Even though I really wanted to smack
    the shit out of him for being so stupid, I
    rubbed his arm and reassured him. "It's
    okay, Ronnie."
    "It's not." He gulped and shook his
    head. "It's not okay, Cass. What the hell
    am I doing? Look what I've done to us. To
    you. To me. I could have died tonight. And
    for what? For some stupid, fucking poker
    game or a football bet or a horse race?"
    I was afraid to speak, afraid to shatter
    the moment. Was he finally understanding?
    Had it really taken something so violent
    and so drastic to make him see what his
    gambling addiction had done to him?
    "I lost all of your money, Cass. I took
    the life insurance money Mom and Dad
    left us and I pissed it away. I screwed you
    over, Cass. I ruined things for you."
    "You didn't ruin anything for me. I'm
    fine. I have scholarships. I have a part-
    time job. I've learned to budget and to live
    on cash only. I don't have credit cards or
    loans. In a way, you probably saved me
    from a lifetime of consumer debt."
    "Maybe." He gritted his teeth. "But the
    look in your eyes when you realized what
    I'd done, that I'd lost all that money? When
    you realized how I'd betrayed you?" He
    touched his chest. "I'll never forget it,
    Cass. I'll never forget the disappointment."
    "It was three years ago, Ronnie. I've let
    it go."
    "Why?" He demanded. "How could you
    just let that go? How can you let
    everything I've done to you go?"
    "Because you're my brother and I love
    you," I answered honestly. "I love you,
    Ronnie. Even when you're screwing up
    left and right, I still love you."
    He let out a long, shaky sigh. Tears
    rode the curve of his swollen cheek. "I
    need help, Cass."
    "I know." I blinked and tears dripped
    onto my face. "But that's the first step,
    right? Admitting you need help?"
    He exhaled roughly. "Something like
    that."
    I squeezed his good hand. "We'll do it
    together, Ronnie. We'll figure this out and
    make it work."
    He inhaled a steadying breath. I plucked
    some tissues from the box on the rolling
    cart in the corner and dabbed at his wet
    cheeks and then mine.