Page 80 of Ferocious Nightmare

There were some chuckles, but the group parted as David, my guard friend from the house, stepped forward. “She didn’t do it. Benny, Parker, let them pass.”

“David.” I reached forward, softly touching the bruise at his eye. "What happened? Who did this?"

He flinched at my touch, his eyes going to look at the men now surrounding us, but when they met mine again, he gave me a small smile. "It's no big deal."

"It is,” I insisted.

Suddenly Dante pushed at Benny’s chest. “Get the hell out of my way, or I’ll make you.”

"You're no better than the boss," Parker, mohawk guy, sneered.

"What. The. Fuck?” Dante grit out. “What are you talking about?”

"Nero," David said, "he lined us all up, told us he was going to shoot every one of us.”

I inhaled a breath in shock, remembering the blood-stained shirt. “Why?”

"He wanted to know who betrayed us." David looked at me sadly, and guilt strummed through me. We'd been the one to betray them. "Nero almost killed Coulter.”

Almost. I inhaled a deep breath in relief, releasing the tension in my shoulders. “But the blood,” I stared at David. “He hurt someone. I was hoping it was the cartel.”

A silence fell over the men, and David was the only one brave enough to speak out. “James. He struggled with Nero, and grabbed his gun just as Nero shot at Coulter.” He shook his head, like he couldn’t believe it. “The boss killed him.”

“Oh God,” I clasped my hand to my mouth.

“Coulter, he passed out when all that was going down.” He hooked a finger over his shoulder. “He’s with a doctor, but Nero said no one can see him. We’re supposed to stop anyone who tries.”

That wasn’t a good sign. “We need to get through.” I pleaded David.

“Come on, Parker. Benny. You know we can trust them.” David said, pushing them to the side. Benny hooked his arm, aiming a punch at David. David easily caught it, twisting it behind Benny’s back. Parker sighed, then grabbed Benny’s other side, helping David contain him.

Dante didn’t wait for it to be over. He pushed past them, and they parted for me. I met the eyes of those I knew, nodding my head in thanks.

It was surprisingly clean inside, and Dante moved through the sparse living room, down the stairs, and into the basement where there was a whole medical unit set up. Coulter lay on one of the two medical beds.

I raced towards him, passing Marie who was sitting in a sofa chair next to his bed.

"Coulter!" His face was pale, and he was still covered with dust, except for where they'd removed his shirt, and on his arm where they had an IV inserted. His eyes were closed, and another male doctor, with black framed glasses and a stark part down the middle of his gel-slicked hair, stood on the other side of the bed.

"He's going to be okay," Marie stood up and came to stand next to me. “He was hit with shrapnel and lost a lot of blood. Him and I,” she nodded to the other doctor, “picked it out of him, then we cleaned it and are giving him fluids.”

Suddenly my eyes burned as a wave of emotion washed over me. He’d almost died, three times tonight. In the life we lived, he could be gone in an instant. I needed to appreciate every second I had with him.

I gripped his hand, tracing over his skin softly with my thumb, and he stirred, his eyes blinking open. His gaze wandered the room, before locking on mine.

Then he wouldn’t look away, even when the male doctor began to poke at the needle in his arm. All I saw were golden eyes, trained on me. “You came back for me.”

My eyebrows furrowed. “Of course, I did. You thought I wouldn’t?” The thought made my chest ache.

“I wasn’t sure.”

I gripped his hand tighter. “I will always come for you. And if you ever think otherwise, I’ll kick your ass.”

His throat worked, and he shook his head. “No, Aster. You need to leave. It’s not safe. I can’t—”

“Stop,” I interrupted him. “I’m not going anywhere. I was so worried about you when I saw the blood…” I hesitated. I didn’t want to tell him about James. Not yet. “But, you're alive.” Now my throat was burning.

“For now. Nero will kill me as soon as he knows I'm awake."

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