Page 46 of Claimed By the Boss

“Contemplate murder later,” Caleb interrupts. “Is Jade alive?”

Nolan’s lips part to answer just as the door on my other side yanks open, and Jade leaps in, a scoped rifle in one hand and blood oozing from his arm. “Go, go, go!”

Before Jade is even settled, Caleb slams on the gas, and the wheels squeal as the SUV shoots forward.

Jade drops the gun to the floorboards and wrestles his door shut, cursing with pain as the motion pulls on his wound.

“Shit.” Caleb’s eyes dart to the slender Omega in the rearview mirror. “How bad are you hurt?”

Jade leans his head back and closes his eyes. “Just get me to a doctor, and don’t fucking tell Aaiden I got shot.”

“Yeah, no, I’m not hiding that from the President. I like my balls attached to my body.” Caleb yanks the wheel to the right, and we bounce over the curb, then out onto the street. “Take your lumps, brat.”

Jade kicks the back of his seat with one heavy combat boot. “What do you think he’s going to do to my shitty ass trainer, who let me get wounded while he hid in the car?”

Caleb speeds through a yellow light. “Did you at least kill the fucker?”

“He got away while I was bleeding,” Jade grunts.

Caleb pounds the steering wheel. “This is why I keep telling you to work on being ambidextrous.”

My eyes jump from Caleb to Jade, whose long, tightly braided hair emphasizes his beautiful features. Dressed completely in black from the neck down, he’s a far cry from the scantily-clad, sex-kitten stripper I’m used to seeing at Velvet Oasis, and the difference leaves me reeling.

I reach out to touch Jade’s tense arm. “Are you going to be okay?”

Pain-filled blue eyes meet mine, and he smiles at me. “Yes, sweetie, it’s just a graze. All the blood makes it look worse than it is.”

Relief floods me before I remember that I’m not the one who should be comforting Jade.

Awkwardly, I half stand in the confined space and try to move around Nolan. “Here, we can swap places.”

Large hands grip my waist, stopping me, and Nolan’s narrow gaze fixes on me. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Pain cuts through me, and I look away from him. “Jade needs you. He’s hurt.”

“Need Nolan? I’d rather be shot again.” Jade barks out a laugh. “I love you, Nolan, but if you touch me, I’ll kill you.”

Nolan gives me a stern stare. “This is why eavesdropping is bad.”

Angry that they’re mocking my broken heart, I glare at Nolan. “Assignations in the middle of the night are bad, too.”

He tugs my stiff body onto his lap. “You could have just asked.”

I flatten my hands on his chest to stop him from cuddling me close and overwhelming me with his pheromones. “Are you and Jade lovers?”

“No. Jade is Mrs. Bustly’s son and Caleb’s apprentice.” Nolan gently catches my forearms and pulls them to the side, collapsing me against his chest. “We grew up together, and he’s my inside man at Velvet Oasis.”

Jade grimaces with pain but smiles. “If you stick around after this, I’ll tell you all the family secrets. I know where the bodies are buried.”

Relief melts away everything else, and I turn my face into Nolan’s neck, breathing him in. “Thank god.”

“As punishment for breaking your word and running away, I was planning to tie you to our bed for the next week.” Nolan’s touch ghosts over my raw wrists, and a comforting rumble rises from his chest. “But I’ll have to come up with a different punishment.”

“I’m sorry.” My gaze drops to our hands. “It was stupid of me to leave like that.”

“Not stupid.” His fingers twine through mine. “But foolish, considering what’s going on.”

Jade pokes him in the cheek, leaving a bloody fingerprint behind. “If you hadn’t kept him in the dark, this wouldn’t have happened.”

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