Page 5 of Lord of Ruin

“I need you to get this goddamn bullet out of my shoulder.”

I stared at the monster as if he’d just grown a second head. “I can’t do that.”

“You’re a damn doctor. You can and you will.”

He was already sweating, his face covered in a light sheen. “Go to a hospital.”

“Sweetheart, let’s get something straight. The kind of business I’m in doesn’t lend itself to going to a hospital with a gunshot wound.” His voice was gruff yet stilted, as if he was in significant pain.

“What kind of work are you in, other than killing people on the street?” I tried to stop my mouth, which tended to get me in trouble more often than not, but it just flowed since being around him.

There was something decidedly evil about his smirk, but it also added to his sexiness. Okay, what I thinking?

“I don’t think you really want to ask questions that could get you into more hot water than you’re already in. Now, do you?”

“Maybe not but I’m no medical doctor. You need to find someone else.”

“What I need is for you to stop talking, sweetheart, and start digging this out of my muscle.”

I opened my mouth to retort I wasn’t his sweetheart, and I certainly wasn’t a good girl but managed to stop myself before I jumped into a vat of boiling oil. “I’ll need to get some things from the back room.”

“Then I’m coming with you. I suggest you don’t do anything stupid.” He moved away from the door, headed in my direction.

I was still shaking but managed to turn stiffly, moving toward the small operations room I’d set up. I grabbed a sterile pan and some gauze, adhesive tape, rubbing alcohol, and a couple of different scalpels. He hovered in the doorway, his breathing labored from the obvious pain. I used the moment to turn slightly, taking one of the scalpels and sliding it under the sleeve of my sweatshirt.

As I turned around, the way he was staring at me so intently was more unnerving than before. His eyes darted back and forth before allowing a now very heated gaze to fall to my feet all over again.

Only this time it felt as if the man was undressing me with his eyes.

I did what I could to stop shaking, lifting my eyebrow when he remained in the doorway. “You can move now. I’ll take you into one of the examination rooms.”

His eyes were so piercing, mesmerizing in a way that didn’t make any sense. After a few seconds, he backed away, giving me a single nod. I pointed toward the room on the left and like a trained seal, he walked inside. That allowed me to attack from behind.

Only as he’d done before, it was as if he’d anticipated my actions, snapping his large hand around my wrist when I had the scalpel in midair.

He cocked his head, an evil grin sliding across his face. “That wasn’t very nice of you or a good idea, sweetheart.”

“I’m not your damn sweetheart.” My retort was done without hesitation and I refused to drop the instrument.

But he twisted my arm just enough so pain slammed into my shoulder, the whimper escaping my mouth unavoidable. So was dropping the instrument.

“Don’t do that again or I’ll need to punish you.”

The assassin made the statement as if this was nothing more than a disagreement. I had the pan in my other hand, and I couldn’t seem to stop myself, smashing the stainless steel into his head. I might not be the strongest girl in the world, but it was enough to break contact and he stumbled backward. I didn’t wait to see what happened next, turning and fleeing into the front room, snagging my purse and racing toward the door.

A loud clang was followed by a series of words spouted off in Greek. I had the door open and was ready to race for my life when he fisted my hair, yanking me with enough force I was pitched backward by several feet. The hard slam of the door was matched by the moment my body hit the receptionist desk with a brutal thud.

I was dazed but came out swinging, managing to get in a single hard punch under his chin before he pinned me against the desk, his breathing even heavier than before.

“You are one bad woman. Do you have a death wish?”

“No,” I retorted. “I just don’t want horrible criminals bleeding all over my nice clean floors.”

It was his turn to stare at me incredulously before shaking his head. “You should know better than to attack a very bad man.”

“Yeah? Well, I guess I don’t have anything to lose. Now, do I?”

I both hated and loved his deep, seductive laugh at the same time. When he spun me around, yanking one arm behind my back and marching me toward the same examination room where the mess had been created, I held my breath, realizing I’d just fucked up royally. For all my bravado hot, heavy tears welled up in my eyes as the fear threatened to become paralyzing.

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