Grant and Reed grabbed the men and tossed them away from me, standing on either side of where I lay on the ground.
“Kass, how badly are you hurt?” Grant asked.
“Skewered,” I panted on my knees. My vision started to get hazy with darkness encroaching on the edges. “It burns oddly. Poison, maybe.”
“Who hired you?” Reed asked.
“Confidential,” one of the men replied. He took out two more knives from inside his suit jacket and smiled. “Please step aside. Our assassination has not been completed.”
Grant and Reed growled and the deep bass sound vibrated through me.
Jong-min knelt beside me and said, “I’m going to have to pull them out, flower. It’s going to hurt.”
“It hurts to breathe with them inside me. Do it,” I said.
The suited men tried to come forward, but Grant and Reed each shifted partially and fought against them.
I wanted to watch, to pay attention, but it was harder and harder to keep my eyes open.
Jong-min gripped both handles and jerked the knives from me simultaneously.
A scream tore out of my throat at the unbearable pain. The next second, I fell into Jong-min and the darkness consumed me.
18
I awoke with a start, jerking upright in the bed.
I lay on Grant’s bed in the hotel room, but there was no one with me. Reaching down, I probed at my back and stomach, but there was no pain. Thank the stars for my fast healing.
“How can you even question who hired the assassins?” Grant snapped from the adjoining room. “There’s no doubt it was the werewolves.”
“We don’t know that for certain,” Reed replied, but I could hear the uncertainty in his tone.
“Who else would hire assassins to kill her? She doesn’t have enemies here, except your pack,” Grant said and growled.
I walked through the adjoining door, and four heads swiveled in my direction.
Jong-hyun rushed over and grabbed my hands in his. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have left you and –”
I leaned forward and kissed his lips. “Is Lana okay?”
He nodded. “She and Tiffany are safe.”
“That’s what’s important. Thank you for getting them to safety.”
“How are you feeling?” Grant asked as he walked to me and lifted my shirt to look at my stomach.
My skin was unblemished.
“I’m fine. Completely healed.”
He exhaled loudly and pulled me into a tight hug. “I was so worried.”
“Did you extract the poison from me?” I asked Jong-min who sat on the edge of his bed scowling.
He nodded once.
“Thank you.”