Page 97 of Day Shift

While she soaked, I took the wedding dress and everything else she had been wearing out to the trash. Then I went to the SUV to retrieve the suitcase Ana had packed before heading to her Aunt Elena’s house. I grabbed it and returned to the bedroom. Placing it on the dresser, I opened it and rummaged through its contents, finding an old T-shirt with the Club Xyst logo and some fuzzy socks. Hopefully she would like these. I returned to the bathroom and set them on the counter.

When she was ready, I helped her out of the tub, then wrapped a towel around her and dried her off. I slipped the T-shirt over her head, guiding her arms into the sleeves. She sat on the padded stool as I slid the socks onto her feet. I massaged them for a minute, wanting to take my time with her.

She let me use the blow-dryer on her hair, and the mundane hum of it was a comforting sound. Angel sweetly smiled up at me. When her hair was dry, I lifted her up again and placed her in bed, tucking the blankets around her.

While she rested, I took a quick shower, the hot water washing away the grime but not the worry. There were so many unknowns. What would the fallout of this be? Where was Luca now? Viktor? I couldn’t stop thinking about how all this would affect Angel.

Once I was clean, I slid into bed, spooning up against her. She was awake, but I didn’t press for information. I just held her for a long time in silence. Then she started to cry. The sheer sorrow in it broke my heart. I pulled her tighter against my chest, brushing my hand along her skin in soothing strokes.

Slowly, quietly, she told me everything that had happened, from the time she arrived at her aunt’s home to the moment when the priest and Frankie were killed. Over and over, she repeated the word “killed,” her whispers turning to sobs.

I held her, rocking her back and forth against my chest, saying nothing, just letting her get it all out. Finally, exhausted, she fell into a fitful sleep. I watched her for a long time, tracing the lines of her body and the contours of her face, thinking about how beautiful and strong she was.

Leaning close, I whispered, “I love you, Angel. I’ll never let you go. For the rest of our days, I promise to protect and love you. Nothing will come between us—nothing.”

Eventually, I drifted off to sleep, holding her close.

Chapter forty-two

Early in the morning, I woke up and carefully slipped out of bed, making sure not to wake Angel. I threw on some clothes and headed upstairs to the kitchen. Lucian, Lachlan, and Braxton were already there, quietly sipping coffee and chatting about our situation.

“Think anyone followed us to the safe house?” Lucian asked.

Lachlan shook his head. “Doesn’t seem like it. We were careful. If we’d been tailed, we would know it by now.”

“Good,” I said as I entered. Stepping up to the counter, I grabbed a cup of coffee. “We need to keep it that way.” I leaned against the counter and blew across the hot liquid before taking a sip. “How’s Nik doing this morning?”

Braxton looked up from his phone. “He’s stable and healing well. I crashed on the cot in the medical room to keep an eye on him all night. He was out the whole time and didn’t move much, which is a good sign. I changed his dressing a couple of times. The wound was clean, and there were no signs of infection. We’ll keep him on a broad-spectrum antibiotic and pain meds if he needs them for the next week, and then he should be good to go as long as he doesn’t do anything to rip it open.”

“Thanks, Brax,” I said. “It gave me the chance to be with Angel. She’s tougher than she looks, but it was a hell of a lot for anyone to go through.” I took a deep breath, remembering the chaos of the previous day. “She’s seen nothing like that before. She may have been born into a mafia family, but she’s never seen a person shot or a gory injury like that. The priest and Frankie…it was brutal. She was right there, holding Frankie’s hand when it happened. A scene like that changes a person.”

I paused, glancing at the guys. “Trauma can affect people in so many ways. It can mess with your head, give you nightmares—you know, make you jump at shadows. It sticks with you, sometimes for the rest of your life.”

Lucian nodded. “She’s got you though. That counts for a lot.”

“Yeah, not sure if she’s the type of person to want help,” I said, “but I know she’s gonna need some. The worst thing she could do is isolate herself. Now I get how Atticus felt after everything Sam went through. It’s hard, feeling helpless, hell-bent on retribution with no one to take it out on, determined to put back together all the broken pieces, knowing full well the scars will always be there.”

Angel’s resilience amazed me, but I worried about the long-term impact of what she’d witnessed. Trauma like that didn’t just fade away.

I looked around at them. “Keep an eye on her and Nik for me. I’m gonna go grab us some food.”

I drove to a nearby fast-food joint, picked up a variety of breakfast items, and headed back to the house, taking a few minutes to call Atticus and let him know the basics. When I returned, Angel was sitting in the kitchen, sipping coffee with all the guys. I set the bags of food on the table in front of her and kissed her on the cheek. She smiled a little but said nothing, which worried me.

“Any sign of Nik?” I asked.

“Not yet,” Braxton replied. “He needs lots of rest and will be out of commission while he heals from the gunshot wound. But you know I’ll keep my eyes on him.”

I walked behind Angel, taking her hair in my hands and moving it to the side before brushing soft kisses along her neck. She leaned into my touch and whispered, “Thanks for last night. I think everything just hit me all at once. Don’t worry, I’ll be okay; I just need some time.”

I kissed her forehead gently. “Take all the time you need,” I said, then shifted to unpack the bags. In the center of the table, I laid out a spread of bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches, breakfast burritos, bagels, yogurt, and some other things. The guys dove in.

“Thanks, man,” Lucian said through a mouthful of biscuit. “This is just what we needed.”

Braxton leaned back in his chair. “You always come in clutch. Thanks for taking care of us. I didn’t realize how hungry I was. Man, I’m starving.”

As we ate, I kept an eye on Angel. She was still too quiet.

She didn’t take anything to eat, just stared at the food. I leaned over, saying firmly but gently, “You need to eat if you’re going to be able to deal with everything that comes next. You’re no good to anyone if you’re running on empty. Who knows what we’re facing at this point?”

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