Page 98 of Havoc

“Mr. Gates should be home soon.”

“And until then, I’ll be with Leal.”

“Understood.” I caught his nervous nod in the reflection of the glass doors and took pity on him. “Don’t worry, Jason. I’ll put in a good word for you with Jesse.”

* * *

“In here.”I directed the vet and his assistant into Grim’s penthouse. An unconscious Leal was hooked up to an IV and looked comfortable on whatever medication they had given him.

“This way, please,” I rushed ahead and opened Grim’s bedroom door, “on the bed.”

“You sure?” Jason asked as he helped lift the pup off the gurney.

“Yes.” I waited for the doctor to finish up.

“I’ll come back in the morning.” The doctor explained, “He should sleep through the night, but try to keep him calm and stress free if he wakes. If anything changes, here’s my number. Call me.” He handed me a card. “Please tell Mr. Gates…”

“I’ll be sure to tell him how well you’ve looked after Leal,” I cut him off and waved for him to leave. “Jason, you need to leave too.”

“I can’t. I have orders.”

“And now you have some from me.” I raised my chin. “Leal hates people in his space. It stresses him out. I’m sure not having his brother here will prey on his mind too. I understand your position, but?—”

“I’m not leaving you alone.” He looked uneasy. “They’ll behead me.”

“Fine,” I nodded, exhausted, “but you can’t be in this room, then.”

“Okay,” he raised his hands, “I’ll be right out there.” He pointed over his shoulder, and I nodded. He’d get no more argument from me. When he left, I took a deep breath and stepped toward the bed, only to have my heel wobble on something. I looked down at a bright orange bra that had wedged under my shoe. I kicked it aside, and it landed next to a pair of matching panties.

“Nice, Grim.” I grimaced and sank onto the mattress. I kicked off my heels as the hurt that he’d had a naked woman up here since he’d come back, when I’d been so worried, burned in my throat. I got my emotions in check and tried to focus on the bigger picture.

Leal let out a little squeak, and I turned to find him eyeing me from where he lay.

“It’s okay, I’m here.” I inched up the bed and lay beside him. I was close but extremely careful not to touch him. He might be high on strong medication, but the boys had been trained to kill first and ask questions later, and who knew what affect the meds would have on his mind. He blew his lips out and whimpered, but he didn’t growl. I figured I’d just speak to him, so he knew he wasn’t alone.

“Everything’s going to be all right, Leal,” I whispered. “I promise you I won’t let anyone hurt you. Zhar will be home soon.”

I repeated my chant over and over not just to calm him but for me as well. I felt my eyes grow heavy and gave in to the dark abyss.

Grim

“Found him,” Trigger grunted from the other end of the phone. “He’s in with your vet. Seems fine.”

“And Darcy?”

“Shot to the head. Brick made a few calls. The local PD’s looking after her. It’ll be taken care of.”

I slowly turned the car into the parking lot as I tried to deal with what he said. Darcy didn’t deserve that.

“I’m here now. I’ll be in touch.”

Cartwright opened the car door, and Jesse and I hurried up to my suite. Jason quickly jumped to his feet as we entered.

“Evening, sir.”

“Where is he?”

“They’re in the bedroom.”

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