Page 36 of Sensual Nights

"Yeah."

She looked at the bandage on his head, then into his eyes. "Stitches?"

"No."

Nodding, she looked at the bandage on his thigh. "Stitches?"

"Yep."

Her brows rose into her hairline. "Why?"

"Bullet wound."

"You were shot!" Her voice rose.

"Yeah."

Carley turned to stare at Margo. "You didn't tell me that."

"I wanted you to stay calm."

"Calm!"

Margo's brows rose into her bangs and Carley swallowed. She turned back to Mason and looked into his eyes. "What happened?"

"I chased the man who put the note on your car. He dove into some thick brush that leads up to Sid and Grace's house. I called Jace to let them know, then I called the police. Officer Voss went to the bottom of the brush to find him. I waited on the road and heard Voss yell for him to stop and put his hands up. The office yelled again for him to stop, then I heard a gunshot. I fell to the ground. I thought I was having a panic attack, then I felt the pain in my thigh. Officer Voss came out of the brush and saw me lying on the road. It turns out the bullet he fired ricocheted off a rock and hit me. By the time it hit the rock and veered, it was already slowing down, so it's not too bad. The bullet was in my leg but near the surface, so an EMT pulled it out and bandaged me up."

"Why aren't you in the hospital?"

Mason's brows shot into his hair. "For this?" He shrugged. "It's nearly a superficial wound."

"A bullet went into your leg."

"Not all the way."

"Mason..."

He slowly shook his head. "It's honestly not bad, Carley. It'll be sore for a few days. I'll keep it clean and bandaged. I'll be fine."

She took a deep slow breath. "What about your PTSD attack?"

His brows bunched together. "I didn't have one."

"But Margo..." She turned to see her sister staring at her.

"Calm. I wanted you to be calm."

She let out a breath, and her shoulders slumped forward. Mason's fingers lifted her chin, so their eyes met. "It's all good, Carley. I'm going home for the day – boss’s orders." He grinned at Jace. "We didn't want you to panic, but I did want to see you."

She smiled softly. "Okay." She stood and brushed her slacks off. "Well, I'm happy your injuries weren’t worse. I'm also sorry it happened. Did they find him?"

"No."

Jace chuckled. "But Sid's up there watching."

"Okay."

She looked at Mason once more. "Come on, I'll get you home."

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