Page 37 of Sin and Salvation

I put a hand over it, exhaling as my knees began to wobble. Zane had actually been shot; I had no reason to crumple in a panic and start freaking out.

“That’s the last of them.” Aeron, back in his demon form, kicked aside an iron table like it was nothing, his eyes narrowing in on me and where I gripped my side. “You hurt, sugar?”

The tension in his face belied the casual way he asked, but I shook my head. “Just a graze. It missed me, but Zane’s been shot.”

I tried to hurry around Crow to get to him, but the Wrath demon wrapped an arm around me, keeping me from going anywhere. Aeron extended a hand to Zane, and the Greed demon took it, standing with a wince.

I didn’t like how pale he was, or much blood he’d lost.

“Is it over?” Gian poked a head over the side of a table. I hadn’t even realized he’d been hunkered down behind us, putting multiple shields between him and the SUV.

“It’s over, no thanks to you.” Zane rolled his eyes, but he still clutched his shoulder, pain tightening his features.

Crow gave the dealer one of the coldest looks I’d ever seen. “Have the shipment delivered to the usual place. And if I find out you had anything to do with tipping someone off…”

Gian shook his head frantically, and Crow looked satisfied. As the guys strode away from their arms dealer, Zane leaned heavily on Aeron.

“You’re losing your touch,” the hellhound joked. “You’ve never been shot before.”

“I was… distracted.” Zane’s eyes flickered to me for a brief second, but the guilt that torrented through me was going to last for a while.

Because of me, he’d been distracted enough to get hurt. Maybe I was out of my depth here.

“We need to find out who they work for.” Aeron nudged a body with his toe. “Have the clean-up boys make some inquiries—”

“You don’t need to make inquiries,” I interjected, feeling worn out. “They’re Maxime’s men. I recognized him before he tried to shoot me.”

I nodded towards the demon who had managed to graze my ribs. Aeron walked over, inspecting him from head to toe, and Crow looked down at me.

“He wasn’t shooting to kill,” he said quietly. “Not to kill you, at least. Just to cripple you."

“I’m not surprised.” How much blood would Maxime spill to get me back? “I can still use my power for him even if I’m… damaged.”

That was a nice way of putting it. I had no doubt if Maxime got his way, he’d be happy to cut off my feet and ensure I could never physically run away from him again.

After all, my magic would still work; he could just siphon off me whether I could walk or not.

And knowing Maxime, he’d find some kind of poetic justice in something like that.

Riding back to Club Onyx was interesting, my side throbbing as I gripped Crow tightly, prickles running over my back. I kept a watch on everything around us, afraid that another shooter would wait until we’d passed before putting a bullet right in Crow’s skull…

And Zane had refused to ride with Aeron. He flexed his arm, still gritting his teeth, but had clambered on his bike anyway. I couldn’t believe he was even still conscious; the front of his dark jeans gleamed, saturated with blood. His black shirt was even worse.

When we got back to the club, he was paler than ever, the black snake inked on his face standing out starkly. I stood next to him, and finally dared to reach out and grip his hand.

He didn’t push me away. If anything, he squeezed my hand tightly, lacing our fingers together. The fist squeezing my heart eased a little.

“Upstairs.” Crow didn’t wait for an answer, and we all piled in the elevator. I kept a hand pressed to my side; although the graze wasn’t deep, it was beginning to sting, a deep burning settling in and spreading across my abdomen.

“Shouldn’t we find a doctor?” I asked in a small voice, but to my shock, Crow grinned.

“Not with you here, Venus.”

ChapterEighteen

Iprotested deeply as Crow lifted me onto the kitchen island, placing me there like I was a child. Zane slumped on one of the bar stools next to me, and Aeron vanished.

When he returned, he carried a small medical kit.

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