Page 6 of King of Pain

“You sure?”

“I do my share of Pilates. I got this.”

I wink at her. “Good girl.” I test my shoulder. It hurts like a mother. “Are there any pain killers in that first-aid kit?”

“Ibuprofen.”

“I was hoping for something stronger,” I mutter as she gets out the little packets of pills and opens two of them.

Crossing to the sink, she fills a glass of water, bringing it back to me.

“You know,” I say, popping the pills in my mouth and raising the glass to my lips to swallow them down, “you never told me your specialty.”

“It’s too early to commit, but I’m thinking of becoming a surgeon,” she answers.

I give her a one-sided grin. “Beauty, brains, and talent?”

A ghost of a smile touches her lips. “I was out on a date with Vincent Vendetti. You tell me how smart that makes me?”

“Did you mumble something about a dinner?”

She sighs. “Being in school for as long as I have makes a girl poor. He offered to take me out to Volturno and I’d read an article about how great it was, but really pricey.”

A sound outside catches my attention. It’s only been forty-five minutes but I’m sure Vincent has decided to collect his date early. He doesn’t strike me as the patient type.

I wave for Kate to go hide and she thinks to slip off those flip flops before she races into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. I position myself against the wall next to the front door.

I maybe should have traded out weapons. A bent pool skimmer stick wasn’t even good the first time.

The door swings open and Vincent strolls in, swaying on his feet. Fucker is wasted.

He doesn’t even notice me as he stumbles in. “G?”

“Busy,” I rumble before I bring the stick around, smacking the crazy piece of shit with all I’ve got right in the face…

He shot me two hours ago. I don’t feel bad as he falls to the floor. I just wish I had more string.

But crossing to the medical kit, I pull out the three remaining rolls of tape and go to work. Then I grab the keys from Vincent that are hanging out of his pocket.

“Love.”

Kate appears a moment later, her eyes wide as she looks at Vincent. “You’re really good at that.”

“We all have our skills.” The fact that this is mine doesn’t say much about me. But I gesture for her to come as I grab a kitchen chair from the table.

We slip out onto the pool deck and around the back of the pool house. The wall has got to be seven feet high but with the chair, I’m able to hoist Kate up on the top without much issue.When it comes to pulling myself up, my shoulder hurts like fucking hell, but I get there.

We’re straddling the wall facing each other. The robe is tight around her waist but the long length of her legs are on full display, the flip flops in her hand, her bare feet dangling in the breeze.

“I’ll jump down and then I’ll catch you,” I tell her, swinging my leg over one side.

“Are you sure? I know I said your arm was just a cut, but it must hurt terribly…”

I chuck her chin. “I’ll be fine, love. Men like me are supposed to break for women like you.”

Her eyes go wide, her lips parting in a way that looks completely kissable.

“Let’s get out of here and then we can worry about recovery.”

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