Page 25 of Ink

Matteo and I headed into the kitchen to make sandwiches, grab a bag of chips, and pour ourselves a couple of drinks. Then we headed out back to the yard behind the addition to the clubhouse where King, Stella, and Cadell lived.

“Life is good.” The sun was shining, Matteo had me as close as I could be without sitting on his lap, and our lunch was simple but delicious.

He brushed a quick kiss against my lips. “I have no complaints.”

I took another bite of my turkey club. “Mmm.”

Matteo chuckled and wiped a bit of mayonnaise from the corner of my mouth, then licked it from his thumb. “Delicious.”

“Remind me to add extra to yours the next time we make sandwiches.” I bumped my shoulder against his.

He winked. “Tastes better when it comes from your sweet lips.”

“You say the nicest things.”

He grinned at me. “Only because you make it easy. Never been like this with anyone but you.”

That was another thing I appreciated about Matteo. He just put his feelings for me out there without trying to play any games. Which was great since I’d be at a huge disadvantage if he did.

I enjoyed the fresh air as we finished our meal. While we were cleaning up our mess, Matteo bent down to pick up a paper towel that had dropped on the ground. There was a loud, unfamiliar crack of noise, and then I felt a sharp sting on the fleshiest part of my arm.

I didn’t understand what was happening, but he quickly sprang into action, gently pulling me to the ground before rolling us under the table we’d just used for our picnic.

“What the heck was that?” I asked, reaching over with my good hand to touch the spot on my arm that was throbbing.

“Gunshot.”

My eyes widened at his one-word answer, and then I gasped when I looked down at my fingers and saw blood on them. “I think I might have been shot.”

“Fucking hell,” he growled, levering himself up enough to sweep his gaze over my body. A muscle jumped in his jaw as he spotted the blood on my arm.

“You can say that again,” I grumbled.

“It’s gonna be okay, baby,” he promised.

I flashed him a weak smile. “I know you’ll keep me safe.”

“Not sure I deserve your faith in me when I didn’t protect you.”

“This isn’t your fault,” I insisted. “If anyone is to blame, it’s me. I’m the one who talked you into having lunch out here.”

“Nobody should have ever been able to get to you. We’re on Hounds property, for fuck’s sake.”

Footsteps thundered on the ground, and then I saw boots surrounding the table. King bent down, and his face was only inches from mine. “You guys okay?”

“No, we’re not fucking okay. My woman was shot,” Matteo growled.

Ash called, “Nora’s inside. She can take a look at Annika once Kevlar and Rebel confirm that it’s safe.”

“Tell them to hurry the fuck up,” Matteo demanded, keeping his body over mine.

“They know what’s riding on their sweep of the woods,” King murmured. “Nobody’s gonna let that asshole get another shot at your woman.”

“Appreciate it, Prez, but she needs to get inside so Nora can take a look at the damn bullet wound in her arm,” Matteo muttered.

“Soon.”

The next few minutes felt as though they took forever while I waited under the table with the man I’d fallen head over heels for on top of me, his big hand wrapped around my arm. Finally, King told us it was safe to come out, and Matteo carefully climbed off me and helped me get out. He stayed directly behind me as we hurried into the clubhouse, where he led me through a hallway I hadn’t gone down before and into a medical clinic I didn’t even know was here.

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