Page 98 of The Wildcard

“I asked if we could stop by the hospital first?”

That cleared up the haze in his mind. Angel stepped towards her quickly, his eyes going wide as he grabbed a hold of her wrist lightly, “Why, are you okay? Are you feeling worse?”

Ray’s brows had shot up in the air as he hauled her closer and peered at her face. Maybe his mind had gone dumb with all the chaos from this morning because his sanity only caught up with him when Ray huffed out a surprised laugh,

“I just need to figure out how I can heal the injury on my shoulder,” she chuckled, “Why Angel? Worried?”

Angel blinked again.This fucking girl.

“With you,”he snapped back, leaving her wrist as he did so. Still, that infuriating grin on her lips remained. Angel growled under his breath and turned away, running a hand through his hair, “Always.”

Ray hummed, “We don’t have a lot to do today. Everything with Noah’s already been sorted. I just need to get the contract from him and give him work to do.”

Angel scoffed, “Good luck getting him to start working.” Ray looked back at him curiously and Angel couldn’t help his smirk, “Why do you think I haven’t opted to work with him yet?”

“Cause he’s lazy?” she probed and Angel shook his head, huffing out a laugh,

“Cause he doesn’t like being ordered around.”

“Too fucking late forthat,”she murmured.

Angel laughed wholly at that, only sobering up when Ira peeped out of Ray’s room. She was wearing the same clothes she’d been wearing this morning but had topped it off with the jacket he’d handed her last night.

Last night,he thought, his mind flashing back to Ray again.

“So, you’re going to keep that then?” Angel asked, shaking himself out of his daze and focusing on the shorter girl. Ira huffed as she stepped out, rubbing her red nose as she sidled carefully next to Ray,

“Si. It’s cold.” She replied softly and sneezed.

“God bless you,” Angel heard Ray murmur, just as his eyes caught the blue on Ira’s wrist. His eyes widened, snapping in Ray’s direction,

“You gave that to her?” he asked, and Ray’s eyes darted down to the bracelet around Ira’s wrist. Everyone knew Raylene Walker staked her protection with that blue bracelet. It was the first thing they’d all learned when she’d appeared from nowhere.

Ira immediately put her hand in her pocket, her eyes flaring with a fire Angel hadn’t seen before. He had to stop his urge to raise his hands in the air and take a step back.

“I did.” Ray’s voice was quieter than the fire in Ira’s stance, “She’s going to be under my protection from now.”

Angel’s shoulders softened. Raylene Walker might be the girl that kept getting on his fucking nerves, but she was human. A girl who was caring for someone she hadn’t even met before. Someone, who had possibly tried to kill her during the ambush.

But now Angel scoffed to break through that solemn atmosphere, turning to Ira with mirth in his eyes, “Good luck. I doubt she can barely cook, lest take care of a fourteen-year-old.”

Ira frowned.

“What thefuck.”Ray snapped and a grin broke free on Angel’s lips.

“Canyou cook?”

“Yes,” she scoffed, the ice already thawing in her tone, “Of course I canfuckingcook.”

Angel hummed in the way heknewwould piss her off even more. She scoffed loudly, so offended that she took angry steps in his direction with her fists raised,

“You’re probably the type to look at recipes–” he started and broke off in a loud laugh as she growled and ran in his direction. He ran backward, dodging her fists as he threw his head back when she murmured,

“Come here you littleshit,”

And for the first time, as they stumbled out of the suffocating house, the sane part of his mind kept its mouth shut.

He just didn’t know if he should be grateful or terrified.

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