Page 130 of Beautifully Wounded

“Take off your belt,” Abbey orders, her gaze now trained on JD.

His eyes dart to mine, and I’m not fucking sure what he’s silently asking me, but I just give him a nod and watch as he unbuckles the leather strap and pulls it free.

Taking it quickly from JD’s grip, Abbey wraps it around Brody’s upper thigh and pulls it tight, causing him to cry out again.

“Ouch!”

“Stop it, you cow. You’re hurting him,” Darla snarls, slapping Abbey’s hands to get her away.

Stepping forward, I’m ready to tear Darla apart, but there’s no need. Abbey has it under control.

“Of course it’s going to hurt. His leg is sliced open and unless we get this bleeding under control, pain will be the least of hisworries.” Abbey drags her glare away from Darla and back to JD. “He needs this stitched up. He needs to go to the hospital.”

“No need.” Smitty steps up next to me, gaining Abbey’s attention. “Our paramedic is on his way.”

“Okay,” Abbey nods, turning back to JD. “Come and apply pressure to the wound.”

She shifts so JD can get closer, and using the towel they were already using to try and stop the bleeding, Abbey shows JD how to keep pressure on the wound.

“Are you like a nurse or something?” Nola asks, a little in awe, and Abbey shakes her head.

“Not yet. But I hope to be one day.”

Fuck. I hope she is too. I can see how good she’d be at it, and how she genuinely cares.

“What are the chances you’re gonna keep this one?” Smitty asks quietly from next to me, and reluctantly, I pull my gaze from my Angel to my Prez.

“I can’t keep her.”

“Why?” he asks, and I shrug, turning back to watch her talking quietly to JD about his injured brother, who is still hissing in pain.

“She’s too good for our world, man. She’s already been through so much bad shit. She needs to be with someone that can give her the fucking world.”

“Damn.” Smitty chuckles. “She’s been here, what, nearly a week, and she’s already got you so wound up.”

“Nah, man.” I shake my head. “You’ve got it all wrong. I’m just trying to help her. That’s all there is to it.”

I want to slap myself for the lie. I don’t know if I’m lying to protect her from me or the club. Either way, both options aren’t fucking great for me.

“If you fucking say so.” Smitty laughs, slapping my shoulder right as my phone starts ringing in my pocket.

Taking it out, Liam Marx flashes across the screen, so I quickly accept the call.

“Speak.”

“You know, you could be less of a prick when you answer the phone. Did you get lessons from Barrett? That fucker is always answering calls like that,” Liam asks, and I smirk, keeping my amusement to myself.

“Why the fuck would I answer any other way when I know it’s you calling?”

“And Barrett would say the exact same thing. You two been hooking up behind my back?”

That makes me chuckle.

“That fucker hasn’t been in the country for ages. I can’t remember the last time I saw his ugly mug.”

“Same. Wait, actually, it was just after Gracie’s sixteenth birthday. He flew out the next morning and hasn’t been back since.”

Barrett Marx is one of Liam’s older brothers. His role in the family business is international relations, or something like that. He spends most of his time abroad, brokering deals and making new connections that will help their family, but even so, he’s normally home every couple of months.

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