Page 131 of Beautifully Wounded

I guess this fucking virus has kept him prisoner in another country.

“So,what’s the update?” I ask Liam, not feeling all that up for a fucking social call.

“Straight to fucking business.” Liam chuckles. “We don’t have a full audit yet, but it looks like some of the medical equipment stolen was surgical.”

“Surgical?” I ask. “Normally it’s just virus-related stuff that gets stolen. You’re saying someone stole equipment used to perform surgery?”

“Yep, they sure did. That and some nursery equipment.”

“Nursery equipment?” I fucking frown, confused as fuck.

“Yeah. You know, for like newborn babies.”

“The fuck is going on?” I mutter.

“That’s what I’d like to know,” Liam agrees. “I’ll send through a full list once we have it. In the meantime, we’ve arranged for your men to go to Morgan’s. Let them know if you plan to have funerals. Otherwise, they know the deal. They’ll keep quiet.”

“Thanks man,” I mutter, knowing that Morgan’s Funeral Home will do whatever we ask of them. “Can I get you to follow up on some people for me with your contacts?”

“Of course. Always happy to help my Camy boy.”

“For fuck’s sake. Stop calling me that,” I snap, ignoring his snickers. “Four cops were here. One was Officer Allen. I find it a really big fucking coincidence that he turned up just minutes after we left for the warehouses.”

“You think he was in on it?”

“I don’t know,” I admit.

“Okay. Is that all?”

“The other three officers who were with him. I don’t know who they are, but I need you to find out. And also, while you’rethere, anything you can find on some teen fuckwits from Fox Pines. I’ll send you their names.”

“What do you want with some fuckwits from Fox Pines?” he asks.

“Well, man. I want their fucking heads.”

29

“This music is hurting my fucking ears.” Ringo protests next to me on the bed, but I saw his foot bopping to the beat of it a second ago.

He’s lying.

“Liar. Just admit you like One Direction. There’s nothing wrong with that.” I grin down at him from where I’m leaning against the headboard with his phone in my hand.

I’ve been chatting with Lexi and Tahli through the Koala-roo app for the last hour, playing my music on his phone while he pretends to try and nap.

“I will never admit it, because it’s not fucking true,” he barks, and a second later the corner of his lip twitches.

“Liar. You’re about to smile.” I call him out and he cracks one eye open, peering up at me.

“Stop perving on me, Angel.”

I rollmy eyes, and this time he releases a chuckle that works its warm comfort into my bones.

Why does he have this effect on me?

Even after the whole cop thing and me shooting him and then helping to stem the flow of Brody’s bleeding leg until the paramedic arrived yesterday, I was so shaken up, but his hand slipping into mine somehow quietened the chaos.

That’s the only way I can explain it.

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