Page 24 of Toxic

“I’ll get the paint in the morning before I come out. They’ll buy the wrong shit.”

“You want to stay for dinner?” I asked.

“Naw. Isla’s making something.” He frowned. “Not sure if she can cook either. But you managed… She can too, right?”

I shrugged, chuckling at the look on his face.

“I swear to Christ that woman better not poison me.”

“How big is the current bounty on your head?” I asked.

He grunted and shook his head. “Not at an all-time high.”

“Meh, not worth the effort she’d have to put in then. You should be safe. Mind hanging out while I do the evening chores? I don’t want to leave her alone.” I glanced back down the hallway.

Butcher sat down at the table. “Sure. No problem.”

I shoved my bare feet into my boots and headed out the door.

“You’re going like that?” he called out.

I flipped him off, ignoring the fact that I was about to feed a bunch of animals in nothing but my boxers and boots. Sadly, this wouldn’t be the first time. Probably wouldn’t be the last.

CHAPTER 9

Billie

It was dark. I looked over at the clock and gasped. It was nine at night. I’d slept all day. Sitting up, I looked around.

As if on cue, Toxic walked through the door. “Hey.” He set a tray down on my nightstand and sat on the bed. His huge palm cupped my cheek, his intense stare focusing on me. “You’re feeling a bit cooler. That’s good.”

If I nuzzled my face into his hand it wouldn’t be weird. Would it? It worked for Eris all the time. I only just managed to resist as he took his hand away and settled the tray on my lap. “What’s this?” I asked, lips twitching.

“Chicken noodle. Dry toast. If you keep that down, I’ll make you pretty much anything else you think will stay in your stomach.”

I glanced up at him. “Th-”

“We’re going to come up with a rule,” he said, cutting me off. “No more saying thank you.”

I frowned. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” I told him. “My dad taught me too good of manners for that.” Eyes widening, I remembered where I was actually supposed to be right now. “Gramps?”

“He’s doing alright,” he told me in a soothing voice. “Dani and Smoke just left.”

“What if someone…I don’t know…breaks in there overnight?” I asked. Now that he’d put the idea that someone could get to Gramps in the hospital, I couldn’t seem to shake the idea that they could try.

“I have one of my brothers hanging out there tonight. He’ll be keeping an eye on anyone going into the Emergency Room since that’s the only way people will be able to get in.”

Relaxing back against my pillow, I sighed in relief. “You think of everything.”

“Used to dealing with the small details,” he told me with a grin.

“Why’s that?”

He blinked, then looked down at the soup. “Take a bite of that and I’ll tell you.”

Eyeing it, I lifted the spoon and blew on it before placing it in my mouth. “This is really good,” I said. “Is it homemade?”

“My mom used to make it for us when we were sick as kids,” he said with a nod.

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