Page 146 of Body and Soul

“I'm fine,” he grunted, but the way he swayed on his feet said otherwise.

“Like hell you are,” I snapped, ducking under his arm to support him. Christ, he was heavy. It was like trying to prop up a tree.

Tatty appeared at my side, her face set in grim lines. “I sent Xander upstairs with the girls. You’re cleared to come into the kitchen.”

We found Warrick waiting for us in the kitchen. The table had been cleared in record time, and Tatty gestured for me to help Shepherd into a chair.

“What happened?” I demanded as we eased him down.

“Xion,” Shepherd grunted. “Kid's got a mean swing with a steak knife.”

Warrick didn't waste any time, his hands moving with practiced efficiency as he cut away Shepherd's blood-soakedshirt. I winced at the sight of three deep gashes across Shepherd's bicep, still oozing blood.

“Damn,” I muttered, feeling queasy. “Your brother did that with a steak knife?”

Warrick's face was a mask of concentration as he cleaned the wounds. “These are deep,” he said, his voice clipped. “You're lucky he didn't hit an artery.”

I watched, fascinated and horrified, as Warrick worked. His hands were steady as he irrigated the wounds with some kind of antiseptic solution that made Shepherd hiss through his teeth. The sharp smell of alcohol and blood filled the air, making my stomach churn.

“Don't be such a baby,” Warrick growled. “You've had worse.”

I couldn't imagine what worse looked like. The gashes were deep enough that I could see glimpses of muscle and fat beneath the torn flesh. It was like something out of a horror movie, except this was real, and it was happening to the man I loved.

I swallowed down the bile rising in my throat. “So I take it the conversation with Xion and Boone didn’t go as we hoped?”

Shepherd's jaw clenched as Warrick started stitching up the wounds. “Xion made his choice. He's staying with Boone.”

“Fuck,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair. This was bad. Really fucking bad. “So what now? We just leave him there?”

Shepherd's eyes met mine. There was something cold and hard in his gaze, like all the warmth had been drained out of him. “I forwarded their location to Algerone. I didn’t have much of a choice. He’s organizing a team to fly to Malaysia to extract Dani as we speak.”

“You just gave him up?” Xavier said, hands turning to fists at his sides. “You just handed over my fucking brother like that?”

“Calm down.” Annie put a hand on Xavier’s shoulder. “We’re going to get him back, but it’s going to require a little work on your part.”

I uncrossed my arms. “You want Xander and Xavier to go to him instead of waiting for him to come for them?”

“I want all of us to go,” Shepherd said. “We’ll support Xander and Xavier, but also make it clear that if he tries anything, he’s a dead man. We’re also going to make sure that Xion is free to come and go as he pleases, and is treated with respect and dignity.”

Shit, this was really happening. We were about to walk into the lion's den, and for what? Some twisted family reunion with a guy who sounded like a total psychopath? My stomach churned as I tried to process it all.

“Okay, let me get this straight,” I said, pacing the kitchen. “We're gonna waltz right up to this Algerone dude, hand over Xander and Xavier like some kind of peace offering, demand he let Xion leave when he’s done with his family reunion, and hope he doesn't decide to murder us all on the spot? That's the plan? Do we trust him to do as he’s said, Shepherd?”

Shepherd winced as Warrick tied off the last stitch. “It's not ideal, but it's the best option we've got. If we don't do this, Algerone will come for them, anyway. At least this way, we have some control over the situation.”

“And it keeps him from releasing information to the feds,” Nikita chimed in. “Something this family cannot afford.”

I ran a hand through my hair, tugging at the platinum strands. “This is insane. You know that, right? Like, completely off-the-rails bonkers.”

Tatty chuckled, her eyes glinting with a mix of amusement and something darker. “Welcome to the family, darling. Bonkers is our specialty.”

Great. Just freaking great. I'd gone from living on the streets to being part of some kind of dysfunctional vigilante family straight out of a movie. And now we were about to face off against a guy who made the mob look like boy scouts.

“I say we do it.” Xavier said.

Shepherd frowned. “Xavier, you're sure about this? Once we do this, there's no going back.”

Xavier's smirk faded, replaced by a look of steely determination. “I'm sure. There’s only so much I can learn about the man from behind a screen.”

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