Page 111 of Garrison's Creed

Crash.

The rush came before she even heard it. Nic wasn’t sure what her body was doing, but trusted her training. Everything else was in slow motion. Glass shattered from the windows. Roman grabbed their mother, tossing her to Dad. Cash grabbed Jackson. Nic jumped out of the way but was knocked down. Definite yelling, definite firings. The sting and burn of glass exploding scrambled her senses.

And when she tried to look up, she saw the red. Everything burned. Her nose ran, eyes running. Cash had her on her feet now.What the hell is going on?But she couldn’t stand on her own, that much she knew. Her face. Her arm was on fire.Help me.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Everything burned. Nothing made sense. The only thing that kept her from screaming was thatshewas hurt. Not her parents. Not her brother. Not Cash. Nicola could deal with her pain.No one else’s though.She’d brought enough hurt home already.

Hands touched her face.Damn it. “Stings… Burns.”And smells?

“Get her to the bathroom.” A woman, not her mother, ordered.

The dizzy spin in her head was confusing. Who all was there? Cash’s strong hands lifted her. She knew the feel of his touch, the definition of his chest. Even if she couldn’t open her eyes, she knew Cash’s arms.

“What is that stuff?” Now that was definitely her mom. She sounded concerned, not hurt. But damn if she didn’t want to concern her mom ever again.

Her dad mumbled something.

The snap of her mom’s voice followed them. “Obviously, not the blood. That stuff. It’s everywhere.”

A cold cloth pressed to her face, wiping over and over. Slowly, the boiling sensation on her skin plateaued. Didn’t stop, but became bearable.

“Drink this.” It was Cash. He held a glass to her lips, then spoke to someone else. “No. Don’t call for an ambulance. I’m driving.”

Her vision wasn’t what it should be. Her lips burned. Water would be good. Accepting the glass, the cold—

Ick.

Not what she was expecting. She spit it out. “What is that?”

“Milk. It’ll help.”

What the fu—

Oh.

“Cayenne shells,” she mumbled again. “He hit me with—”

“I know, sweet girl. Beth told us.”

“What? Beth?” It was all she could manage and it did nothing to ask the important question like when did she get there and why? Cash wiped her face, then her arms. It helped some, but only for flashing cool moments.

“Beth shot out the window. Glass hit you. The shotgun fired, not a direct hit thanks to Beth. But you got up close and personal with an exploding twelve gauge pepper blast. Bet all this pepper stings like a bitch.”

She nodded, curling into his arms. Her ankles hit the bathroom vanity. They had to be sitting in the hall bathroom, with her in his lap. “I mess everything up.”

“Nah. You’re enough to drive a man crazy. Any other lunatic ex-lovers I should know about? They’ll be gone before dawn.” He repositioned her. “Can you open your eyes?”

She shook her head a tiny bit, feeling like a baby. “They burn. I don’t want to.”

“All right. That settles that. Don’t try in case there’s glass in ‘em. You’re going to the ER. No idea how I’m going to explain this though.” Cash paused, leaning out the door. “Your mom is cracking me up. I’m pretty sure Beth gave up and okayed the use of a vacuum, even though a cleanup team is on the way.”

“Is Beth still here?”

“Yeah, Roman’s trying to hit on your girl, but she’s having nothing to do with it. And Beth may be on an adrenaline high.”

Nic laughed, then stopped short, her lips stinging anew. “Ow.” She ran her tongue tentatively over her lip and tasted her blood. “Don’t make me laugh. What about Jackson?”

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