Page 293 of Boys Who Taint

“Tell that to the nurses who had to patch you up,” I reply.

“Where am I, actually?” he asks, taking in a deep breath.

“Mom’s private clinic,” Aspen responds. “You know how it is. Hospital staff ask too many questions and involve police.”

“Like they aren’t already involved with all those deaths,” I say, smirking to myself.

“You did that,” Aspen says.

I smile smugly. “Yup.”

“Don’t be so damn proud.” She playfully punches me. “Those were expensive hires.”

I shrug. “They shouldn’t have tried to come after my family then.”

“I appreciate the effort of keeping me safe,” Levi says, holding out his hand.

“Thanks, bro.” I give him a bro-shake and hug, and I can hear him deflate.

“Don’t break a bone,” Aspen says. “He’s still fragile.”

“Fragile, my ass, this fucker survived torture,” I say. “Silas can suck it.”

Someone knocks on the door, and when Grey appears, Aspen begins to smile from ear to ear. “Grey! You came.”

“Of course. Gotta support my girl,” he says, and they hug. “Uhhnn,” Grey groans when she squeezes him too tightly. “My shoulder.”

“Sorry. I forgot,” she says.

“Just a bullet wound, no biggie,” Grey responds.

“Everyone got wounded out there. Even Max,” Aspen says. “I don’t think anyone left this clinic without a bandage or two. But Levi was in really bad shape.”

“Hey, why is she the only one getting a hug? Can I get a hug too, Ghost-boy?” I grab his hair and drag him away from her and into my ample pecs, squishing him until he can no longer mutter any of the swear words he wanted to throw at my face. “Love you too, my little cuck.”

He pushes me away and sucks in a breath. “Goddamn.”

“You can say that again,” I reply.

Aspen and Levi laugh, and it’s good to hear them cheerful again after all the shit that went down. And you know what? I think we just might survive this whole family feud thing.

Aspen

“So… are you feeling okay? Does it hurt a lot?” I ask Levi, grabbing his hand.

“Not more than I expected,” he replies. “After getting stabbed, shot, and hit with a bat several times, I’m just glad I’m still alive.”

“The nurse said you got quite the concussion,” I say.

“If it wasn’t for Grey here, you’d be dead by now,” Apollo says.

Levi’s brows push together. “How so?”

“Grey helped me free you from the chair in the Shack and put you in the car, and when he drove after me to save me from your mom’s attempts to kill me, he even took a bullet.”

Levi cringes. “Ouch.”

“The nurses managed to patch me up well enough,” Grey says, showing off his bandages. “Doesn’t hurt that bad.”

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