“Good. This might work then.” He slaps me on the back. Hard. “Get her inside. She’s bleeding.”
“I was on my way when you stopped us.”
He waves me off. Uh-huh.
I stride toward Lottie and thread our fingers. “I need to take care of my fearless woman,” I announce.
Emma nods.
“You okay?” I ask, knowing she went through hell tonight.
“I am, or I will be.”
“Let us know if you need anything. The club is here for you. So am I.”
“I know, Scythe. Thanks.”
Inside, I prop Lottie on the sink in the bathroom and fish out the first aid kit. With utmost care, I clean her scratches and scrapes, applying ointment and noting none of them are deep. She’ll heal quickly.
As I press a band-aid over her arm, I look into her pretty green eyes. “So. The scissors. What’s the deal?”
“I needed a weapon,” she explains.
“But scissors?”
“Hey, all the knives were gone. I had to improvise.”
“Hey, I’m not judging,” I promise. “Just keep your distance with kitchen shears.”
She giggles. “Hey, where’s Boomer? I never saw him.”
“Trying to find the killer with a scarecrow.”
She gives me a playful shove. “You already foundanddefeated him.”
“True.”
“Does Boomer know that?”
“He does. Sort of.”
“You’re a terrible brother.”
That makes me laugh. “I’m just getting him back for being a dick.”
“I don’t want to know the details. Keep that sibling rivalry stuff away from me,” she laughs.
No problem.
“We need a shower. Come on.”
I carry her from the lower-level bathroom because we need privacy, up to our room on the third level. I kick the door shut behind us and set her down outside the stall, letting her feet land on the plush rug. She starts undressing as I turn on the water and adjust the temperature. Once we’re both naked, I take her hand and bring her in with me.
The rainfall showerhead drops warm water onto us as we enter. Lottie begins washing her hair as I soap up with an agenda on my mind. I want us to be clean as fast as possible because there’s something I need to tell her.
As soon as she rinses the soap from her skin, I bring her close and lower my forehead to hers. For a few seconds, I just breathe.
“I knew you were moving to Raven’s Crest before you ever arrived. Call it intuition or whatever you want, but I knew you would come and you’d need me.”