Page 78 of Tortured Eyes
"How the hell are you here?”
“Knight in shining armour.”
A snort pops out of her nose, hotly pursued by another groan as she tries to get herself upright.
“I would have been here quicker, but I needed to kill people with my sword, and my horse was tired.” She laughs lowly and then coughs as I move her to the side and prop her up on the wall.
“You can’t tell me stuff like that, Logan.”
“Just did. Don’t care. Stop pretending you don’t think I’m hot as fuck for it.”
A few minutes go by as she sits there processing what’s happened to her. I crouch beside her, watching the area in case anyone else stops by to try killing her. No one’s here, though. I look at the bike and then at the front of the van, noting the impact points and the crumpled metal. This was purposeful. A direct attack. The thought makes me think of that name she asked about earlier. Mason someone. I don’t know the name, but then this isn’t my city anymore. Maybe Carter can help.
My phone's out, and I'm pressing speed dial before I've thought more of it.
"Logan?"
"Arch and his team are dead. The other side has already started backing off now I've dealt with Emilio's second. Call the riot team and send them in to clean up. What do you know about a cop called Mason? Is he on payroll?"
"Jesus, you're already here?"
"Here. Almost finished. And still rolling. Mason?"
"I'll need to look into the name. Probably Mortoni's." The sound of him walking makes me check in on Bryce as she starts moving beside me.
“I need to get back to the station,” she says. Another groan comes the moment she tries to get upright, and her hand falls on me for stability. I hold her fast, refusing to let her up until her brain's straight from the fall.
“You need to get your ass somewhere safe is what you need to do. Pretty damn sure I told you that already. But here you are, out on the streets causing me problems.”
"What?" Carter asks.
“Hold on.” I make sure Bryce is okay before standing to pace around, my eyes still focused on her. "I didn't want you in the middle of this, Carter. Your days on the street are done. You leave that to me from now on." Silence echoes back at me. I can only hope he knows that means I give a damn about his life because I'm sure as hell not saying it directly. "Call me if you know anything more about Mason." I end the call and look back to Bryce. "Well?"
“Logan, I’m a cop. I can’t just do as you tell me because you’re going feral out here.” I hook an arm around her waist and pull her up, propping her up so she can stand properly.
“You like my feral.”
“I don’t like anything about you.”
I chuckle and squeeze her a little tighter, happy she’s back to snappy as hell.
“Still lying to yourself?” Her mouth stretches into a smile, as does mine. Fuck, it’s all twisted up between us. I can’t even think straight when I’m near her anymore. I stare into her eyes for a few seconds, waiting for that damn permission I’m after again, as she blinks softly. No words again, though. Just the underlying sense of urgency between us that she can’t agree to. “Put your foot on the ground, Detective McCarthy, and check you can hold your own weight,” I tell her. “Stop acting like a pussy.”
“Screw you, Logan.”
“Yeah. Later.”
Later.
A few minutes of her hobbling around on me, and she finally starts walking with something close to normality. Good. Her bike’s dead, but at least she’s alive and kicking. I gradually let go of her and watch a while longer, amused as she starts bitching about something and finding her groove again. Good girl. Kickass, and now pissed as hell. Just the way I like her. I chuckle and look out into the street, my hand pressing into the bullet wound in my shoulder. Hurts now. Probably needs looking at before I pass out.
“Thank you for finding me,” she says out of nowhere. I nod, still checking out the streets. There’s nothing else to say on the matter. She’s part of me now for some reason, was there in my thoughts the entire time I should have been thinking about the city and the people trying to kill me. “Why did you?”
My head whips back to look at her. “What?”
“Come to find me?” She should know that already.
My eyes narrow, wondering what she’s after here. “You need me to spell it out for you?”
