Page 113 of Skin Deep

“This was the Craigs,” Lachlan said.

“We don’t know for sure,” Declan said.

“It could be them, though,” Owen said.

“Could be. Might be,” I said. “Cash has a lot of enemies, and they’re coming out of the woodwork. We don’t know who the fuck those men were. The one woman I recognized was Susan. She started it. She stabbed him in the neck. He was lucky she didn’t hit his artery.”

“Her grandson,” Owen said. “He was killed not long ago. Got blown up in a veggie truck.”

We all looked at him. That was one of Kelly’s MOs, besides marauding.

“I still think this was the Craigs,” Lachlan said. I could tell the night was catching up to him. My brother had a languid swagger about him, like Kelly. Even if the world pissed him off, he refused to show it. But cross a line with him? It tripped something inside of him that set him off. He was enraged.

The Craigs almost got Owen—if this was them, our sister’s husband was fighting for his life because of them.

“Hell, this could have been ALL of them,” Declan said, looking down at his hands.

We all stopped talking when Dr. Sala walked out of Kelly’s room, coming to talk to Kee. He took a seat next to her, sighing. She was listening with rapt attention. A minute or two later, she stood and said something to him. He nodded and she headed toward her husband’s room.

A nurse walked out of it as my sister walked in. Clara Bow Mulligan. Lachlan watched her until she stopped for a second, meeting his eyes, and then she disappeared into a sectioned-off area where the nurses went.

“Once we can talk to Kelly,” I said, refusing to believe otherwise. Those fucking cowards were not making my sister a widow. “We’ll figure this shit out. Until then, we all stay close. We all stay together. I remember Kelly telling me they have rooms here for family. If they don’t have enough for all of us, we’ll bunk up or sleep out in the waiting area.”

My eyes met my wife’s. She was standing, waiting for me. I squeezed Lachlan on the shoulder and went to her. She held a bag in her hands that I’d never seen before.

“For your sister,” she whispered. “I thought she might like some of her things to keep here, so she does not have to leave.”

The night had caught up with her, too, and she swayed. She was standing on her own two feet, but we were both crashing. I grabbed her by the arm, then stopped a nurse passing and handed her the bag.

“For my sister,” I said. “For whenever she comes out.”

“I’ll make sure she gets a room,” she said. “And this.” She held up the bag. “I’ll also have a nurse come by in a bit to check on any wounds. I know it’s been a hectic night.”

“Thank you,” I said, but I forgot to tell her to tell Kee we were staying, and to ask her where the rooms were before she disappeared into the nurse’s area.

I stopped one of the Faustis and asked him. He didn’t speak much English. Georgina asked him and he nodded and pointed us in the right direction. My brothers all followed. It almost reminded me of a hotel in the back. It was private and dark. We each took a room. There were plenty.

My wife gasped when I slid my hand under her hair and pinned her to the wall with my body. Her mouth gave me access, and I touched her tongue with mine, finding strength and safety in her arms.

“You saved my life,” I said against her lips. Her hair was tight in my fist, but I couldn’t find it in myself to pull away or let her go.

“Every day, you save mine.” She looked up at me. “I know what happened. I know what you did for me.”

“I’ll always protect you,” I said. “I’ll always keep you in the sun.”

She grasped on to my shirt. “You’ll keep me deep beneath your skin.”

“Per sempre.Because this, between us, goes much deeper than skin. It goes all the way down to the soul.”

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