Page 33 of Crimson

9

"What is this place?"We pulled up behind Paxton's white SUV outside a building on a quiet suburban street.

"It's a house that belongs to a friend of a friend," Jake said. "I figured the three of you would appreciate a chance to clean up before we got back to the city."

Considering I was a mess and Ben and Hutton were wrapped in old blankets found in the back of the car, that was a fair guess. There was more than likely more to it than that though. Regrouping. Debriefing. A thorough health check.

"That's very thoughtful," Hutton said with a hint of sarcasm.

Jake looked at his reflection in the rearview mirror. "Unless you want to walk the rest of the way…"

"If you don't stop, you canbothwalk the rest of the way," I growled. I was getting tired of their bickering. It was helpful to exactly no one and it made my frayed nerves worse.

Both guys actually shut up, but they still shot daggers at each other with their eyes.

Ben gave me a squeeze and helped me out of the car, even though I tried to wave off his help. Cooper was at my other elbow a moment later.

"If you guys are going to start to smother me…" I didn't know what I would do. I appreciated that they cared about me and wanted to look after me, but at this rate I would have to turn in my badass she wolf card and slink away with my tail between my legs. In spite of the last couple of weeks, I still wanted to believe I could take care of myself. Icouldtake care of myself. I had done it since I was eight years old.

"We don't want to smother you," Cooper said. "We just love you. We were scared we would lose you. Well, I was. Jake said you would be okay. He said you wouldn't let a little thing like a kidnapping take you from us."

"That sounds like Jake." I gave Jake a look. I knew him better than that. He would have been just as worried as Cooper, if not more. He knew the shit Dagen was capable of. No doubt he was just trying to reassure Cooper.

"Did he let you kill anyone?" I asked.

Cooper sighed. "No. Not even Dagen's men. He left that to the other guys."

I patted his shoulder. "I'm sure there will be plenty of time for that later. There's lots of black wolves left in need of killing."

He brightened up. "Yeah, there are. I hope I can get in on it this time."

I exchanged glances with Ben. He looked amused, like he was listening to his kid brother talk about a playdate. I guessed he was, in a way. It did seem to be Cooper's idea of fun.

We walked up the front steps and entered the house after Jake unlocked the door.

"Nice place," Hutton said. "Cosy."

The whole house was smaller than the apartment at Crimson, but it would do.

"There's clothes in the wardrobe that should fit you all," Jake said. He waved vaguely towards one of the rooms.

"I'd like a word with Ivory," Paxton said. "In private." After a moment he added, "Harmony can be in attendance if you're worried I can't keep my hands to myself." He looked like he was on the verge of an eye roll. He was a doctor after all. Hopefully a better one than the asshole who worked for Dagen.

"I'm sure there's nothing you could talk to her about that we can't hear," Jake said.

"Doctor/patient confidentiality," Paxton said. "You four are not impartial." He waved me towards another room like he wouldn't take no for an answer.

All four of the guys looked like they were ready to punch the shit out of him.

It was Harmony who put up her hands to defuse the situation. "Paxton wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. I'll keep a close eye on him."

Jake seemed unsure as to if he should trust either of them, but they had helped get me away from Dagen. That gave them a metric shit ton of credibility as far as I was concerned.

I nodded at the guys to back down.

"I'll be fine," I said. "I can take care of myself." Frankly, it wouldn't hurt to be checked over by an actual doctor, not that butcher Dagen hired, or the witch, Irina.

We headed into the other room and Harmony closed the door softly behind us.

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