Page 26 of Murder & Mayhem

Red snorts, shaking her head. “Definitely not bulletproof. Pretty sure the alcohol coursing through his system is stopping him from feeling the pain, but he’ll be fine.”

Oliver slowly relaxes, his shoulders unbunching as he strides toward us. He takes a good, hard look at my bandaged shoulder before moving the first-aid supplies and sinking into the seat beside me. In one swift move, he drags Red out of my lap and into his. It bothers me how much I miss her nearness, and with my hand no longer glued to her hip, I lean forward and grab another bottle of whiskey off the table.

Twisting off the lid, I swallow down a quarter of the bottle while Oliver greets Red, and she settles in against him. The way she seems to melt into his arms, it’s so at odds with the tense way she held herself when she was perched in my lap, and for some reason, that annoys me.

“So,” Oliver starts, “what the hell happened tonight?”

Chapter 10

Stealing the whiskey from Cain, I relax into Oliver’s comforting embrace and take a well-deserved swig from the bottle while Cain rehashes tonight’s events. I’d never let it show, but hearing he had been shot scared me more than I care to admit, and digging that bullet out of his shoulder was a real test of my ability to work in a high-stress situation. Somehow, it was way fucking worse than patching up my own bullet wound, and trust me, that was no easy feat. It didn’t help that he had his hands all over me, making it impossible to think straight, and the way he watched my every move… fuck was it intense, even with the glassy sheen in his eyes from too much whiskey.

I couldn’t stop hearing the raw emotion in his voice when I ran into the room and heard him mumbling Evie’s name. Just remembering it makes my chest hurt. The second I saw the blood, I was across the room and in front of him, assessing the damage, but when I heard him whimper her name, like a lost soul searching for the light… I had to stop myself from climbing into his lap there and then to try and soothe his pain.So much for my insistence earlier not to let him get to me.Unfortunately, it seems Cain’s already embedded under my skin. I’m not sure that any amount of digging is going to get him out.

I’d only stopped by to try and make amends with Oliver for avoiding him all week, but there was no way I could just sit back and watch Cain in pain like that—both physical and psychological. I had to help; I needed to.

“Everything went as planned on your end?” Cain asks Oliver, sounding more alert than he did earlier.

“Yeah, easy in and out. No one was around.”

“Why exactly did the two of you think it was a good idea to go blowing up Antonelli territory?” I argue, my characteristic red-haired temper sparking.

“We’re hoping it will force Dante into checking on their other clubs,” Oliver responds, taking the whiskey from me and bringing it to his lips.

“Smart,” I reluctantly admit. “Reckless, but smart. Would have been nice to know what you were up to before you went off half-cocked, though.”

Cain cocks a brow. “Yeah? Like you did, when you went and got a job at Belle Donne without informing us?”

Crap, he’s got me there.

“Fine,” I gripe. “Can we all agree from here on out to discuss our plans with one another?”

“Deal,” Oliver quickly assents. He offers the whiskey to Cain in a silent gesture ofshut the fuck up and drink. One Cain accepts with a grumble. “Fine, but I wanna hear that story.”

The twinkle in his eyes ensures I know exactly what story he wants to hear, and I roll my eyes as Oliver pipes up, “What story?”

“Our little Reaper is a badass.” Cain’s lips quirk up in a mischievous smile. “Extracted a bullet from her shoulder all by herself.”

“You what?” I can feel Oliver’s eyes run over my skin until he finds the circular scar on my left shoulder. His fingers brush against the skin and the light touch makes me shiver.

“It was nothing, really,” I say, trying to shrug it off. It’s not like I had any other options. I couldn’t exactly show up at a hospital with a bullet wound without raising questions, nor did I have the cash to pay for that visit. I didn’t have anyone I could just call up in the middle of the night, and I needed to deal with the situation before Luc woke up for school in the morning.

Oliver snorts behind me. “Don’t bullshit us. We’ve both been shot more than once, so we know how much it hurts, never mind the mental fortitude it would take to actually push past that pain and fish out the bullet yourself.”

I shrug, unused to receiving such a compliment. “Well, it was either that or bleed out. Death wasn’t an option.”

Oliver’s arm tightens around me. “Next time you're injured or in a bind like that, come to us.”

There’s no room for protests or negotiations in his tone, and Cain backs him up before I can even begin to argue. “Agreed.” My eyebrows lift in surprise, and he tacks on, “At the very least, I owe you for tonight.”

I hesitate before nodding in agreement. Oliver nuzzles my neck, pulling me tighter against him.

After a second, Cain clears his throat. “Well, it’s late, and I’d better get some sleep before the alcohol wears off.” Pushing to his feet, he hovers, staring down at me for a second before walking off.

I watch him disappear as Oliver lavishes my neck with kisses. “You’ve been avoiding me,” he chastises when we’re alone. There’s no real heat in his voice, so I know he’s not annoyed, just making an observation.

Tearing my gaze away from where Cain disappeared, I shift in Oliver’s lap to look at him over my shoulder. “I know. I came over tonight to apologize.”

“Hmm.” He plants another kiss at the crook of my neck. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

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