Vice (Fireborn Wolves Book 1) (13 page)

“
S
top
! Get on the ground!” Taneesha yelled. From the place where Laina landed, with her cheek pressed to the grass, she could see the security guard had drawn her gun on the shooter. Her partner rushed the man and bound his hands behind his back.

With the wind knocked out of her, Laina closed her eyes and struggled to inhale against the protest of her lungs. She managed a short, painful sip of air. Meanwhile, Milo barked furiously toward the gate. Intense pain radiated from her shoulder, causing waves of nausea to pitch her onto her side.

“Fuck, Laina, you’re hit!” Kyle pulled her into his arms. “We need to get you help.”

She didn’t have the breath to argue. With a hand pressed to her shoulder, she thanked the goddess that the bullet hadn’t pierced any internal organs but cursed when she realized it hadn’t passed all the way through. As a shifter, she’d heal quickly once the bullet was out. Every moment it stayed inside her flesh though would cause torment as her body attempted to heal around it.

Her gaze darted toward the gatehouse. Some of the picketers had cell phones pointed in her direction. She gripped Kyle’s shirt and positioned her face against his chest. He narrowed his eyes, seeming to understand her need to protect her identity.

In one motion, Kyle swept her into his arms and stood up, keeping his back to the gate. He walked her to the house at a steady clip, Milo trotting behind. The mastiff whined occasionally and poked her hand with his giant wet nose.

“When we get back to the house, I’ll call my personal physician. He’s signed a nondisclosure.”

“No,” she rasped, shaking her head. “Get Jason. He’ll know what to do.”

Gerty opened the door for them. “Should I call 9-1-1, Kyle?”

“No. Find my brother. I need Jason,” Laina insisted. “Take me to my room.”

The grimace on Kyle’s face told her he wasn’t happy about it, but he dutifully obeyed. When he tried to set her on the bed, she squeezed his arm. “No. The tub. Too much blood.”

“Exactly. Too much blood. Now will you let me call someone?” He lowered her into the tub and carefully helped her out of her jacket. She stopped him when he reached for her t-shirt.

Jason appeared over Kyle’s shoulder with the trauma kit from her bag. She always carried one. When you became a wolf once a month, accidents happened. Bites and abrasions were par for the course. “You’ll need this, sister.” He handed her a pair of scissors.

Laina cut away the section of T-shirt over the wound. “Forceps,” she said to Jason.

“Which forceps?” Jason asked.

“The ones that look like extra-long tweezers. The longest ones.”

He held up a pair, still in their sanitary packaging. “Yep, those. Try to hand them to me using the wrapper.”

Like a pro, he pulled the packaging back, touching only the paper and plastic. She tugged the instrument out and tucked in her chin to try to better see the wound. Grinding her teeth, she dug the tips of the forceps into the entry point. Kyle grunted. When she glanced up he was three shades whiter and wavering on his feet.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he asked.

Jason rested a hand on his shoulder. “Relax, Kyle. She’s done this before. If you need to leave the room, it’s okay.”

“Jason, hold up the hand mirror for me,” Laina said.

Kyle knocked Jason’s hand out of the way and grabbed the mirror, taking a seat on the side of the tub. Laina guided his hand until the mirror was in the right position. As she suspected, her body had already started to heal around the bullet. She’d have to break through the flesh to get to it. “This is going to hurt,” she murmured, then used her opposite hand to pound the forceps deeper into her wound.

She grunted but it was Kyle who yelled as if she’d stabbed him instead of herself.

Jason snorted. “I don’t suppose that felt like the nudge of a soft kitten.”

Kyle gave him an openmouthed scowl.

“Just about…” she said as she dug into the wound, listening for the metal on metal sound. “Got it!” Clenching the bullet between the tips of her forceps, she yanked. The small piece of metal slipped from her grip as it exited her flesh and chinked against the side of the tub. Its exit was followed by a spurt of blood that splattered the knee of Kyle’s pants.

“Sorry,” she said.

His jaw dropped, and he ran a hand over his face, shaking his head.

“Jason, the suture kit.” She pointed toward the trauma bag.

He pulled it from the kit, donning a pair of gloves to thread the needle for her without being asked. “Maybe I should do the stitches,” Jason said.

“No. Yours are too sloppy. You’ll leave a scar,” Laina said.

“Please tell me you are not going to give yourself stitches!” Kyle tipped his head back in exasperation.

“Unless you’d like to do it,” Laina said.

He blanched.

“I’ve done this before,” she said to him reassuringly. “Luckily, I’m a righty and the bastard hit my left shoulder.”

Jason helped glove her hand and clean the wound, then handed her the sterile needle. With a deep breath, she steadied herself and began. Although the process was painful, she sutured using tight, even, continuous stitches. This would be folly on a human shoulder, but she’d be healed in twenty-four hours. Fast healing and resistance to infection were hallmarks of her kind. She tied off the end.

“Cut,” she said to Jason. He obliged.

“Who are you people?” Kyle asked, eyes narrowing as she dabbed her stitches with antiseptic.

“You know who I am. I’m Laina Flynn, DVM.”

“I just watched you take a bullet, remove it from your own shoulder, and stitch your own wound as if you did it every other day.”

Jason met Laina’s eyes and raised his fist behind Kyle’s head. He paused, offering to knock him out.

Laina shook her head. Jason lowered his arm.

“How?” Kyle asked. “Why?”

She frowned. “I need to rest.” Closing her eyes, she tipped her head back against the tub.

“Not in the tub.” Kyle retrieved a washcloth from under the counter, wet it in the sink, and carefully washed the blood from her face and arm with long even strokes. “Get her a new T-shirt,” he ordered Jason. To Laina’s surprise, her brother complied, although it must have been painful for him to do the bidding of a human.

Jason handed the shirt to Kyle. He gently removed the remains of Laina’s bloody one before stretching the fabric of the clean top over her head and injured shoulder. Then he scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bed, tucking her in. She grunted in pain as he repositioned her.

“I’m going to call my personal physician. You need painkillers. Maybe antibiotics.”

“Don’t make me have to hurt you, Kyle,” Jason said. “She can’t be seen by a doctor and that’s that.”

Kyle frowned and shook his head. “Laina?”

“Food. Something to drink,” she asked, her eyelids too heavy to keep open. “It will help. I haven’t even had breakfast.”

“I’ll get you something,” he said.

Jason hovered over his shoulder, giving her a nod that he’d make sure Kyle did nothing more.

She mouthed
thank you
before sinking into a deep and much needed sleep.

W
hen Laina woke
, the room was filled with the most delicious smell, a combination of food and Kyle, whose presence dipped the bed beside her. Her eyes fluttered in the dim light. The shades were drawn but she sensed she’d been asleep a long time.

“What time is it?” she rasped, her tongue as dry as a stone.

Kyle stood and poured a glass of water from a large glass pitcher on the dresser. The ice cubes clinked against the side of the glass as he returned to the bed, scooping an arm behind her shoulders to help position her to drink. “It’s after midnight. You’ve slept more than twelve hours.”

She tipped the glass back, savoring the relief the cool liquid provided. “More. Please.”

He stood and refilled the glass.

Again, she drained it dry. When she’d finished, Kyle was on the other side of the room again, loading a plate. She watched him pick up a strawberry, notice a small bruise, and toss it back on the tray. Another strawberry passed inspection and made it to the plate along with several slices of cheese, deli meats, and what looked like fresh-baked bread. Every selection was made with the utmost care, but it wasn’t until he returned to her side and held a perfect strawberry to her lips that she realized he had no intention of eating any of it. He’d made the plate especially for her.

She bit into the strawberry, savoring the fruit’s perfection from the tips of his fingers. He used his thumb to wipe a bit of juice from her lip.

“Can I ask you something, Laina?” He built a simple sandwich from the bread, meat, and cheese, and held it out for her.

She took a bite and nodded, although she dreaded his inevitable question. Undoubtedly, he’d want to know how she was able to take a bullet with only minimal damage. A question she might not be able to answer.

“Why did you throw yourself in front of me?”

She wasn’t expecting that one. “I didn’t. I was walking slightly in front of you and was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

He shook his head. “You were right beside me. I know because Milo was heeling between us as he always does. Somehow, you saw the gun and pushed me out of the way. You took a bullet for me.” He frowned. “I think I deserve to know why.”

She chewed another bite and swallowed. “I couldn’t bear to see you shot.”

“Why?”

“Because I care for you.” Her voice cracked.

“Care for me enough to risk death and potentially revealing your identity.”

“Yes,” she said honestly.

He fed her another bite, stroking her hair back from her face while she ate it. “That kind of caring… a person could mistake a thing like that for love.”

She swallowed and looked down at her hands, her stomach flipping like a pancake. She could feel his gaze on her, burning straight into her soul.

“Do you love me, Laina?”

She swallowed again, her skin shrinking until it was too small for her body. She couldn’t… wouldn’t hand her heart over. It would be pure folly to admit such a thing. Their time together was ticking down. It would only make it worse.

“Because
I
love
you
,” he said. Her eyes snapped to his. “I think I loved you from the moment you walked into Milo’s exam room. There was something about you, something otherworldly. You were nothing like any woman I’d ever met, but all I could think about, all I’ve thought about since that day, was what could I do to get closer to you.”

“You can’t love me,” she murmured.

He set the plate down and leaned over her, one hand on each side of her chest. “I love you, Laina. Whatever this secret is, this thing with your family, it’s okay. There is absolutely nothing you could tell me that will undo what has already been done. I love you. I will always love you.”

She took his face between her hands and kissed him, long and hard. By the time she came up for air, she’d decided she couldn’t lie to herself for one more minute. For better or worse, she wanted this human and was willing to sacrifice herself for him. “I love you, too, Kyle. I took the bullet because I couldn’t bear to see you hurt… because I love you.”

He pulled her into him then, kissing her harder and squeezing her against his chest. All at once, he pulled back, holding the outsides of her shoulders. “Did I hurt you? I forgot about your shoulder.” He pulled aside the neck of her T-shirt to expose the blood-soaked gauze.

“It’s fine,” she said.

“We should change the bandage. Let me have a look. I’m still not convinced I shouldn’t call the doc over here.” He dug his fingers under the tape. In her one-handed haste, she hadn’t taped the dressing securely.

“Really, Kyle. It’s fine.”

He tugged the corner back and stopped, at first smiling at what he saw behind the gauze and then taking on an expression somewhere between fear and confusion. He dropped his hands. Laina pressed the dressing back into place.

He shook his head, face paling as his hand reached out and tore the bandage away in one quick motion. Although the gauze was bloodstained, the wound underneath was almost completely healed. The stitches came away in pieces as they separated from her skin, her flesh having already dissolved the ones inside her.

Kyle stood and backed away from the bed, staring at her as if she might levitate and shoot laser beams out of her eyes at any moment. “What the fuck is going on, Laina.”

A
s Kyle backed away
from the bed, Laina thought of one thing and one thing only: she loved him, and if their relationship had any hope of working out, she had to find a way to tell him the truth. It was forbidden for a werewolf to reveal his or her true nature to a human. She couldn’t tell him the entire truth and she doubted he was ready for it anyway. But she could give him enough information to allow him to make a choice.

“Remember what I told you in the tree house? My family is not like other families. My community is not like other communities.”

He nodded.

“My body is different. It’s why I couldn’t let you take me to the hospital. The doctors would see I was different and everyone would know and then Jonah would find me.”

“Are you some kind of medical miracle?” He scrutinized her face. “We did a story in
Hunt Club
magazine about a guy whose bones can’t break. A freak genetic mutation makes them the density of marble. Is that what we’re talking about here?”

She nodded. It was true; she was a medical miracle. Of course, she was also magic, but that was something he wasn’t ready for. That was something she’d have to reveal slowly, over time, and with special permission from the pack if she could get it. “You can’t catch it or anything. I’m just different.”

He gave a quick, curt nod. “And your brother?”

“Also like me.”

“This murderer who’s after you, he knows your secret?”

“Yes. Silas will find Jonah and he will bring him to justice, but until then, I have to be careful. No one can know who I am or where I am. He’s deadly and dangerous. That’s why I was so worried about the cell phones today.”

“The shooting is all over the news, but your face isn’t in any of the footage. My security team interrogated most of the picketers and threatened legal action. Some shared the videos despite our efforts, but as far as we can tell, the only part of you visible in any of them is your feet. You’re completely concealed behind my chest.” He took a step closer to the bed but didn’t sit down beside her.

The generic buzz of Laina’s cell phone broke through the tension in the room. She bounded from under the covers and snatched it from the bedside table. “Hold on,” she said to Silas before he had a chance to speak. She held the phone to her chest before turning back to Kyle. “It’s my brother. Would you…?” She glanced toward the door.

Eyebrows pinched over his nose, he nodded once and left, closing the door behind him.

“Okay. I’m alone.”

“We need to get you out of there.” Silas’s tone was urgent.

“Why? What happened?”

“I got a call from a friend working at the Sable Creek PD. The man who shot you disappeared, Laina.”

“What do you mean disappeared? Did he get away?”

“No, sister. He vanished from the back of a police cruiser, leaving locked handcuffs on the back seat.”

“You don’t think…”

“Jonah has found you. You’ve got to get out of there.”

“No, Silas. The shooter was trying to hit Kyle, not me. The protesters were here well before I was. And if this guy is powerful enough to beam himself somewhere from the back of a moving car, he is certainly powerful enough to blip in here and carve me to bits. I’ve been passed out for the last twelve hours. Jason is asleep right next door. Believe me, if he was targeting me, I’d already be dead.”

“Something’s wrong here. I’ve got red flags flying in my head like you wouldn’t believe. Did you test Kyle?”

“Yes. He passed all three. I saw him in direct sunlight and through water. I saw his reflection in the water by moonlight. No aura. Nothing strange.”

“What about the mirror? Did you view his reflection in a mirror by moonlight?”

“Well… no. It was in the water. But there’s no way it’s him. He’s not Jonah. I don’t want to move, Silas. I feel safe here.”

Silas growled in frustration. “The shift is this weekend. I’ll join you and Jason at Monty’s Saturday morning to discuss this. That will give me time to investigate further.”

“I understand.”

There was a pause on Silas’s end and murmuring in the background. When he came back on, he sounded resolved to something. “Grateful has agreed to come to you.”

“Grateful Knight? The witch? Why?”

“She’ll walk through the property looking for residual magic. If Jonah has been anywhere near you, she might be able to trace him to where he’s hiding.”

“How am I supposed to explain her being here?”

“Make something up,” Silas said, obviously annoyed. “Tomorrow morning, go outside at sunrise and face east. She says she’ll meet you.”

“I don’t trust this witch, Silas. All I hear about Grateful Knight is how trouble follows her wherever she goes.”

“Fine. Don’t trust her. Trust me.”

She sighed heavily.

“Stay safe, Laina.”

“Wait, what about Jason?”

“I’m calling him next. He’ll be right beside you.”