by Lynn Hagen
Danni had been right earlier. I was in no shape to make it down six flights of stairs. I was barely standing upright in the living room, but I refused to be a hindrance.
Lucas grabbed my shotgun as Danni went to his knees and slid my shoes on and then tied them. My chest grew warm as I stared down at him, on his knees, taking care of me the way he was.
“We’re ready,” Danni said when he got to his feet. He slid his arm around my waist. “Let’s go.”
Fuck. I had to be falling for him, catching feeling, because even when he was frightened, he was still a solid rock, ready to do whatever he had to in order to keep me safe.
And I didn’t need him to keep me safe. I had never needed anyone to do that for me. Not since I was twelve and had killed my mom’s boyfriend. Since then I’d stood on my own two feet.
But I had to admit I liked Danni at my side.
With my gun still gripped in my hand, we exited the apartment. I would miss the place only because it was where Danni and I had made love for the first time. Maybe I would purchase the building and make it our own little getaway.
Lucas went down the stairs first, and then I ducked when he shot his gun. It was too late. Robert’s men were there.
“Back hallway,” Max said. “How many?”
“About six,” Lucas said when he jogged back to us. “We could hold down the fort in the apartment. They can’t get in.”
Gabe shook his head. “Someone is going to call the cops after that shot. We need to get ghost.”
“Then the back hallway.” Max led this time. Danni and I were in the middle, Gabe and Lucas bringing up the rear.
“Just put your weight on me,” Danni whispered. “I don’t want you hurting yourself.”
“Keep talking that way and I might think you care.” I winked, though I was dying to sit down somewhere.
I must have seriously pissed Robert off, because men charged up the back hallway, too. Some people had no sense of humor after getting their ass handed to them.
Max spun and shoved me toward the apartment door. “Get inside.”
“We’ll call for backup,” Gabe said as he shoved the door open and we rushed inside. “Get our pack here to clear out the trash.”
I made it through the doorway before the world spun and I face-planted the floor.
* * * *
Danni…
There was too much going on. I hurried alongside Lucas—he’d introduced himself before he’d scooped Reese from the floor—worried about Reese as I listened to someone trying to break the door down.
I couldn’t worry about that. I had to put that chaos out of my mind and trust that Max and the others would handle the goons while I cared for Reese.
As soon as Lucas had lain Reese in the bed, I checked his vitals. His heartbeat was strong, and his blood pressure was normal. I even placed an oximeter on his finger, relieved the oxygen in his blood was fine. Reese had just overexerted himself. We should’ve never had sex. I didn’t regret what we’d done, but it had been too strenuous for him.
Not that Reese would ever admit to that. I realized that about him. The guy had way too much pride and stubbornness to admit to any weaknesses.
“I’ll leave him in your capable hands,” Lucas said before he stormed from the room. The guy kind of spooked me. Lucas had a quietness about him, some lethal darkness that made me feel nervous. I never wanted to make an enemy of him.
I went to the bed and sat on the edge, brushing the front of Reese’s dark hair. “You’re too stubborn for your own good. You’ll never heal if you don’t learn how to rest.”
With his eyes still closed, Reese reached for me, curling his large hand around mine. In that moment I knew I was falling for him.
“Danni,” Reese whispered in his sleep.
“I’m right here.”
I whipped my head around when I heard the commotion from the living room. It sounded as if someone was breaking the door down. I let Reese’s hand go to stick my head past the bedroom door. The front door was closed, the kick bar in place. I couldn’t see the rest of the living room from my position.
“Danni.” Reese jerked his head back and forth, as if he were having a nightmare.
I hurried to the bed and crawled in, coiling my body around his. “I’m still here.”
I took his hand back into mine, and he settled down. A moment later his eyes opened. He grabbed me and held me in his arms. I had no idea what he’d dreamed about, but his grip was almost too much.
“Don’t leave the room. It isn’t safe,” he said against my neck. “I’m sorry you got pulled into this.”
I slid my hand down his back. “I’m tougher than I look.”
“You keep surprising me.” He pulled back and rested his head against his pillow. “I hate this. I hate not being at my full strength. I should be out there with my friends instead of lying here helpless as a fucking pup. Alfonso should have never been put in that situation. If they hurt him or his family, I’ll kill every last one of those bastards.”
“You’ll get better,” I said. “Then you’ll be back to your frightening self again.”
Reese looked down at me. “Are you afraid of me, Danni?”
“Not you. Your world, Reese. You guys aren’t even human. That makes things more terrifying. I’m not equipped to handle this.”
So far I’d risen to the occasion, but what if a time came when I couldn’t do that? I wasn’t a wolf. I was human. There was no way I could face an enemy on my own.
And Reese seemed to have enemies in spades.
Max wanted me to be their pack nurse. I wasn’t sure I could do that and wondered if he would let me out of my contract once Reese was back on his feet.
“You’re tougher than you give yourself credit for.” Reese kissed my forehead.
I’d started to relax, to forget the insanity down the hallway, when I heard shouting. There was a loud crash, men shouting, gunfire erupting.
Reese threw me over his body, and I hit the floor, landing between the bed and the window. “Reese, get down here!” I shouted in a loud whisper. When I peeked over the bed, my heart lodged in my throat. Reese was sitting up, both hands on his gun as he pointed it toward the door.
A shadow appeared on the floor in the hallway.
“Get. Down.” Reese didn’t look my way.
I would have, but I couldn’t move as I watched the shadow draw closer. My chest hurt from my heart beating so hard. Sweat trickled down from my temple. I slammed my eyes closed then quickly opened them when Reese fired his weapon. The sound was deafening in the bedroom.
“Stay down,” Reese snarled.
I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me or whoever was beyond the doorway, but I stayed low.
“Is he gone?” I whispered, my mouth so dry that I barely got the words out. I wish I hadn’t left the fireplace poker in the living room, but I’d dropped it when Reese passed out.
More shots were fired from somewhere in the apartment. I was shocked the cops hadn’t shown up yet with all the noise and gunfire. The neighbors probably thought a war was raging.
Some big, bulky guy with dark hair swung into the doorway, shooting at Reese. I screamed as Reese fired back. The stranger dropped to the floor, unmoving.
“Stay right where you are, sweetheart.”
“Don’t think I could stand even if I wanted to.” My fingers were curled into the bedding as I stayed low.
“Hold your fire.” Max’s voice sounded close. “I’m coming in.”
“What’s going on out there?” Reese asked.
“Seven down. None are ours. We need to move out before others arrive. Plus we don’t have time to deal with any cops.”
Reese eased out of bed on my side and gathered me into his arms. “I’m right here. We weren’t hurt.”
“As much as I appreciate you trying to comfort me, we have to get moving.” I would’ve loved nothing more than to curl into Reese’s arms for the rest of the day. He felt warm against me, his str
ong arms curled around me. His masculine scent. The deep rumble of his voice as he talked to Max. I would’ve given anything to stay right where I was.
But staying wasn’t an option.
I pulled from Reese’s arms and grabbed my medical bag, along with Reese’s handgun, as Reese got to his feet.
With a single nod, I said, “Let’s do this.”
I just wished I were as brave as I sounded.
* * * *
Reese…
Pride swelled in my chest as Danni stormed toward the bedroom door. Fuck. He was sexy when he was being tough, though I knew Danni was scared as hell.
My cock was getting hard just watching him march toward the front door. He looked sassy in his uniform with my handgun in his grip.
“You got one hell of a guy.” Max grinned as we followed Danni, my arm around Max’s shoulders. “If I were you, I’d do whatever I had to do to keep him in my life.”
“Don’t plan on getting rid of him any time soon.” Unless my world chased him away. After the shit we were currently going through, I wouldn’t blame Danni for leaving. I didn’t want him to go. I’d gotten used to him in my life, and I loved waking up next to him. I loved how he smelled, the sound of his voice, his touches, and the way he’d fallen apart in my arms when I’d made love to him.
It took a good second to get down the stairs. I moved as fast as I could, surrounded by my friends. We’d left plenty of dead bodies in the apartment. Thank fuck it had been leased through a shell company. No one would trace it back to us.
If we’d had time, we would have sent in a clean-up crew to get rid of the bodies and repair the damages, but I heard sirens in the distance and assumed they’d be here shortly.
I picked up my step, keeping my head on a swivel as we exited the building. It was evening, but there were still plenty of people on the street. Even though I needed to sit down, I made sure Danni climbed into the vehicle first.
“How’re you feeling?” he asked.
I took my weapon from him. He’d had it on his lap, pointing it directly at me. “Better now.”
“Oh. Sorry.” Danni blushed. “I’ve never handled a gun before.”
And he wasn’t handling one again unless he wanted training. If not, he could stick to hurting the enemy with syringes.
“First lesson. Keep your finger off the trigger unless you’re shooting it.”
I slipped my arm around him as Gabe pulled away, Max and Lucas following in the SUV behind us. The rain had cleared away, and now the sky was sunny and bright, though the pavement was still wet with puddles.
As soon as we turned the corner, I spotted a dark Suburban that seemed familiar. A curse fell from my lips when I saw the driver.
Robert.
He was probably going to the safe house to see if his men had killed me. If Danni hadn’t been with me, I would’ve ordered Gabe to turn around.
“Yeah, I saw it, too,” Gabe said as he looked at me through the rearview mirror. “Another day, my brother.”
“What?” Danni turned curious eyes on me. “What are you two talking about?”
“A mutual friend.” I settled back, my ribs hurting but not as badly as before. My bullet wound didn’t bother me so much anymore. A little tightness when I stretched my arm but manageable.
I noticed how Gabe kept looking at me through the rearview mirror.
“You can talk freely,” I said. “Danni is knee-deep in this shit. I’m pretty sure he’d like to know what’s going on.”
Danni was the first guy outside our group—besides Derek and Fitch—who would sit in on one of our meetings. On second thought, Fitch had never sat in on one, but since Derek was Max’s personal assistant, he’d gotten more than an earful plenty of times.
I wanted Danni to become accustomed to knowing what was happening so he could acclimate, or not be so freaked out, though he hid his fears very well.
“Antonio still hasn’t resurfaced. I’m not sure what he’s up to, but it seems your buddy, Robert, has been a busy little boy. You’re kicking his ass didn’t slow him down. He’s gaining followers, and I think, and it’s just a hunch, that if he finds out that Antonio is alive, he’ll try to take him out. Robert wants that power, and I don’t think he’ll let anything get in his way. Not even us.”
I had been so busy trying to heal and get Danni into my bed that I hadn’t given Robert much thought. “Do we know his background?”
Gabe shook his head. “We’ve been digging, but until a few months ago, no one had heard of him. We can’t even dig up his past. It’s like he’s some kind of ghost.”
Danni was staring out the window, acting as though the scenery was more interesting. I wondered if he would have questions for me once we were alone or if he would try to stay ignorant of all this.
I pulled him closer to my side, to let him know either way was okay. I wanted him to become more comfortable around me and the guys, but I also didn’t want him too deep into pack business. I wanted him to retain some of his innocence, to just be a nurse and not know just how deadly my world could be.
Shit. Could I contradict myself any harder?
“I handed your cases off for now,” Gabe said. “We have things covered at work.”
I knew Gabe and the others could handle the office in my absence. I’d been meaning to take a vacation for a while now. I just hadn’t expected it to be under these circumstances.
What I wanted to tell Gabe was that Robert had to die, that we had to go after him before he struck again. But I wasn’t going to say that in front of Danni. He already knew I walked a fine edge.
I didn’t want him looking at me as a complete monster. I’d never cared before now what others thought of me. I cared what Danni thought. As much as I didn’t want to have any vulnerabilities in my life, I cared.
Chapter Eight
Danni…
“I don’t understand why you can’t come home,” my mom said on the other end of the phone. “I haven’t seen you in nearly two weeks, and all the nurse keeps telling me is that you’re busy at work. I’m not an idiot, Danni. I know something is going on.”
The last thing I wanted to do was lie to my mother, but I couldn’t tell her the truth. She’d kick my ass if she knew the mess I’d gotten caught up in. “I promise I’ll be home soon.”
“Just tell me you’re okay,” she said. “Tell me that you’re not in any kind of trouble. Your father was the same way before he died, god rest his soul. He had a penchant for trouble. Please tell me you didn’t inherit that trait.”
Jeez. I didn’t want to go through this. My mom hadn’t talked this way since before I went to nursing school, when she thought my life would amount to a hill of beans because that summer I’d been screwing off, blowing off some steam, and she thought I would fall in with the wrong crowd.
She’d given me several lectures, although I hadn’t been doing anything wrong. I was just relaxing from graduating high school before I’d enrolled in the local college.
She had sworn I had the devil in me. Just like my dad. To be honest, I’d adored my father, and those talks used to anger me. I knew my mom had just been looking out for me, worried about my future, but unless I was robbing banks or selling drugs, she shouldn’t have ridden me so hard.
Okay, so maybe I still held a bit of resentment in me. I blew out a breath, telling myself that I needed to end the call. She was well taken care of, and that had been my main concern. “I gotta go, Mom. I have work to do.”
“Come home soon, son. Don’t get into any trouble.”
“I love you, Mom.” I hung up before she could say anything else. If I let her, she would’ve gone on and on about some invisible misdeeds I’d gotten myself dragged into.
Unfortunately, this time she would’ve been right. I’d agreed to this but only because she’d been lousy at taking care of herself and her health had been affected by those choices. Because she had horrible insurance that barely covered the cost of anything. Because her medical debts and my sc
hool loans had been a crushing weight, which I now had the opportunity to demolish, thanks to Max.
Though I’d bitten off more than I could chew.
But she was my mom, and I would do whatever I had to in order to take care of her. I would deal with the insanity while I got Reese back on his feet. I would be at Max’s disposal for whatever else they needed me for.
I just prayed I lived long enough to see my next birthday.
“Everything okay?” Reese walked into the bedroom with a cup of tea and handed it to me. Max had checked us into a fancy hotel with room service. The other room—I guess you could call it the living room—was separate from the bedroom.
If you asked me, it looked like an expensive apartment. There was even a dining area by the large floor-to-ceiling windows, a bar on the other side of the room, and a balcony.
I’d never been pampered like this before, and a small part of me wanted to call room service just so they could wheel our dinner up to us like I’d seen in the movies.
“My mom is being taken care of.” I gave Reese a strained smile before taking a sip of tea. God, it was delicious. And so was the man standing in front of me.
I’d thought Reese would want to rest when we’d arrived, but he’d been on his phone, presumably working from the way he’d been talking in legal lingo. He’d stood in front of the window, staring down at the city, so a part of this posh world that I’d felt like a fake being here.
“That’s good.” Reese grabbed a bag off the bed, a bag Gabe had given him on our way here. Reese pulled out a shiny laptop and tucked it under his arm. “I need to get some work done, so feel free to order something to eat.”
In other words he didn’t want to be bothered. I wasn’t sure what to do with all my time. I was used to working long hours with multiple patients to look after and didn’t like not having anything to do.
Within an hour I was bored senseless while listening to Reese either typing or talking on his phone to someone named Penny. So I ordered room service, nothing fancy, and then curled on the bed, exhausted from earlier when a gun battle had taken place in the apartment.