Pack Rules
Page 12
Ethan growled at Avani, who nodded. She couldn’t have understood what he meant, surely? A moment later, Ethan climbed off Craig, and he was replaced by Avani. She was a lot smaller, but the gun to his stomach made sure he didn’t try anything.
With all eyes on Craig, neither Conor nor Avani noticed Ethan pass out until he hit the hard floor.
Chapter Fourteen
The room Ethan woke up in certainly wasn’t the one he’d passed out in. For one thing, there hadn’t been a bed in that room. He lifted a hand to his face to scratch his stubble, and winced. Wrong arm. When did I shift back to human form? He vaguely remembered the fight with Craig, and being shot, but everything after was viewed through blurred memories. Did Conor wake him up long enough for him to shift back?
Movement to his side brought his attention fully to the here and now. He was in a private room in a hospital, somewhere in the city judging by the traffic noise. Night had fallen while he’d been out, the light replaced by humming fluorescents. An IV drip was stuck into his right arm, and a clean white bandage bound his latest wound on his left.
He turned to the chair at his side to find Conor fast asleep. From the look of his duct-taped shirt, he hadn’t been home to change.
“He’s been here the whole time.”
Ethan looked up to find Avani standing in the door of the room, her arms folded, a smile on her face.
“Right through the surgery, too,” she added. “Good thing you’d lost so much blood. If you were at full strength, they’d be asking how you managed to heal before they got you into the OR.”
“What about Craig?” he asked.
“Police arrived about five minutes after you shifted back to human form. They had the gun with his fingerprints, the hole in you, and Conor’s statement.” She grinned. “He’s going away for a long time.”
Ethan let out a breath. He’d have to let his contact in the force know about his nature, just in case. The last thing anyone needed was Craig out and looking for vengeance. Conor came around with a cough, and straightened in his chair, blinking.
“I’ll leave you to it,” Avani said, pulling the door shut behind her.
“Thanks for the help,” Ethan called after her.
“Hey, you’re awake.” Conor yawned. “And so am I. Didn’t realise I was so tired.”
Ethan reached over and squeezed his hand. “You saved my life.”
Conor frowned. “It was Avani who tied off the bullet wound, not me.”
“True, but if you hadn’t got Craig’s attention, he would have shot me while I was shifting.”
He shrugged. “It was nothing. Though I have to ask, why did you shift?”
Ethan sighed and laid back. “Calculated risk. We were pretty well matched in human forms, and I knew I could shift faster than he could. Plus, I can take more damage as a wolf.”
“It nearly got you killed.”
He nodded. “Good thing you were there, then.”
Conor smiled. “The police have him now. They were here earlier, asking questions, and I guess they’ll be back soon.”
As if on cue, the door opened, and two officers walked in. Ethan sighed.
“Mister Stevenson? Are you okay to answer a few questions?”
Ethan chewed his lip. “Can I get a few minutes first? Some things I need to tell my boyfriend, here. I’ll call you in when I’m done.”
The officers disappeared without a word, and Ethan turned to a grinning Conor.
“Boyfriend, hmm?”
Ethan felt himself colour. “Yeah, well, after all we’ve been through, you still haven’t run off screaming. I think you’re a safe bet.” He sighed. “I know I’m not the most romantic person on the planet, and it’s hard for me to open up, but I really like you, Conor, and I think...”
Conor leaned in and kissed him, his lips warm against Ethan’s. For a few seconds, the pain in his arm disappeared, and everything was right with the world. Conor broke the kiss, pulling back a few inches.
“You’re worth sticking around for.”
Ethan smiled and pulled Conor close for another kiss, more forceful this time. When he broke, he reached over and pulled the IV from his arm.
“What are you doing?” Conor asked, frowning. “You need that.”
“I’m already on the mend. And besides, it’ll get in the way.”
Conor cocked his head. “Of what?”
Ethan grinned. “We’ve got at least ten minutes before the police knock on the door.”
Conor grinned back and reached for the zipper on his pants. “Time enough for a quickie?”
“Definitely.”
Chapter Fifteen
Conor dropped into his office chair and thumped his feet onto his shiny new desk.
Phillip, his now ex-boss, hadn’t been pleased to hear that he wouldn’t be returning to his old job, but Conor had thought long and hard about it, and decided he’d rather not return. Too many memories of his old life. Not that they were all negative, far from it. He just felt he needed a new start.
Yup. He dropped his legs back to the floor and shuffled a loose pile of papers. New beginning, starting now.
His cell phone began to ring. The caller display said “Michelle.” He sighed and picked up the phone. It was as if she knew he was happy, and had to spoil it. She started instantly, this time. He’d been avoiding her calls for two weeks, ever since the Craig stuff. She obviously had been saving up her bile the whole time and went straight to abuse, skipping sarcasm completely.
He held the phone from his ear until she slowed. “You done?” Before she could reply, he went on. “I’ve had enough, Michelle. You’ve been calling and calling, and making my life miserable for too damn long. It’s going to stop.”
“Oh, no it’s not,” she snarled through the earpiece. “I’m not even star—”
“You’re done,” he said. “You call me again, I call the police. You keep calling after that, and I’ll file a restraining order. Good-bye.”
He hung the phone up and then switched it off. It wouldn’t work immediately, he knew, and he probably would have to get someone else involved, but it would stop eventually. He was a new man, now, and Michelle was his past, not his future.
“Personal calls during office hours, Mister Black?”
Conor glanced up in surprise. He hadn’t heard the door to the office open. “Won’t happen again. Promise, Sir.”
“Sir...” Ethan leaned over and placed his hands on the desk. “I like the sound of that.”
“Well, you are in charge, after all.”
He grinned and dropped into the seat opposite Conor’s. “So, settling in okay?”
“So far, so good.” He gestured to the office that had been a third of the storeroom until recently. “I even have a window.”
Granted, the window had a view of the brick wall on the opposite side of the alley, but the company more than made up for it. The work was easy, too. He was used to accounting for big business clients, so an average-sized bar was a cakewalk. It was a shorter commute, too.
Ethan smiled back at him. The wound had long healed to the point where the only hint it had existed was a small scar the size of a five cent piece. It was currently hidden under a tight shirt that showed off every one of Ethan’s muscles. Yum.
“So, Sir,” Conor said, as he straightened in his chair a little. “How’s business?”
“It’s pretty slow right now. Won’t get busy for an hour or so, yet.”
“That a fact?” Conor kicked his shoes off under the desk.
“Yup. Though you’re going to be very busy until then.”
“I am?”
“Yup.” Ethan stood and began to unbuckle his belt. “Very busy.”
THE END
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JC lives in the south of England and spends the free hours of each day reading, writing, and indulging various other hobbies, in the company of Tuna the cat. JC has been writing for several yea
rs now, and refuses to acknowledge proper house attire, or people who say things like, "When are you getting a real job?" and, "Can I be in your next book?"
Also by JC Holly
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