“So, what are we working on today?”
Her laugh hit me again. “I thought you knew.”
I frowned. Had I set this up only to see her? I didn’t think so.
“Got ya!”
“You did. For a second there, I thought I was going crazy.”
“Actually, there are some items we want to follow up on.”
My phone rang. “Hang on.” I answered it because I knew it was Elena. She screened all my calls.
“Yeah, Elena.”
“Raiden, you just had a box delivered, and so did Cruze. Did you order something?”
“Not that I recall.”
“It has urgent and keep refrigerated on it.”
“That’s weird. Maybe someone sent a gift, like those steaks or something.”
“My hope is cheesecake and that you’ll give it to me.”
“Right.”
I walked out to get it. “If it’s cheesecake, it’s yours.”
I carried it back inside my office where Scottie raised her brows.
“Sorry, this came for me and Elena hopes it’ll be a cheesecake. She has a thing for that.”
Scottie nodded and looked at the box. It was one of those Styrofoam coolers, and it did indeed have urgent on it.
Then she looked closer. “This is strange. There’s no return address on it.”
There was a mailing label with my name, and the company name, but she was right.
I shrugged. “Maybe it’s because whoever sent it used a standard label.”
“I don’t know. Even then you’d think they’d have a return address on it.”
“Well, let’s open it.”
Using the pocket knife I always carried, I slit the tape. Only Scottie grabbed my arm, pushing me back, but the movement caused the lid to pop off. When it did, the box exploded. We both landed on our asses. The side of one hand, my other wrist, along with my shirt sleeves were singed.
Elena ran in and Scottie yelled, “Call 911. A bomb just went off.”
Chapter Five
Scottie
Instinct had me shove Raiden back. It was a good thing I did. Whoever had created this bomb was an amateur, thank God. But the outcome could’ve been much worse. I ran to the bathroom and grabbed some towels, soaking them in cold water. Then I wrapped Raiden’s hand and wrist in them, holding back a cringe. Blisters covered them and skin peeled off in spots. I was afraid to do anything else for fear of damaging them further.
Cruze ran in and shouted, “What the fuck was that?”
“A bomb. But it was a dud, thank God.”
He ran over to Raiden, who was still on the floor holding his hand and wrist in the wrapped towels.
“Are you okay, bro?”
Raiden shook his head, as though he wanted to free the cobwebs from it. “My ears are ringing. Scottie, are yours?”
“Yeah. It’s because we were so close to the blast. It shouldn’t last much longer. I’m just happy the damn thing didn’t blow your hands off.”
Elena ran back in and asked if we needed anything.
“Water,” I yelled.
“Got it! Police and paramedics are en route,” she called, running out the door.
Then I told Cruze to call Wolfe Investigations. “Get Drex and Gemini here. They might be able to figure out where the bombs came from.”
Cruze jumped on the phone. Moments later, cops stormed through the door, followed by the paramedics. Then he said, “I got one of those boxes too. I’m glad I didn’t open it.”
Question after question rolled out of everyone until Raiden exploded.
“Can someone examine my hand and wrist, please?”
“Back up everyone. I can answer whatever you need,” I said.
One officer frowned. “Um miss, you’re bleeding.”
“What?”
“There.” He pointed to my hip and sure enough, a bloodstain was seeping through my pants.
“Aw, hell. I must’ve gotten hit with some shrapnel.” I’d been so busy trying to get Raiden taken care of, I hadn’t noticed. It didn’t hurt until he mentioned it either. I lifted my shirt to take a better look and found a piece of metal sticking out, but I knew better than to touch it.
A paramedic approached and had me sit. He took my blood pressure and said I needed to head to the ER.
“Can you please check Raiden too?”
“He’ll be riding along too, ma’am.”
As they were placing us on stretchers, Drex, Gem, Acer, and Isla arrived.
Drex and Gem came over to me while Acer and Isla headed to Raiden. Questions rushed out of everyone. The only thing I said was, “It was a bomb and not a good one, thank God. Get photos and pull some prints, if possible. It’s unlikely, since it went through a mail service. Hopefully, something will be left on the device itself. Cruze got the same box, but didn’t open it.”
“We’ll take care of it,” Drex answered, giving me a salute.
“Hey, the police may not want to share.”
“Not a problem. We have a great relationship with them. You okay?”
“Shrapnel, but Raiden could’ve lost his hands.”
“You two could have lost your lives.” His tone was grave.
Too true. I was beyond pissed. After they yanked this piece of metal out of me, the asshole who did this would pay.
Turned out, it was a surgical retrieval of the piece of metal. It had gone in deep but wasn’t a critical wound.
Raiden’s situation wasn’t as bad as we first thought. He faced a potential loss of one finger. It was the one closest to the blast—his pinkie.
“How the fuck will I pinkie swear now if they have to take it?”
“Seriously? That’s your biggest concern?”
“It was a joke, Scottie.”
I let out a lungful of sour air. “Don’t joke about this right now. Later, after we catch the fucker who did this.”
A couple of days later, we were both still in the hospital, but he’d come to my room to pay me a visit.
“Hey, we’ll find him. My only concern right now is you getting better.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m worried about your hand and wrist.”
He held the bandaged appendages up and wiggled them. “They’ll be fine. See?”
A devilish grin curved my mouth. “I’m just glad it didn’t affect your tongue.”
“Ooh, such a naughty girl.”
I waggled my brows. “I thought you loved naughty?”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Follow me.” I inched my way out of bed and grabbed the IV pole tethered to me. I ushered him into the bathroom and locked the door. “Get ready, Mr. Kent.” I lifted his gown. “How convenient. No underwear.”
“Wait a second, you can’t do that in here.”
“Why not?”
“Because…”
A knock sounded on the door.
“Ms. Sullivan? Are you in there?”
“That’s why,” he whispered.
“I am.”
“It’s time for your vitals and medication.”
“I’ll be right out.” A giggle gushed out of me that was impossible to stop. Raiden raised his brows, most likely because I rarely giggled.
When we walked out of the bathroom, it was the nurse’s turn to raise her brows. “Oh. Well then,” she stammered.
It was obvious what we’d been up to or about to anyway. Then I glanced at Raiden and he grinned too.
The nurse took my temperature and blood pressure.
“Your pressure’s a little high but that’s normal, considering.”
I’d say. Anything to do with Raiden raised my blood pressure.
Then she handed me a cup with my medicine in it. “You’re all set.”
“Thank you.”
“Behave you two.” She waved as she left.
When the door clicked shut, we shared a glance. I covered my mouth to suppress the loud laugh.
A cocky grin appeared on Raiden. “That
was a first for me.”
“What? The nurse or getting caught in the bathroom?” I snickered.
He chuckled along. “Both, and I was referring to the hospital bathroom. For a minute there I thought she would scold us.”
“So did I!”
One glance at the clock and he headed to the door. “I have to leave. They’re coming to do my wound treatment.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“You sure? It’s super gross.”
“Come on.” I hooked my arm through the crook of his and off we went. His room was on another floor and when we arrived, a nurse at the station commented as we passed, “Mr. Kent, we’ve been searching for you.”
He held up a hand. “Right here.”
“The doctor wants to check you. I’ll page him now.”
It took a half hour for the doctor to arrive and he unwrapped Raiden’s hand and wrist. Ugh, they were awful. Some of his skin was red and other parts were black.
“I have to debride this. He pointed to the blackened bits.”
“I figured as much.”
“Is it painful?” I asked. It looked horrific.
“Not much,” Raiden answered.
The doctor explained, “With deep burns such as this, it often destroys the nerves. This is looking good. I can identify a few areas that will need skin grafts. I’m still concerned about this finger, but it appears to be improving. Your wrist looks great. We’ll keep you on the antibiotics so infection doesn’t set in and then if this continues, we’ll do the grafts soon.”
“And then?” Curiosity over what came next spurred me on. My heart thumped as I waited for the answer. The doctor looked at Raiden as if asking for permission to answer.
“It’s fine to speak in front of her.”
“After we do the grafts and I’m satisfied they’re healing with no sign of rejection or infection, he’ll be free to go home. Occupational therapy will get his finger moving again.”
“Rejection?”
The doctor nodded. “Even though we’ll use his own skin, there’s always a chance of rejection. It’s not likely, but it can happen. He’s young and healthy though, so the odds are in his favor.”
“Hey, doc, when will I know about the pinkie?”
“I’d say soon. If good blood flow establishes and healing occurs, I think they have a chance. The problem is it’s small and took a big hit. That’s where the blast concentrated. But let’s not dwell on that. Two days ago I would’ve said it didn’t stand a chance and now look at it. I’m pleased with the color.”
“But you just pulled the dead skin off.”
“Yes, but see here?” He pointed to two pink spots. “This is what we look for because it shows good blood flow. It wasn’t there yesterday.”
“Yeah, I see it now.” Raiden was inspecting his finger, turning his hand around and checking it out.
“Are you done looking because I need to get it wrapped again?”
“Oh, sure.” He held it out for the doctor to do his thing. When the bandages were on, he told Raiden he’d see him the following day.
Gently touching his wounded finger, I looked up into incredible eyes, aquamarine with the thickest black lashes any girl would kill for. When he glanced down at my hands, those dark fringes fanned the crests of his cheeks. He hadn’t shaved in a while, and he wore his sexy scruff better than most. A powerful jaw that supported firm yet soft lips was almost more than I could take. This man ramped up my desire like rocket fuel to the space shuttle. I’d met three of the Kent brothers and had seen the fourth because he was a quarterback for a pro football team. An extraordinary gene pool had gifted them. All of them were gorgeous, but Raiden was extra blessed. God himself must have sculpted his body. The man was utterly perfect. Or maybe it was me. No doubt we had chemistry and tons of it. He lit me up and each time I’d think this was it. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Our sexual encounters only made me want him more.
“What’s put that scowl on your face?” he asked.
“Thinking about the bastard who did this. Why?”
“We’ll find out. I’m glad you’re okay and nothing more serious happened.”
Another knock on the door and his brother, Cruze, strolled in, a motorcycle helmet stuffed under one arm. He wore tight jeans with a leather jacket. “Hey guys. Should’ve guessed you’d be here, Scottie.”
“Nice to see you too, Cruze.”
He smiled, and I noticed for the first time it wasn’t all there. He appeared preoccupied. I noticed deep lines next to his eyes that hadn’t been there before.
“What’s up, bro? I thought you were going to South America.”
“Canceled it. Getting the office squared away. The explosion did a number on yours. It destroyed the table, rug, sofa, and some other things. We have to replace everything.” He scratched his chin. “After the bomb experts finished with their examination, they couldn’t believe you two weren’t hurt worse than you are.”
I stepped closer to Raiden. “Have they found anything out yet?”
Cruze scoffed. “Yeah. The dude got his wires crossed. Apparently, he didn’t connect them as he should have, which saved your lives, along with the rest of the executive floor. And it was a good thing I didn’t open the box sent to me or I wouldn’t be standing here because he got that one right.”
Raiden let out a breath. “No shit.”
“Yeah. It was bad. Someone wanted us both dead. They wanted it to be a loud message. Isla’s convinced Aiden O’Brien is behind it. Drex isn’t so sure. He thinks Aiden cut and ran back to Ireland. They’re researching for him now.”
“They’d better move fast because if it was O’Brien, he won’t stop at one try. He’s a vicious motherfucker.” I stared at Cruze and he nodded. This was worse than I first thought. It wasn’t a pissed-off client or someone else who wanted revenge. These guys were professional killers, and the fact that this bomb had missed was a total shock.
Grabbing my IV pole, I went for the door.
“Where are you going?” Raiden asked.
“Home. I’m releasing myself. I need to start the investigation on this before they try something else.”
Chapter Six
Raiden
Everyone was pissed off at me, including myself. Belligerent, hostile, antagonistic, were terms that described me best. The doctor refused to sign my hospital release papers and when I threatened to leave anyway, Cruze said he’d change all the codes to the building so I wouldn’t be able to enter.
“Raiden, don’t even think about it. Your hand is important.”
“Agreed, but it’s fine. Only one finger’s at risk.”
“In other words, you don’t give a damn if you lose it?”
“I didn’t say that. I’m intelligent enough to know if they take a turn for the worse.”
“So now you’re playing doctor?”
“Cruze, stop twisting my words.”
“Only if you stop being such an obstinate dumbass. The finger has to heal, brother, or you’ll be useless on a keyboard.”
The fucker hung up on me. And that’s when my mood shifted. I could be more help to them in the office than in here. Scottie checked herself out yesterday, against medical advice. To be fair, the doctor told her he was going to release her today, but he wanted her to stay one more day. After some persuasive talk on her part, he threw his hands up and told her to go, against his wishes. He also told her he wanted her to report in daily.
That pissed me off too. Why couldn’t my doctor do the same? When I asked, he would only say he needed to change my bandages and inspect the wounds daily.
“I can come in for you to do that.”
“I also want to keep you on the IVs for a few more days. Better to be safe.”
That’s when my evil twin showed up. Without Scottie here, this stay became unbearable. Mom told me I was acting like a spoiled brat and I suppose she was right. However, being here was useless. Even having my computer here was ridiculous. The bandage made it
impossible to type anything.
My phone rang late that night and I was sort of pleased to see it was Scottie. But, not even thoughts of her could rouse me out of my sullen mood.
“Hey there. How’s the patient today?”
“Impatient,” I growled.
“Wow. Someone is grumpy. Cruze told me you’ve been in a rotten mood.”
“Oh? What else did Cruze tell you?” I imagined the two of them, heads together, gossiping about me.
“Nothing other than you weren’t happy about having to stay.”
“Humph.”
“Hey, I’d come and visit, but I was super busy today and time got away from me. I just got home about a half hour ago.”
“That a fact?”
“Um, look, if you don’t want to talk, I can call back tomorrow.”
“Sure. Why don’t you do that, when you can book me into your busy schedule.”
“Jeez, Raiden, you don’t have to be an asshole about it.”
“No, but I’m not feeling particularly jovial tonight.”
“I’m sorry, but don’t take it out on me.”
“Point made and received.”
“Look, I’m going to call it a night. I’m exhausted—”
“I’m sure you are. Talk later.” I ended the call. Then I sat there and sulked. This sucked. Until I realized I could’ve been dead, instead of sitting here, relatively unscathed, all things considered.
“Ugh, how could I have been such a dick?”
“Pardon me?” the nurse asked. She walked in as I was talking out loud to myself.
“Nothing. I was, oh, never mind.”
“You okay, Mr. Kent?”
“I guess so.”
“I need to take your vitals. And it’s time for me to switch out your IVs.”
She was quick to take my temperature and blood pressure, which were both normal. Then she hung two new IV bags and handed me a couple of pills in a tiny cup.
“One is for pain and the other for sleep.”
“I’m not in any pain. Do I still need to take those?”
“No, but are you sleeping okay?”
“I’ve been sleeping fine.”
Raiden: A Stand Alone, Irish Mob Crime Romance (The Kent Brothers Book 2) Page 4