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She had so many questions for King, but exhaustion was taking over for both of them. She would ask tomorrow. Right now, she just wanted to sleep. They undressed and climbed into bed, curling up together and falling asleep within a matter of minutes. She felt safe here. She wasn’t sure if she would ever feel safe in her house again, regardless of Carter being gone.CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE“I don’t understand how you recovered so quickly,” Jo told King later that night. “You were shot. I saw you.”
“Don’t forget what I am, Jo. I know you’ve only seen my wolf a couple of times, once under not so nice circumstances today, but there is more to it than just turning into a wolf when I want. I heal quickly. I was mostly mended by the time I attacked him and completely by the time the police arrived.”
“Your clothes. There was no blood, no shredding.”
I didn’t have time. I had to just go with it or I stood a good chance of not making it. I had a spare set of clothes out in my saddlebag. I usually keep a spare in case of emergency. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to shift in a hurry and lost my clothes.”
“Have you killed men before?”
“A question for another day. Not today, but I will tell you that I have never taken having to use my wolf like that lightly.”
They lay there in the bed, still waking from the extended nap they had taken after everything that had happened.
“Do you think they will change their minds about it being self-defense? Will they be able to tell that we left something out?”
“Oh, they know we left something out. Hank Timmons is no fool. If the questions aren’t asked, it is because he chose not to and I have a feeling that is exactly what he will choose to do. He thinks highly of you. At the end of the day, he’s not going to give you extra grief just because we glossed over a bad situation that we didn’t ask for. Your bruises alone told him all he needed to know, along with the gun and knife they recovered from near his body.”
“I hope so. I don’t know how much misery I can take. I still can’t believe he found me.”
“I can. That was Paul’s doing. I’ve not a doubt in my mind about that. I’ll take care of him.”
“No more bloodshed, King. Just let it lie. It’s over now.”
“Nothing for you to worry about,” he countered, unwilling to say he would let it be.
Jo was in no mood to argue the point at the moment. Instead, she climbed from bed and padded to the kitchen with him in close pursuit. She ached all over.
“Why don’t you get a hot shower, Jo. It’ll help ease your joints. I’ll make us something to eat.”
“Thanks,” Jo responded, drinking half a bottle of water in one go and then heading to the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and groaned. Her jaws bore greyish colored fingerprints. As she undressed for the shower, she could see numerous bruises in spots all over her body. Turning slightly, she could see more on her bottom where he had shoved her down.
She shut her eyes tight as the memory flooded across her brain. She opened her eyes, shutting it out, shutting it down. Instead, she stepped into the shower and let the hot water work its magic. When she got out, she found King in the kitchen with BLTs and chips, plus a bottle of rum for them to share.
“I think this might help a bit more with the bruises than even the hot water,” he said, pouring her a rum and coke.
“It’s only four in the afternoon,” she protested.
“Here’s to day drinking,” he said cheerfully, holding up his glass in a toast.
Jo returned the gesture, wincing as she realized that her shoulder felt incredibly stiff and sore.
“Perhaps we should take you to the ER to get checked out,” he told her for the second time today.
“I’m fine, just a bit banged up,” she replied.
“Okay, I’ll stop fretting,” he said with a laugh, taking a bite of his sandwich.
Jo smiled weakly at him. Things felt strange and yet, oddly okay. She tried to put things out of her head, picking at her sandwich and chips until she was able to eat a good portion of it. King sent her to sit on the sofa while he cleared their plates and, next thing she knew, she was asleep again. It was unreal how tired she felt lately.
A few days later, she decided maybe she should see a doctor, after all. Perhaps she had hit her head or something. She was nauseous and weak, wanting to sleep more than be awake. King had noticed it too and took her to get checked out, even coming in with her as the doctor called her back to give her the results of tests they had run.
