As AJ carries Asher inside, I flip the lights on and get sometowels before returning to where AJ has Asher laid out on my dining table.
We don’t speak as he sets to work, grabbing a massive first aid kit from the back of his car which seems more like a medical kit an army medic would carry around.
I store that information away for later, realising this man really must be military.
A groan falls from Asher’s lips when AJ starts working on the wound, injecting something into his skin before he starts stitching him up. But he doesn’t wake. His eyes remain shut, and his skin remains pale.
“He’s fucking lucky,” AJ mutters as he secures gauze over the wound. “If that shiv was any longer, it would’ve struck his kidney.”
My lip trembles at that knowledge.
Asher came close to being killed tonight. The thought makes me feel sick, and I pull out a chair and sit, bending with my head between my knees.
“Hey,” AJ mutters, and I glance up at him through the blur of my tears. “He’ll be alright. Feed him a few steaks to help his blood rejuvenate. He won’t need more than that and some rest.”
Straightening, I swipe at my tears.
“You’re an army medic, aren’t you?”
He shrugs. “One of my many talents.”
“Who are you?” I ask, and the tidbit of warmth in his eyes vanishes.
“Who I am doesn’t matter, Lily. Whoyouare does.”
I flop back in my chair, half laughing, half sighing.
“Can you just tell me in plain English, no bullshit, what it is exactly that you want me to do?”
Taking a seat while he packs his supplies away, AJ nods.
“Ask your cousin about the party. The twenty-first. Tell him you want to return home for it, and mend bridges.”
I stiffen at that, but he continues.
“Your return will unsettle Ewan, and since he’s already on edge, it might just be what sends him over.”
“Why the hell would I want my uncle going over the edge?” I ask, my brows high. “Nothing good will come of that.”
“It’ll be the beginning of his demise.”
I stare at him for a long moment as he finishes packing his things.
“Why do you want him to suffer so badly?”
AJ turns to me then, leaning forward and resting his forearms on his knees.
“The question is… why don’t you?” He stares at me for a long moment, waiting for me to respond, and when I don’t, he continues. “His threat to make you sterile wasn’t just a threat, Lily. He’s done it before.”
My brows shoot high. “To who?”
“Are you sure you want to know?”
“Yes!” I snap, lurching up from my chair, my hands balled in frustration. “Tell me.”
He eyes me for a long moment like he’s contemplating if he should tell me what I want to know or not, but then he gives me a nod, answering.
“Your sisters.”
