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“You can bully me into bed in a bit, Sparrow,” he murmured. “Right now, I need to think and I need to plan before everyone else is awake and alert enough to start striking out for blood.”
There would be blood. No doubt existed within me. We would get retribution for all who had been harmed—for all who had been taken from them.
The words on the call earlier floated back up, and I glanced at Milo. “I’m fine, Ivy,” he tried again and I wrinkled my nose at him.
“Shut up.” I rose, squeezing his hand and Kellan’s gently before I released them. “You’re not fine. We already established that. None of us are. But you’re oozing blood, and those look nasty. I can help clean them up. Hardly my first injury to treat, and I can do something about it. You can sit there and let me.”
His lips pursed as he gave me a flat-eyed glare. Once upon a time, that look might have terrified me. Now? All I did was glare right back at him. Milo wouldn’t hurt me.
Ever.
The exaggerated sigh of exasperation made me smile, and I headed for the first-aid kit they kept in the cupboard.
“Want me to—” He didn’t finish the question when I hopped onto the counter and climbed to stretch up to the top cabinet where they kept the newer supplies. We’d already emptied out one of the kits when we got back after the roadside ambush.
“Apparently not,” Kellan said in a fairly droll tone. I caught the flicker of his smile as I climbed down. Milo just shook his head.
I paused long enough to get a bowl of water, then carried it over to the table. “Hand,” I said, flipping open the case.
For a moment, Milo looked like he was going to argue then held his hand out to me. I studied the broken skin over his knuckles. It was a mess.
A real mess.
I cleaned each one, careful not to reopen them but also to ensure I got out any dirt. The mark around his wrist made me frown; it was red and irritated.
“Cuffs,” Milo answered, and I jerked my gaze up to meet his.
“What?”
“I’m getting more coffee,” Kel said as he stood, and he hesitated momentarily, which pulled all of my attention.
“If you want to rest, I can get it after I finish.” I wasn’t the only one tracking his unsteady movements.
“I can get it, Sparrow,” he assured me, before he pressed a kiss to the side of my head. “I know, I look like hell. I’ll be fine.”
There was still a pallor to him that had been present since he and Milo arrived at the hospital. If Milo hadn’t pressed him to see a doctor when they got there, I would have.
“It’s a concussion, Ivy,” Milo said softly, and when I glanced at him, his lips barely seemed to move. “He doesn’t want to rest until we’re a few more hours past it.”
“That’s not what they recommended at the hospital…”
“I heard that,” Kellan said before the grinder kicked on. After, he added, “You can fuss about me when you’re done doctoring his knuckles.”
A sigh escaped me. Concussion. Smoke damage. Buildings burned. People tortured…
Tears burned as I blinked them back and tried to focus on the wavering image of Milo’s knuckles.
“Hey…”
The lump in my throat made breathing hard, and no amount of fighting the tears kept them at bay. One splashed down my face and Milo was instantly on his feet, his arms circling around me.
The sob came out a hiccup, followed by another as I lost the battle. They were all hurting so badly.
Took something precious to him—
Took something precious.
I hated him so much. This was my uncle. The guys came for me and then we got my mother, and now…
