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Conner’s adrenaline finally crashed when a bead of blood ran down his hand and fell on the plush white carpet.
“We better both let the medics take a look at us before you ruin this carpet.” The agent who’d been shot clapped him on the back.
They easily found the medics and a fire unit waiting outside the house for them. The one person he didn’t expect to see was Parker, waiting on the sidewalk.
“You’re shot?” Parker accused.
“Careful, you almost sound worried.”
“Only worried I’ll have to pick up your slack with the fundraisers.”
And yet Parker walked with him toward the paramedics, who were already gloved up to look at his arm. It only took one cut to the sleeve of his shirt to gain better access. As Conner expected, a large rip into the meaty part of his tricep was oozing blood. The paramedic cleaned the wound but told him he’d have to go to the hospital for stitches.
“That’s a nasty one. They ambush you?” Parker asked.
“Something like that. Guess they thought they were in aDie Hardmovie for a minute.”
Parker laughed. They’d always loved how the main character in those movies could get out of any dangerous situation. In the old days, when they were best friends and did everything together, they’d watch movies and debate which one of them would make a better action hero.
“You want me to call someone for you?” Parker asked while watching him flinch as the medic cleaned up his arm. He had his phone out and was responding to some text, not paying attention to Conner’s pain as the medic added some salve to his wound.
Conner immediately thought of Hannah, but he wasn’t about to admit that to her brother.
“Nah, I can still make it to family dinner and let my mom yell at me in person.”
“Just try not to get shot again before the gala. I really don’t want to play host and glad hand. You’re way better at that phony stuff.”
Conner felt the not-so-subtle insult more than the gunshot wound. Before he could respond, his phone started buzzing in his pocket. He retrieved it with his good hand and saw Hannah’s name flashing on the screen before he thought to hide it. She was calling him back, but he couldn’t answer with Parker standing there.
“Go ahead and take it. You can tell my sister she chose the wrong side and to not bother lying to me anymore.” With that, Parker stalked off.
His former best friend was too stubborn and pissed to ever forgive him. For the first time, Conner realized that even if he could prove Mariah had lied, Parker may never accept it because he’d been too embarrassed. If Parker acknowledged he’d been wrong, he’d have to accept that Mariah had rejected him and used his best friend to do it. Now Conner had given him a new reason to hate him: he was in love with Hannah.
Conner sat, deflated. There really was no way for him to be with Hannah. She would never choose him over her family, and he couldn’t even blame her. He didn’t want to hurt Parker either, he’d even thrown the fight just so he wouldn’t risk injuring or embarrassing his ex-best friend again. How could he expect Hannah to cause her brother more pain? His phone buzzed again as he settled into the back of the ambulance so they could transport him to Mercy Hospital for stitches.
“You were shot?” Hannah’s voice sounded panicked. Yep, she cared for him more than she was willing to admit.
“Just a flesh wound, but you can play nurse for me tonight.”
Her breath hitched, and it sounded like she was crying.
“Hey, babe, I’m fine. I swear. Just clipped my arm. I’m getting a couple of stitches, and then I can get cleaned up and head to your place. We can make it to my folks’ kitchen in time for dessert.”
With a grunt, her concern turned to disbelief. “You get shot, and all you can think about is dessert? How did my brother know before me?”
He cringed, tensed his shoulders, and leaned his head farther back on the padded seat. “Parker’s truck responded to the distress call I made when the shooting started. I guess they were in the area.”
There was a pause as she processed what happened.
“Why did he text to tell me you were shot?”
“That’s the bigger issue. He texted you, and the next second, you were calling my phone.”
“Oh, no. He knows.”
“If he doesn’t know, he strongly suspects at this point.”
“What did he say?”
