Page 8 of His to Keep

"Yeah," Colt replied, forcing a tight smile. "Just thinking about security."

"Always vigilant. Good man." Zane's voice sounded light enough, but the concern in his eyes betrayed the gravity of the situation. It was never a good thing for a mafia boss to be perceived as vulnerable. "Focus on finding out who did this, and we'll deal with them accordingly."

The gunman had walked into the bar, shot Zane, and then fled before anyone could even get their guns out. He'd known what he was doing. He'd only had a short head-start on them, but even as Colt's men had chased after him, the man had slipped into the city like he was smoke.

He was still out there somewhere. Colt just had to be ready for when he would strike again.

Because thanks to a doctor who happened to be in the right place at the right time, Zane had survived the shot.

And a man good enough to walk into the Thorne's den and shoot in cold blood like thatwouldstrike again. Colt knew it.

"Understood, boss." Colt nodded, clenching his fists at his sides. He wouldn't rest until whoever had tried to kill Zane was made to pay.

"Thank god your wound wasn't worse," Rowan murmured, his voice laced with relief.

"Only because that doctor happened to be there," Zane replied, his tone grateful. "He rushed in and saved my life."

Colt's body tensed at the mention of the mysterious doctor: Liam, surname unknown. It hadn't exactly been the sort of scene for swapping business cards.

Liam, the man with a sharp tongue and steady hands, had walked straight into the Thorne bar as if he didn't fear for his life. The memory of him giving orders to Colt, telling him what to do, should have made Colt's blood boil.

But it hadn't.

Liam had caught Colt's eye the instant he'd first looked down the barrel of his gun, and seen who he'd had in his sights. Slim, messy dark hair, glasses. He'd looked young despite the black smudges of exhaustion under his eyes. Colt couldn't help but clock the guy's physical appeal, a bookish charm that had seemed wildly out of place in the Thorne's den.

Colt grunted inwardly. Yeah, Liam was attractive. The way he carried himself, the sharp features softened by those damn glasses, the feeling of his hands guiding Colt's into place…

It was more than just the chaotic situation; there was something about Liam that got under Colt's skin.

And because of Liam's bravery — headingtowarda mob boss instead of running in the opposite direction — Zane was going to live another day.

"Make sure that doctor is properly rewarded," Zane said, as if he could read Colt's thoughts.

Zane's voice interrupted Colt's thoughts, pulling him back to reality. He nodded, trying to clear his mind. "Already on it."

Colt left his second-in-command to guard Zane's room, and stepped out into the sterile hospital corridor. He strode down the hallway, deep in thought.

As soon as Liam had stepped in and saved Zane's life, Colt had known that he needed to reward the doctor. Last night had been chaotic; Colt had assumed that he'd get to repaying Liam today, when Zane was stable and the danger had cleared.

But when he got his men to ask around, he'd found that he'd been wrong. In a city this big, a single name and an occupation wasn't enough to go by.

Colt hadn't managed to track Liam down. Without him realizing it, Liam had slipped through his fingers.

All Colt knew was that Liam was a doctor. He scoffed. 'Doctor' didn't exactly narrow it down. Liam could have been anything from someone delivering babies, to an ear nose and throat guy. For all Colt could find, Liam's day job could have been telling guys to turn their head and cough.

The Thorne family always paid their debts.

But Colt had to find the goddamn guy first. Easier said than done.

Colt glowered as he paced the empty blue hallways of the hospital. The city was a big place. It had a shitload of doctors. It wasn't exactly like there was some big list anywhere—

Oh, shit.

The universe was smiling on him.

At the other end of the hallway, Liam walked past.

The very same hospital? Colt grinned. That made his job a hell of a lot easier.

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