AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Zander bared his teeth at him. “Oh, you’re sure about that? Because I’m not.”
Vince snorted. “Just fucking help him.”
Zander didn’t say anything. Instead, he bent and grabbed the unconscious man by his shoulders, dragging him away from his vomit and closer to Vince, who’d managed to get himself into a half-sitting position despite the pain lines creasing his forehead.
“Get a cold rag or something.”
Look at the marshal, issuing orders. Zander could check him on it, but Vince was right. He didn’t want to catch a body. Not yet anyway. So he found some clean rags and wet them, returning them to Vince, who swung his legs over the side of the couch with a grunt and went about cleaning up Scotty’s face.
“His pulse is good,” Vince muttered while Zander stood around, a weird and definitely unwelcome feeling he couldn’t describe warming his scalp and the back of his neck.
He leaned against the doorjamb and crossed his arms, watching Vince take care of Scotty as if he’d done it a million times. He stripped off the younger man’s soiled t-shirt and tossed it aside, pressing a cold rag to his forehead and chest.
Vince glanced up at Zander. “Help me take his pants off.”
Not the first time that particular set of words had been directed at Zander. Only there was nothing suggestive about them now, only a thin thread of desperation and fear he didn’t think Vince even realized was there. His lips threatened to curl, but he went anyway because like the marshal said, he couldn’t afford Scotty dying on him yet. Together, they stripped Scotty down to his underwear and Zander made several trips back and forth with fresh wet rags.
By the time they got Scotty cleaned up, the younger man started thrashing as he came to. Vince spoke to him in an attempt to calm him down, while Zander just watched. Helping and soothing wasn’t his kind of thing. He was the one who scared people.
Scotty stilled under Vince’s words and touch and Zander left them to go rummaging through the bin where he and the other mechanics tossed stuff into the lost and found. He found a pink sweater with a unicorn on it and a pair of white beat-up jeans with red paint splatter. He didn’t know if either article of clothing would fit Scotty, but it was better than nothing, right? Definitely better than him walking around in just his underwear.
Back with his guests, he tossed the clothes at Scotty, who was fully awake, if a little pale and unsteady. “Here. That’s the best I can do.” Then he held out the pack of cookies and bottle of soda he’d gotten from the vending machine. “Eat that.”
Scotty’s eyes went wide, gaze swinging from Zander to Vince. “Um… I don’t—I’m fine. I’m sorry I threw up?—”
“That wasn’t a fucking request,” Zander snapped. “And don’t look at him,” he continued when Scotty glanced at Vince again. “Get dressed in that.” He motioned to the clothes. They smelled musty but were clean-ish, he figured. “Then you’re going to eat something. You can die somewhere else, at some other time, but not in my place or under my watch.” He narrowed his eyes. “Got it?”
Scotty swallowed, gaze dropping to his feet. “Yeah.”
Zander released a disgusted sigh as Scotty scurried into the nearby bathroom, leaving the door ajar at Zander’s growled order.
“You don’t have to be such a fucking dick,” Vince muttered.
Zander swung his gaze to the marshal, watching as he settled back against the couch, jaw ticking. “How is that bullet wound treating you?” he asked, tone glib. “Let’s hope it doesn’t get infected, because you I will definitely let die.”
Vince just released a huff. “You can fix all this by letting me go.”
“I could.” Zander walked over and stared down at him. “But I’ve got plans.” Vince watched him with no fear in his eyes, the fucker. It was a challenge and Zander accepted it. Anybody who came in contact with him feared him. Why didn’t this stranded federal marshal?
“I know you, don’t I?” Vince’s question was more of a musing under his breath, his gaze unfocused, but Zander heard it just the same.
“Do you?” he mocked, when he knew he shouldn’t. The longer he remained in Vince’s face, the better the chances were for the other man to put the pieces together and recognize him. Zander didn’t care, but he would prefer for that not to happen too soon.
Vince’s gaze refocused on his, deep and piercing as he searched for Zander’s secrets. But he couldn’t have them. Not now. Not ever, if Zander had any say in it.
“I’m done!” Scotty popped back into the room looking ridiculous in the too-tight outfit. He glanced at Zander and then Vince, gaze lingering at the man prone on the couch, cheeks flaring red. Huh. “They fit.” He glanced down at himself and back up at them with a shrug. “Ish.”
“Did you eat?” Vince asked him. “Come sit down and rest.”
What, had he been appointed caretaker or something when Zander wasn’t looking? He refrained from rolling his eyes when Scotty nodded at Vince and sank onto the floor next to him, his back pressed to the couch.
“I feel better,” Scotty told them. Well, he told Vince. And yeah, he looked better than he did before he passed out, but that didn’t say much. He’d looked like a fucking corpse before.
Zander turned away from the men and made his way outside, closing the office door behind him as he pulled the burner phone from his pocket and powered it on again.
He rubbed the top of his head as he dialed.
“Yeah.”
