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“Are you bleeding?”
ChapterThirty-Three
There wasblood pooling below him but I couldn’t tell from where. It was stupid to wear all black when you could get hurt. He grimaced, repositioning himself.
“I’m fine. Bastard got me in the leg when I was trying to get Liam inside.”
“Where the fuck is Sean?” Liam growled. He kneeled next to James, applying pressure with a towel Andre handed him. Jo was glued to Liam’s side, her face dark. She still had Liam’s gun and she aimed it at the door when it flew open again. This time though, Sean raced inside, a concerned look on his face with Jaime hot on his heels.
Sean immediately got to work. They moved James into a kitchen chair and Jaime raced to grab a medical kit. He stood guard nearby while Liam handed Sean what he needed, working quietly side by side. All I could do was sit by James and watch. Every time he flinched, my heart hurt. In that moment, I felt useless and overwhelmed. The thought of losing him scared the crap out of me and I clenched my jaw, trying to hold back my sobs.
James’s rough hands cupped my cheeks, his thumbs wiping away tears. “Baby, I’m gonna be fine.”
I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut. I couldn’t watch anymore. The world had gone quiet after Jo shot Harrington but it felt like the gun blasts were playing on repeat in my head. Slowly, James pulled me against his side, tucking my head under his chin. I was worried I’d be in the way of Sean and Liam but they didn’t say anything.
Finally, Sean sat back, letting out a sigh and I opened my eyes. “Alright, you’re good. It looked worse than it was. I want you to come check in with me at the hospital tomorrow just to get some images but you’ll live.”
Sean looked worn out, pulling off his glasses so he could scrub his hands over his face. Liam frowned at him, gripping his shoulder and Sean gave him a small smile.
“I thought it was you. Someone said they saw you being dragged into the house. I freaked out for a minute.”
In a surprising show of affection, Liam cupped his brother’s head, pressing their foreheads together. “I’m fine. Took one to the vest. James was just moving me out of the way.”
When Liam released him, Sean looked relieved. He glanced around the room, doing a double take at Jo. “Why do you have a gun?”
Jo crossed her arms, scowling at him. James smirked. “She took out Harrington. Didn’t even flinch, got him right between the eyes.”
Both Jaime and Sean snapped their eyes to her, looking at her incredulously. She glared at them.
“I know how to shoot, stop looking at me like that!”
Watching her argue with them, threatening to shoot Jaime next when he said it was probably a lucky shot, I felt myself relax. This week had been more adventure than I ever wanted in a lifetime but I couldn’t regret being here with these people. Liam managed to take the gun away from Jo and was holding her back from hitting Jaime, who was teasing her. Andre was pulling out food, getting ready to feed the men who were now filtering into the house. Sean was back to work, treating the wounded with a few of the other guys helping him.
They all felt important to me now. Especially Jo. She may be the same age as me, but she was my role model. I hope eventually I can get past my social anxiety enough to be as brave as she is. To love as fiercely as she does.
I glanced up at James. He was watching the room, always working, but he felt my movement and smiled down at me, cupping my cheek. I wanted to tell him how I felt about him but I didn’t feel like it was the right time. I didn’t want him to think it was a reaction to what happened tonight. He kissed my forehead and I closed my eyes. I’ll tell him I’m falling for him later.
* * *
There wasa lot of damage to the house, more than I thought possible. It really did look like a war zone outside. Dmitriy and Mateo showed up with a large portion of their people soon after everything started so the road was littered with motorcycles and bodies on both sides of the now destroyed front gate. Harrington’s crew was a lot larger than anyone thought, which explained why he thought he was good enough to attack Liam’s home.
It was weird that no police were called. I thought for sure after everything that people would hear the noise and call the cops. But apparently everyone in this neighborhood knew to stay quiet and ignore it.
James walked with a limp but refused to stay inside and rest, so I followed along behind him, worried he’d collapse or something. Jo was still glued to Liam so we all ended up checking out the damage together. We met Dmitriy and Mateo near the front gate.
“How’d it go on your end?”
Dmitriy snorted. “Fools. You were right, it was a portion of their crew trying to keep us busy so we could not reach you.”
James shook his head. “I would ask who would be stupid enough to piss you off but I said the same thing about someone attacking the house and Harrington proved me wrong on that front too.”
Dmitriy smirked before turning back to Liam. “Casualties?”
Liam shook his head. “A few injuries, some of them are on their way to the hospital with Sean, but so far it looks like they’ll live. Thanks to her.” He pointed at me and I frowned.
“What?”
“We never would’ve known to prepare if you didn’t figure out we were being hacked. Everyone had time to get vested and armed before they showed up. You did that.”
