“Who said that? Some famous poet?”
“Kermit the Frog.” He tipped his head to the side. “We spend a lot of time figuring outwherewe’re supposed to be instead ofwhowe’re supposed to be. That’s why I don’t think too much about what’ll happen when Hunter grows up and I leave Keystone. Plans are for idiots. Just when you think you have it all mapped out, something knocks you on your ass. Half the time it’s because of the choices we make. I don’t regret my choices, but I have to live with them. Stop overanalyzing it. We’re not human. We don’t live by their rules.”
“But Iwashuman. I grew up with those values of right and wrong, and now it’s all fucked up. I don’t have a moral compass anymore. I felt good about tonight until you walked in and gave me that look. When I think about how others see me, I wonder if I’m a bad person.”
“You’re not a bad person. You’re a badass bitch.” Switch wrapped his arms around me. “I wouldn’t be here if you weren’t a good person.”
I shrank in his arms and sucked in a sharp breath.
He jerked back. “Are you hurt?”
“It’s fine.”
Switch hastily ducked out of the room. I grabbed a wad of paper towels and dried the counter where bloody water had splashed. Why the hell couldn’t I get Fletcher out of my head? I’d thought tonight’s job would distract me, yet I couldn’t stop wondering if Lenore had a plan. Maybe she just wanted to intimidate or bait me. Especially knowing that I wouldn’t go after her.Couldn’twas the operative word. I’d never do anything to put Christian’s life in danger.
After a few minutes, Shepherd appeared and shut the door. “Switch called me in to patch you up. Let me see.”
I grimaced as I slipped out of my jacket and turned around.
Shepherd pulled my shirt open over my shoulder. “It’s not deep.”
“He just sliced me real good. Every time I turn my arm, it hurts like hell.”
“Hop up.”
I took off my shirt and sat on the metal table. I had cuts on my arms, and I wasn’t sure if they were from the dagger or all the flying glass. “I hope the other guys are just as easy to catch.”
“Don’t count on it. It depends if we can catch them off guard.”
“He should have had Vampire guards.”
Shepherd carried a bottle of disinfectant, bandages, rags, and a roll of tape. “Can’t put stitches in you since you’ll heal in the morning. You want me to call Niko down?”
“No,” I quickly said.
With Fletcher on my mind, I’d been thinking more about his light addiction and how I didn’t want to wind up like him. Healing light wasn’t the same, but I didn’t want to use Niko unless I absolutely couldn’t hold out until morning. Sunlight wasn’t addictive, and I could probably tough out the pain until then.
I rubbed my eyes. “What happened to you out there?”
Shepherd wiped my shoulder with something cold. “I couldn’t make my move on the driver until you guys shut the windows. Something tipped him off before I even got to him.”
“The show started early.” I hissed when he poured alcohol on my wound. “Why bother? It’s not like I can get an infection.”
“Old habits die hard. Anyhow, my plan was to coolly walk down the street, pretend to need a light, and stab his ass with a stunner. Then I had to reassess. I carry a silencer, and I’m a decent shot. So I found a good position and took a few shots. One got him in the head, but I didn’t expect a second guard. Guess he followed them on his bike and hid around a corner.” Shepherd dried my back with a towel and then tossed the bloody thing into a basket. “I’m gonna put surgical tape on the wound to keep it closed. That’ll hold until morning. Just try not to stretch your arm too much. You want me to numb the pain?”
“With a shot or…” I glanced at his hands. “Uh, no. I’m fine. How did you take out the second guy?”
Shepherd applied the strips of tape. “The fucker was hiding. Stabbed me in the fucking back.”
My eyes widened as I looked over my shoulder at him. “How the hell did you carry bodies and keep working?”
He gave me a stony look, the lines in his forehead deepening as he arched his eyebrows. “It’s not my first rodeo with a knife, honey. It helps when they have shit aim and miss all the arteries. Niko already fixed me up when he came to check on me in the garage. Hell of a gift. We’re lucky to have a Healer in the house. Makes my job easier.”
“Claude was pretty banged up. He had some nasty cuts on his head from all the stuff Ivar was throwing at him.”
“Pretty boy is probably in the shower, lathering up his golden locks with that fancy shampoo he keeps sneaking in my bathroom. I don’t have enough hair for that mess. Just give me a bottle of dishwashing soap.”
We both chuckled as Shepherd applied a large bandage to my back.
