“Just...who are you?” I wondered before I could think.
His expression hardened, but there was a tremble in his hands that hadn’t been there before as he readjusted his grip. “Someone you love...I think.”
“And what does that make me?” I asked.
“Someone I love,” he answered with far more confidence.
Alright, there wasn’t a whole lot I could say to that, so I stayed quiet as I leaned against the door. Of course, the vibration from the road continued to jostle my wound, so I had to sit up straight again. I wasn’t looking forward to getting out of this car, but I had to brace myself.
Levi threw the car into park with more force than necessary as he got out and came around to open the door. I glared at him, and he glared right back, his eyes drifting to my midsection before I held out an arm. He wasn’t going to do a whole lot of lifting, but he was steady enough for me to lean on. It didn’t make it any easier; it felt like my middle was about to tear open as I stumbled out of the car. Once I was on my feet, though, the pain eased, and I was able to stand up.
Giving me a look, Levi moved toward the house and unlocked it, glancing over his shoulder before going in. At least he was letting me move around without treating me like I was weak, so there was that. I didn’t appreciate being bullied into accepting his plan, but I couldn’t tell him he was wrong. I needed help from someone who knew what they were doing, and neither of us did. So the only thing I could do was hobble to the house andhope I was right about the wound not being that bad, and my guts weren’t about to spill out onto the porch.
It took far longer than it should have to get into the house, and when I entered the kitchen, I was stopped short by the sight of Levi coming in with a gun in his hand. My eyes went wide. “What the hell is that for?”
“A vehicle I don’t recognize is coming up the drive. After what just happened, I’m not taking any chances. At least out here, the chances of the cops being called are minimal,” he said as he walked past me with the gun held tight in his hand, leaving me to wonder if I felt disturbed by how easily he handled a weapon or if it was a bit of a turn on.
God, I go and think something like that, but I was willing to condemn him in the car for the two guys he’d killed. What the hell was wrong with me?
As much as I wanted to follow him out to the porch, I didn’t think I could do more than get in the way. Being unable to help myself was bad enough, but knowing that if something went down outside, I wouldn’t be able to help Levi was even worse. All I could do was stand there and listen until I heard Levi’s voice, and I relaxed a little. I walked to the kitchen window and peered out to see him talking to a woman. Considering it was just her, I decided he was probably good on his own. It wasn’t like Levi was stupid, and if he thought there was danger, he wouldn’t have approached her.
The two of them came in to find me standing at the dining room table, leaning on it with one hand, the other wrapped protectively around my middle. The woman was older than me, maybe late forties, early fifties, or perhaps hard-lived early forties. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and thin glasses rested on a thin nose on an equally thin face. It felt like being watched by a really pissed-off hawk.
“Why is he on his feet?” she asked sharply, not a breath wasted or a syllable slurred.
“Because he’s an idiot,” Levi told her.
“I can see that,” she said with a sniff as she looked me over, holding a large bag at her side.
“Oh my God, it’s a female version of you,” I told Levi with a groan. “Just what I need.”
Levi frowned in what I thought was confusion, but Nic just gave another sniff. “What you need is to take a seat. He can afford whatever you damage when you inevitably start leaking blood all over it, I can promise you that.”
My only consolation was the look of horrified realization that came over Levi’s face as he looked at her, then at me. I gave him a look that I hope he translated as ‘told you’ before looking around. “You’re the doc...apparently. You tell me where to go.”
“On the floor for all I care,” she said in a testy voice. “And it’s not ‘apparently.’ Losing my medical license had nothing to do with my abilities or my knowledge.”
“Yeah, don’t...bring that up,” Levi muttered as he passed me. “Get on the couch and get comfortable already.”
“Apparently, what makes you a trusted medical doctor is something I’m not supposed to talk about, so I’ll just sit down, shut up, and hope I’m not about to be experimented on,” I grumbled as I marched over to the couch and eased down with a groan. “I don’t want a tail.”
“Oh my God,” Levi groaned. “I forgot how much of a baby you are when you’re sick or injured.”
“I am not,” I said. “I was cut with a knife. Enough that you brought her here.”
“Biggest of babies,” he said with a sigh as he took a seat in one of the living room chairs. “I had almost forgotten. Every time you got sick or hurt, you got all pissy. And when someone called you on your shit or refused to listen, you’d get all sullen andpouting. And whenthatdidn’t work, you’d start being as pitiful as possible. I’m sorry you were cut, but I told you from the start that being around me was dangerous. Well, congratulations, Dom, you got to see what I meant.”
“This doesn’t feel like a victory,” I grumbled as she came over and, before I could say anything, cut my shirt open. “Hey!”
“There is little worse than a patient who can’t act his age,” she muttered, pushing me back before taking out what appeared to be sanitizer for her hands and putting on gloves. “Try to remember that you are a grown man. A rather large and imposing one. You wouldn’t want to ruin your image by acting like a child getting his first booster shot.”
Levi snorted and didn’t seem to care when I tried to summon all my anger to glare at him. I wasnota big baby when I was hurt. But I did have a right to be upset by the wound in my stomach.
“I’ve seen a lot worse than this,” she said as she looked. “But because you are a little on the sensitive side, I’m going to numb the area before I stitch it.”
“Stitch? Ugh,” I said, letting my head flop back, and then my eyes widened. “Oh, oh fuck. How the hell am I going to explain this to my trainer? People are going to notice if I suddenly show up with a wound, and there’s going to be a lot of questions.”
Levi chewed on that for a moment before sighing. “It won’t be easy, but I might be able to take care of it.”
