“I’ll deal with them,” I said and hung up. “Link is bleeding out in the car at the gate,” I told Wolf while calling the gatehouse.
“Sir?” one of the guards answered.
“Open the gate and let Link in.”
“But—”
“Now or I remove your head from your shoulders.” I hung up and rushed to the front door. “Can you call for the doctor? I’ll get Link to my room.”
Wolf nodded. “Of course.”
Yanking the door open, I ran down the front stairs just as a black vehicle pulled to a stop. The back door swung open before I got there, and when Link popped out of the car with a smile on his face, I halted.
He had a little bit of blood on his sleeve near his upper arm, but that was it.
“Snookums,” he called.
I flicked my gaze to his face and glared. “You were supposed to be shot and bleeding out.”
He tipped his chin. “Hey, Wolf.” When he glanced back at me, he pointed at the red on his shirt. “I was. It hurts like a bitch. Heard you threatened to cut the guard’s head off if I wasn’t allowed in.” He chuckled. “Love it.”
“You were supposed to be bleeding everywhere.”
“Well, I did get a bit of blood in the car. Bradshaw may have exaggerated on my behalf a little. They wouldn’t let me in because I didn’t have permission or an appointment after my ordeal of being shot.”
“Wolf,” I called while glaring at Link.
“Yes, Ryo?”
“Give me your gun.” I’d left my half-cleaned one in his office as I ran out like an imbecile.
“I don’t think?—”
Link’s hands rose in front of him. “Baby, don’t be mad. You’ve been ignoring me, so when Bradshaw and Iwerebeing shot at, to the degree we could have lost our lives, I knew exactly where I wanted to go. I had to see my buttercup.”
“Wolf, gun now.”
“Ryo,” Link whined, pointing at his arm again. “I’m hurting here. Come pay me attention.”
Fury pumped through my veins. My heart was slowly crawling from my arse up to my chest again after learning Link had been shot and was bleeding out.
I held my hand out to my friend, waiting for the steel to be dropped into my palm.
The front door of the driver side opened, and Bradshaw stepped out. “You’re not really gonna shoot him?”
“Yes,” I replied, jaw clenching.
“Baby—”
“Don’t call me that,” I snarled.
I’d been worried.
No, it was more than that. All I could think was that I’d lost my chance to be with him and I wasn’t going to get to see him again.
It had crushed me.
Fuck him for making me feel that way.
