“It won’t be loaded, dear, don’t worry,” Gran calls out.
I’m so confused.
They disappear, leaving me with the mysterious woman and my traitor of a dog that stays on the bed waiting for her. I stride out of the bedroom. She follows, her footsteps light. “Idon’t need help,” I grumble. “Go back to bed. We can sort this out in the morning.”
She huffs as she pushes past me into the main bathroom. “Unless you are hiding a third arm in that shirt, you aren’t going to bandage the wound with one hand.”
“You’d be surprised what I can do with one hand.”
She snorts as she returns from the bathroom with the kit. She points at the sofa. “Sit, and stop being a hero.”
I drop my ass onto the end of the sofa and unbutton my shirt. I make it halfway, then decide to tug it off over my head. Cleo freezes and blinks. “See, one handed.”
She rolls her eyes, but sets about cleaning the blood from my chest and shoulder. I take the opportunity to study her more closely without appearing like a creep. She seems familiar but also not. There’s an odd rim around her iris. Contacts. Colored, if I had to guess. Which she wears to bed? Interesting. My gaze trails over her hair. It’s a coppery red, but her eyebrows are lighter. Hmm. She leans forward and holds a gauze over the graze, putting her silk-covered breasts in front of my mouth.Fuck.What is that smell? Peaches and cream, but richer. Warm, like she’s been baking in the sun. Coconut. Peaches, cream, and coconut.
My knee brushes her bare thigh, making her flinch. “Who are you?”
Her gaze darts to my face before she grabs the tape and snaps pieces off onto my shoulder, holding the dressing in place. “Cleo Williams. I’ve been helping your grandmother for nearly five weeks.”
“She didn’t mention you.”
“Did you call?”
I raise a brow at her. She’s right—I didn’t call. Not as often as I should have. But I was dealing with my shitshow of a life and trying to contain it so it wouldn’t taint my family. Gran’s allI’ve got, as my parents are long dead, and I’m an only child. Gran brought me up, and I owe what little humanity I have in my soul to her.
“No, but she tells me everything.”
“I’m sure she would have gotten to it eventually.”
“What kind of name is Cleo? Did your parents have an obsession with ancient Egypt?” I ask, changing tack. I’m curious how quickly she can come up with an excuse on the fly.
Her lips twitch. “No. Did yours have posters on their bedroom walls with little green men and the caption ‘I believe’?”
“Touché.”
She taps on the dressing. “There, all done.” She steps away from me, taking that mouth watering-scent and the heat from her body with her. “Goodnight. We can sort out this living situation tomorrow so that everyone is happy.” She spins on her heel and walks away.
“Cleo?”
She pauses and glances over her shoulder. Her wild hair sweeps across the curve of her ass. Flashes of wrapping it around my fist as I slam into her barrel in my mind. No, not happening.
“Yes?”
“Who is it you’d rather die than return to?”
Her entire body stiffens as if she’s been struck by lightning. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Then she’s out of the room and closing the door to my bedroom. There are no locks, but I recognise the thud as she jams a chair under the handle.Sure you don’t, Cleo.Looks like I’ve found my new hobby while I’m lying low.
CHAPTER 16
HONOR
Beware of thin walls and determined minds.
Adrenaline pumps through my body with nowhere to go, making my heart jump.Boom, boom, boom…like an explosion going off in my chest over and over again. I shake out my arms and roll my shoulders, trying to work off some of the excess energy.
I shot someone. Holy shit, I shot someone.
