Page 54 of More Tricks

“Well, fuck,” I grumbled. “This is making my brain hurt, and all this blood is drying, making me incredibly itchy. Is there a place I can rinse off, even if it’s a hose? Not sure walking around Boston looking like Carrie is my best choice.”

“Yeah, there are showers in the back. I’ll show you,” Betta offered.

“Great,” I looked over my shoulder. “Who’s coming with me?”

The guys looked at each other, a little surprised at the offer but quickly pulled it together as Cognac and Sprocket stepped up. Since Cam was still acting like my shadow, I assumed he was coming too. I really should look at his arm to make sure the damage wasn’t too bad. It was almost to the point I felt like we needed to bring Dani with us everywhere we went. Good thing Sprocket was way better at stitches than I was.

“Lead the way. The others will keep your brother company,” I said, gesturing for her to move along.

She cocked a brow at me. “You think little old me deserves three of your men watching your back?”

“No,” Cam stated. “It’s to make sure you make it back to your brother alive.”

The color in her face started to bleed out of her face as she realized who the dynamic at play was. “You’re gonna need to work on that if you’re going to be his right hand in this coup. We women need to be fearless in the face of all danger, aka, fake it till you believe it. Soon enough, you’ll believe it since you’ve said it so often to yourself.” Betta nodded as we headed deeper into the warehouse.

“Is this what the place in New York will be like?” Cognac asked, trying to ease the tension.

It took her a moment to catch up to the change in topic and smiled at him. “No, it will be much nicer. This is more for people trying to earn their stripes in the whole game. Where we are going to host in New York is far nicer. It’s an actual fighting ring that’s built underground and has many entrances, so it’s not easy for law enforcement to find it. Not that we haven’t paid them off, but there’s always a few young bucks looking to get that one case that will get them promoted to chief.”

“You mentioned betting. What kind of stakes are we talking about?” Sprocket inquired.

I had to admit I was curious about that as well. If they were making it known whose side they were on, it had to be substantial.

“While we might be working on becoming friends, if I told you that kind of information, I’d be setting myself up for trouble. If the other three found out I gave you insider knowledge like that, I’d be lucky to keep my hand, let alone my head,” Betta shared, rubbing her left hand like she was worried she might lose it.

“Damn, they play by those rules,” I muttered. “Can’t blame you for not sharing.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “They are progressive enough to allow a woman into the mix, but they won’t go easy on me if I fuck up. I told them I was going to tell you who I really was and my connection, but to give you more than that wasn’t agreed upon.” She paused at a door that swung slightly off its hinges. “This is the locker room with the showers. I figured you’d want to go in on your own. There should be a towel or two left. We had some fights over the weekend, and it's not restocked.”

I gave her a two-finger salute and headed in, the guys following after. Sprocket stayed by the door as the rest of us ventured through the rows of lockers until we found the open shower area. I tugged off my shirt, chucking it in the trash can I spotted. Not like I was going to be able to save it. The showers were those lame kinds where you had to hit the nozzle and it only ran for a few minutes before turning off. It wasn’t like I was planning on indulging in a long shower, but it just pissed me off to keep whacking it.

The soap was in a dispenser on the wall, which I was grateful to have since dried blood was a bitch to scrub off without it. Feeling like I was as clean as I was gonna get, I gestured to Cam. “Come here. I want to take a look at your arm. I feel like we need to at least wash it and wrap it before we head back to the hotel.”

Cam unbuttoned his shirt and peeled out of it, flinching as it pulled on the wound. Thankfully, he’d been wearing black on black, so you couldn’t spot it was blood making his shirt damp. Grabbing his forearm, I moved and twisted him around until I could see the damage I’d done. Fortunately, it didn’t seem too deep, but it would absolutely need stitches. The blade was two inches wide, and I’d gotten him deep enough it cut the widest part. Blood slowly oozed out of it from my poking, but I was pretty confident I hadn’t hit any major blood vessels or arteries.

“Sprocket, you feel like playing doctor tonight and stitching him up?” I called.

A moment later, he appeared, and Cognac went to take his place by the door. My guys weren’t fucking around when it came to my safety. We might be talking about friendship, but that didn’t mean trust came guaranteed. Sprocket took my spot to see in the best light this dinghy locker room could provide.

“That should be easy enough. It’s a clean cut with no rough edges, so that’s good. The only thing I’d be worried about is whatever that other guy might have since it still had his blood on it,” Sprocket pointed out. “Might be worth stopping by the hospital so he can get a shot of antibiotics or something. Is it worth seeing if our new friends have any suggestions?”

“I think I might rather call Magnus to see if they have a safe option for us to go to. Hospitals get all weird about unexplained knife wounds,” I grumbled. “If only I hadn’t lost my shit like that, this never would have happened.”

Cam reached out and caught my chin with his hand. “Beautiful, I knew the risks going in to stop you. That’s actually why I volunteered. Void couldn’t have anything happen to him and Eagle has just recovered. The last thing we need is one of the major players getting wounded.”

“You’re a major player,” I countered, not liking he didn’t see his value in all this.

He smiled and pulled me in for a quick kiss. “Thank you, but you know what I mean. Coordinating with the FBI doesn’t require me to be in peak condition. Besides, it needed to be me in there. I had to be there for you this time no matter what.”

My eyes burned with tears I refused to shed right now. “Yeah, I get it.” Stepping back and clearing my throat, I looked around. “Did we find any towels?”

Sprocket grabbed one off a bench that Cognac must have found. I dried off the best I could and headed back out to the main area. The bralette was black, so if I didn’t get all the blood off it, no one would see, not to mention the jacket over it. Leather pants on damp skin with wet undies were a bitch, but we all had to suffer in our own way.

“Wes, can I borrow your cell?” I asked. “Gonna call Magnus and see if we can’t find an option for Cam’s arm to get looked at.”

“You don’t have to do that. We’ve got a guy on call,” Tommaso offered. “We can even send him to your hotel if you prefer.”

I eyed him suspiciously but looked to the guys for their thoughts. Eagle rubbed at his chin, thinking for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, it would be better to get it taken care of quickly. I assume we don’t need to tell you where we’re staying?”