Page 58 of The Devil

He glances down but doesn’t even wince. “Let’s get out of here before they send more men.”

18

JET

I’ve been both shot and stabbed before. Hell, I’ve been through worse. It hurts but it’s nothing I can’t handle.

Amal, though, is in shock. At least she’s not hurt.

“Take my phone out of my pocket,” I tell her. I need to keep her busy.

She nods, and, her hands shaking, reaches into my jacket pocket to pull out the phone. She looks at it, then at me, waiting for further instruction.

“Code is 1852. Unlock it.”

She has to wipe sweat and blood off her hands before she gets the code in and the phone unlocks.

“Good girl. Now call Malcom.”

She scrolls through my contacts, finds his name and puts the call on speaker. Malcom answers on the first ring.

“All good?” he asks.

“We’re alive. I’m going to need a suturing kit. Can you get me that?”

“Again?”

“Yeah. Again. Good to keep in practice.”

“We should take you to the ER,” Amal says.

I turn to her. “That’s sweet but I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t look fine, Jet."

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart.”

“How far out are you and are you being followed?” Malcom cuts in.

I glance in the rear-view mirror. “No, but I don’t expect a drive by. They’ll have plenty of time to dish out their punishment. We’re about fifteen minutes from the hotel.”

“Come to the staff entrance. I’ll head down. Make sure it’s clear.”

“See you in a few.” We disconnect.

“Tuck the phone back into my pocket, sweetheart.”

“Do we need to call Cassian?”

“Why?”

“If these men are after us…”

“This has nothing to do with Trevino business and we’re going to keep it that way. Christ, this driving on the wrong side of the road is a bitch.”

Amal spends the rest of the ride worried when any vehicle gets too close. When we get to the staff entrance, Malcom meets us. He holds out the old-fashioned brass room key. I reach for it, but Amal snatches it away. When he sees the state of me, he also strips off his coat and drapes it over my shoulders.

“Bleeding in the kitchen has got to be against code, but what can you do?”