A door closed behind them. Wynn turned just enough to see one of the guys step into the hall.
Instantly she felt self-conscious. The unisex, uni-size terry robe she wore wasn’t exactly made for a woman of her height and weight. The top hung loose, exposing the cleavage her swimsuit revealed. The sides closed over her hips, but not down her legs. Most of one thigh flashed behind the terrycloth.
Clothed or not, it wasn’t nice to pretend that the man behind them wasn’t there. Zavi beat her to greeting him, though.
“Hi, Uncle Angel.” The little boy stopped walking and faced the big man.
Wynn turned again and smiled, then gasped. The man was fresh from a shower, bleeding from the corner of his lip and his left cheekbone.
“Good heavens. What happened to you?”
“Nothing.” He stopped just a few feet from her and Zavi.
Zavi took her hand. “They always look like that. Kathy said she’d have some cookies for us after our swim. And Casey will be home from school soon. Can I go see what kind Kathy made? I want to get one before Casey does.”
Wynn tore her eyes from Angel. The man needed to be patched up. Zavi would be fine with Kathy. “Sure. Stay with Kathy. I’ll catch up to you when I come in.”
She watched Zavi run down the hall that connected the gym building with the rest of the house. She was alone with Angel. Being face to face with him was like staring down a grizzly. He wasn’t as hairy, but he sure was intense.
“What happened?” she asked again.
“I was sparring.”
“With a Mack truck?”
His lips thinned.
“You could use a couple of stitches.”
“You sew?”
Wynn’s brows flew up. “Yes, but not humans.”
Angel shrugged. “Then leave it.”
“No. It’s actively bleeding. There’s a first-aid kit in the locker room.” She took his wrist and started back toward the women’s locker room.
He didn’t budge. “I’m not going in the girls’ locker room.”
She released his hand and shook her head. “You and Zavi. There’s no one in there. And we won’t be long.”
“You want to play nurse, do it in the men’s room.”
“Fine. We’ll go to yours.” They started in that direction. “And I’m not playing nurse. I’m trying to save your pretty face from some ugly scars.”
His demeanor changed. “You think I’m pretty?”
Wynn was surprised by that question. Her gaze swept over the hard lines of his face. He was many things…edgy, determined, fearsome…but pretty was definitely not among them.
“Of course not,” she said, smiling. “Pretty men would use the women’s locker room.”
He laughed then winced.
Wynn was glad he hadn’t been mistaken about the room being unoccupied. She had him sit on a bench by the lockers while she accessed the white metal box with a big red cross on it. She retrieved some antiseptic spray, some gauze squares, and a few different bandages, then set them next to him. She washed her hands then straddled the bench.
“Turn so you’re facing me,” she directed.
He did. His legs were spread open, his knees touching hers. They were big knees, attached to muscular thighs that his cargo pants hugged. Not to mention they were long legs. She thought about trying to adjust her robe to cover more of her own legs, and wished for the millionth time in her life that she were different. Petite. Slim. Pretty. Like most of the other women in the household.
But she wasn’t. She was what she was. And right now all that mattered was getting her boss’ friend patched up. She sprayed the gauze pad with the antiseptic and dabbed it against his torn lip. She made the mistake of looking up into his eyes as she pressed the pad against his skin. His black eyes had darkened perceptibly. Her lips parted as she pulled a long breath. This wound would be hard to seal, as it opened every time his mouth moved.
“Be still,” she admonished.
“I don’t want to be still. You have beautiful eyes.”
Again she met his look, then blinked and looked down at the pile of medical supplies between their legs. She took a butterfly bandage and taped the wound together.
She repeated the same steps with the cut on his cheek, moving along quickly so that he wouldn’t say anything else embarrassing and get her thinking about things that would never be. She wasn’t the kind of woman men looked at lustfully. Maybe someday she would find someone who was a fit for her. Maybe not.
But whoever her man was, he sure wasn’t going to be a friend of her employer’s, working in a dangerous shadow industry like they did. There was a word for what he was, and it sent chills across her skin.
Mercenary.
*
“Blade, what have you been able to find in your mom’s papers?” Kit asked as the team reconvened that afternoon. Kelan noticed that Rocco and Angel weren’t back yet.
Blade shook his head. “We haven’t gone through everything. We’re only scratching the surface.” He looked at the different piles of items filling the long conference table. “What’s here is a hodgepodge of systems and beliefs from ancient secret societies. Don’t know yet why they’re important. We found a manual of ceremonies and a manifesto for them.” He looked around at the team. “Some dark stuff here. Over the decades, they’ve developed a rich mythology, full of rituals and hierarchies and odd rules. Maybe they’ve co-opted the ancient societies’ practices.”