Raven and I are inside, settled on a stretcher, completely ignoring his rant.
“Well, okay. I guess she can come.” He must finally realize that he’ll be riding in another vehicle before she does. Smart kid.
“Thanks, Kevin.” I pull Raven into my arms and kiss her head. “I appreciate your flexibility.”
Raven’s body jumps with silent laughter as she hides her smile in my chest. I wrap her up tighter, thinking about how close I was to losing this. Losing her.
The ambulance fires up and we head back to Vegas. Raven’s breathing slows to the rhythm of sleep. Even with my shoulder on fire, tired as hell, and minus a shitload of blood, I don’t sleep. Instead, my mind conjures plans—plans for the future we now have sealed. And I’m not wasting a single second.
“Kevin, I need you to do me a favor.”
“Sure thing, ‘Assassin.’”
“I need to make a phone call.”
*
Raven
Beep-Beep-Beep.
The gentle sound brings me back to consciousness. I blink several times into the dark before lifting my head from my warm pillow. I observe my surroundings, thankful to see the lights of medical equipment rather than log walls. I’m not in the cabin, but in the hospital with Jonah.
My head swirls with the events from this morning. The cops told me that Guy was safe. They even gave me a phone so I could call him. He apologized for not being at the fight to protect me. I reassured him that Dominick was out to get his way, no matter what.
Katherine showed up and sat with my mom while Jonah was poked and x-rayed. The doctor said that that the bullet went straight through without injuring anything vital, but they had to do surgery. Three hours later, we were put in a private room. I assured Katherine and my mom that I was okay. There was no way I was leaving Jonah’s side. I traded my bloody clothes for a pair of clean scrubs, crawled in bed with Jonah, and fell asleep.
A yawn crawls up my throat and I lie back down in the crook of Jonah’s uninjured shoulder.
“Good morning.” His sexy, sleepy voice does delicious things to my body. Even laid-up and hospitalized, he’s irresistible.
“Good night, you mean.” I walk my fingers to his abdomen, pulling his hospital gown up to slide my hand against his rippled muscles.
He reaches for my face but drops his hand with a groan. “Shit, that hurts.”
I tilt my face to his and smile. “Looks like you’re going to have to keep that hand to yourself.”
“Not a fucking chance. Come here.” His demand is firm and sexy.
I brush my lips against his chin. “Thank you, Jonah. Thank you for finding me.”
“And thank you for saving me.”
My cheeks heat and I bury deeper into his chest.
“How’re you holding up? You know, with everything?” His hand traces soothing patterns on my back.
“Um . . . I’m good. I feel like I should feel something, ya know? Guilt or . . . remorse. I just don’t.” I huff out a breath. “The cops said this morning that no charges are being filed. Justifiable homicide and all that.”
“You want to talk about what happened with Vince?” His muscles tense against my body.
“Not much to tell. He tried to—”
A deep growl rumbles in Jonah’s chest.
Yeah, probably best to skip to the end. “You told me to break his arm. So I did.” I hear the words, and even I think they sound crazy. But it’s the truth.
“I told you?”
I circle his belly button with my finger. “Yeah. In my head. You told me to fight. You said arm bar.” I shrug. “You weren’t even there yet, and you were protecting me.”
“I’ll always protect you.” He hugs me to him. “Not that you need it. My girl’s tough as nails. I’m proud of you.”
Inwardly, I smile. I’m proud of myself.
“Fuck, I wish I’d killed that son of a bitch.”
“Nah. He deserves to live the rest of his life behind bars. Death is too easy.”
He laughs in a quick burst then groans. “Ugh, remind me not to do that again.”
Starting at his neck, I trail soft kisses to his jaw. “Poor baby.” I push up to meet his eyes. “I love you.”
His hand slides up my back into my hair. “I love you too. So much.”
He takes my lips in a brutal kiss that I feel in my toes. I moan into his mouth as our tongues glide against each other. Desire floods my veins as I explore his mouth. His strong lips dominate mine, molding them to his will. I roll his nipple between my thumb and forefinger. He groans and his hips flex off the bed.
Pushing up, I press my breasts into his chest, tilting my head and delving deeper into the kiss.
He breaks away with a hiss. “Fuck.”
The whispered curse sends me back and sitting up. “Shoot, did I hurt you?” I touch him and jerk my hand away, afraid of hurting him again.