Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
“Stay down,” Liam says, yanking at the straps of my vest. “How bad is it?”
“Don’t know,” I say through gritted teeth. He gets the vest off and I look down.
No blood. No holes. I was expecting something nasty, but the ceramics held. Thank fucking God for that.
“Just this one.” Liam fumbles with a medical kit and shoves several gauze bandages against my shoulder.
I clench my jaw in pain. Caroline’s staring at me wildly in the rearview mirror. “How hurt is he?” she asks, voice strained by worry.
“He’ll be fine. Keep driving.” Liam stays calm as he works on me. “Vest took the bad shots. This one just winged him.”
“Winged me? Hit my fucking shoulder. Nearly blew my damn arm off.”
“You’re being dramatic.” Liam’s grinning. His face is streaked with blood. I doubt it’s his. “That was one hell of a show in there, huh?”
I snarl in pain as he pushes more gauze on my bleeding wound.
“What do we do?” Caroline asks, still driving fast, but more under control now. “He needs a doctor.”
“No, can’t risk it.” I shake my head hard. “We’re on vacation, remember?”
She groans and curses. “What the hell are we going to do?!”
“Follow the plan. Get us to our next checkpoint. We ditch the van, go to the hotel, and stitch me up there. I’ll survive.”
“Finn, I don’t know—”
“Hey. Caroline.” I inch toward her and reach out. I touch her arm. “You can do this.”
She takes a deep breath and blows it out. “Yeah, you’re right. I can do this. You just got shot, right? No big deal.”
“Not even the first time,” I say with a sigh as Liam jabs a syringe into my arm. “What the fuck is thaaa——”
I moan as he injects me with painkillers. Good, strong opioids hit my system.
He’s grinning big. “There you go, boss. Enjoy it while it lasts.” He pats my cheek.
I smile back. “Love killing with you, bro.”
“Same, bro.”
“What did you do to him?” Caroline asks, but she sounds very far away. Did she jump into the pool again? “Liam, is he going to be okay?”
I’m not sure what they’re talking about anymore. I’m floating on clouds and I don’t have a damn care in the world.
28
CAROLINE
The front desk lady looks from Finn to me to Liam back to Finn and back to me again. She’s frowning so deep it looks like her forehead is about to crumple into dust.
“The room’s ready,” she says very slowly. “But are you sure everything’s okay?”
“Totally fine,” Liam answers quickly before I can. “My friend’s just drunk, is all.”
“Wasted,” Finn murmurs. He’s grinning madly and his face is pale as death. We stripped off his bloody clothes, bandaged him up tightly, and switched him into sweats. His injuries aren’t visible, but he’s still deeply drugged up.
The woman sighs and starts typing. “Here’s your key card and here’s a spare. The Presidential Suite is the floor marked P at the top of elevator 2. If you need anything else—”
“Thanks a ton!” I say and quickly help Liam drag Finn away.
“What a nice person,” Finn whispers happily. “I hope she doesn’t call the cops.”
“You and me both, pal.” I grunt as he cranes his neck to peer back at the exhausted-looking hotel employee. She’s watching and shaking her head like she’s seen a lot and she’s sick of it.
We make it to the room. It’s a massive, gorgeous suite with a front sitting section, a living area, a full kitchen, and two bedrooms. Finn slumps down on the couch with a sigh, stretching out and slouching so far I’m afraid he’s going to topple onto the floor.
“I’ll get the doctor,” Liam says, checking the refrigerator. He finds a beer and pockets it. “Keep him conscious and talking.”
“What about the bleeding?”
“We got it mostly under control. The doc will handle the rest.”
I wring my hands nervously and glance over my shoulder. Finn’s fluffing a pillow. “I thought he said no hospitals.”
“Which is why I’m going to pay an extremely shady but fairly competent medical student—”
“Wait, student!?”
Liam looks exasperated. “Yes, he’s a student in his last year, and he’s solid. He does good work, keeps his mouth shut, and isn’t on the main Whelan payroll, which means it won’t get back to Declan. He’s my guy straight up. You want better, you’re welcome to find it.”
I shake my head and wave him off. “You’re right. Go get the doctor.”
“Thank you for accepting my expertise. I’m going to be a couple hours. Just hang tight.”
Liam leaves and it feels like the expansive suite suddenly gets very, very warm and extremely small. Finn’s still lying on the couch, but now he’s only half awake. His eyelids are fluttering. I find a bottle of champagne in the fridge, no doubt obscenely expensive, and crack it open. I don’t offer any to my patient.