Page 8 of Chaos & Carnage
“Uh…yes, actually. I have it just over here.”
“Good. I’ll take that.”
“Why?” I asked, then immediately winced.
“Because when I find out who shot the dog, I’ll find out who shot my brother.”
“Your brother? The Demon? He was shot?”
The words trickled out, uncontrolled, unbuffered, my alarm flowing with them. Cade stepped forward, just a half step, but enough that the towering man in leather that smelt like clean oak and sweet and spice mixed together was now barely an inch away from me.
“Yes,” he answered, the deep velvet turning into a husky, low whisper, resonating, dangerous, captivating.
And all I could do was stare up into those intense green eyes. Eyes which held me to the spot even though the mention of more gunshot wounds should send me diving for the key for the back door.
Chapter Five
She was frightened by me. I could see it all over her face. Her eyes were wide with fear, her mouth making a little ‘o’, where she couldn’t do anything to shut it.
“What are you?” she croaked; the voice full of confidence last night dissolved into fragility tonight.
“Part of a bike club.” I cocked my head, watching her expression.
Her throat bobbed, the little vein in the side of her neck flickered.
“What type of bike club are you?”
“An MC. But I’m guessing you already know that?”
Her teeth pulled at her lip. Perfectly proportioned, full, fleshy, pink lips that any woman would be jealous of. Still, she looked frightened, like she would do anything to escape from me right now. And that was the last thing I wanted.
“I never asked your name last night,” I tried to keep my voice soft. “It was chaotic. All that blood.” And now my voice did waver, whilst I remembered the slick, red spilling out all over me. I could still taste the metallic on the end of my tongue, like the particles clung to me even though I’d showered three times.
“A…Alice.”
Alice. Delicate, pretty, gentle. Just like her. She turned her back on me, stepping towards the bench, to the line of syringes that had been laid out on the countertop. And when she reached out to pick one up, her hand shook a little.
“I didn’t mean to scare you last night, Alice. Bringing the dog in covered in blood. But we had to save her. She’s one of us. Demon’s first love.”
I watched her move towards Kinobi to the bag of fluid hung at the side. She squeezed the contents slightly and then she unlocked the cage, muttering gently to the dog, who could barely lift her head to greet her.
“What are those for?” I asked as she pushed the injections into the catheters that hung out from a bandage around Kinobi’s neck.
“Painkillers, antibiotics, and a sedative.”
Alice scratched behind the dog’s ears and Kinobi answered with a little bob of her tail. Then she stood back up, not realising I’d moved into the space she’d created when she’d squatted in front of the cage. Her chest bumped off mine and she glanced up at me momentarily, those incredibly light blue eyes capturing me, just for a second. But just for a second, I was hypnotised. Her light brown hair was still held in a ponytail. How it had been last night. Strands of it fell down her face and the sides of her neck, and over her cheeks the dusting of light brown freckles made her look fascinatingly innocent.
“I…I’m sorry,” she stuttered, self-consciously stepping away, catching her toe on something and teetering.
She lurched backwards, her arms flailing, grabbing at the air for purchase. I caught her arm, my fingers closing over the cotton sleeve of something she wore under the monstrous green scrubs.
“Whoa. Careful.”
My other arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her back onto her feet. But I didn’t let go straight away, waiting a couple of seconds while she found her balance again.
“You ok? That was quite a wobble.”
Alice nodded, but she didn’t look up, staring into the white cotton of my t-shirt, her face just in line with my chest, the swell of hers brushing against me, her shoulders moving ever so slightly as she took long calming breaths.