Page 114 of Fatal Vision

“And that’s for me, you lousy”—kick—“son”—kick—“of a bitch.”

Yep, his beauty queen might be harboring more vengeance than he’d realized.

She reared back to kick Ingram again and Colton gently drew her aside as the rest of the group took over.

She collapsed into him as he eased the too-big H&K from her hand. “You tried to take my kill.”

Her warm, breathing body was the best thing he’d ever felt. “You weren’t going to kill him.”

“A part of me wanted to. For those men.”

He snuggled her closer, letting his nose sink into her hair as he closed his eyes and thanked the Big Guy she hadn’t been killed. “I know.”

Ambulances arrived and Colton felt dizzy from the whirling lights. He drew Shelby out of the way and into the kitchen doorway as EMTs administered to Jon, Daniel, and Theo.

Shelby’s arms were loose around his bandaged body. “Why are you not in the hospital? You’ll pull your stitches or some such thing, and then I’ll be playing nurse maid even longer.”

Denbe walked over to repeat what the EMTs had told him. “Your man, Nickelback, was shot in the upper right back, struck his head on a piece of debris, and is unconscious. They don’t know the extent of his injury yet. Daniel, or whoever he is, was hit in the stomach and has lost a lot of blood.”

Both men were on gurneys and being wheeled out. Ingram had his hand bandaged and was screaming about his shoulder as Jocelyn read him his rights.

“Colton?”

Shelby’s voice sounded far away even though she was right next to him.

“Yeah?”

“You look pale. Let’s get you back to the hospital.”

He blinked away the dots hovering on the edge of his vision. “I don’t need no stinkin’ hos—”

The room spun and his legs went out on him.

Two days later

SHELBY BREEZED THROUGHthe door pushing a wheelchair in order to retrieve Colton.

“I’m not getting in a goddamn wheelchair,” he said.

She’d spent far too much time at the hospital recently, and she was as anxious to leave as Colton.

But first things first.

He was sitting in the recliner near the window, dressed and ready to go. He’d given her quite a scare at the house, but he was going to be fine, and a part of her was looking forward to taking care of him. She was sick of being the patient. Now she could torture him.

“This is your ticket out of here, Bells.” She patted the metal handles. “No wheelchair, no exit. You’re lucky I’m even speaking to you since you didn’t tell me who Wyatt Evers really was.”

Although he was under orders to take things easy for the next week or so, the doctor had released him. Shelby suspected it was more for the doctor and staff’s benefit than Colton’s—they were all sick of hearing him bitch.

She was too.

Plus, she wanted him all to herself, without worrying about a nurse walking in on them when they were having sex in his hospital bed.

Which was no easy task.

But still fun.

“You haven’t been complaining—oh, wait, that’s because I’ve given you multiple orgasms in the last two days, from my hospital bed, no less,” Colton harrumphed. “So save it, beauty queen. I’m walking out of here on my own two feet.”