Page 47

Nate

“ L et’s get out of here,” I said, guiding Cameron to my bike.

She was still sobbing, and I could barely make out what she was saying through her tears.

“What?” I asked. “What are you saying?”

She took a deep breath and wiped at her eyes, pushing back the emotion. I’d never seen anything like it. This woman was tough as hell.

“What about the police? They’re on the way,” she said.

I shook my head. “No use. Rick’s gone, and there will be a bunch of questions we don’t want to answer.

” The sirens drew closer as I added, “If I’m being honest, it’s the word of a young reporter and a drifter against the word of a millionaire’s son.

Who do you think they’ll believe without video evidence of some kind? ”

She blew out a breath and glared at me, all signs of her breakdown gone now. The only thing I could see in her eyes was frustration.

“Story of my fucking life,” she muttered. “Fine, let’s go.”

“Good, hurry.”

Handing her my helmet, I swung my leg over and started the bike. Cameron had barely managed to wrap her uninjured arm around my waist when the police cruiser rounded the corner. Gunning the throttle, I shot away from the curb and down the street, leaving the cop behind.

“Where do you want to go?” I shouted back to her, raising my voice to be heard over the wind.

“My place.” My shifter hearing picked up her words through the scream of engines, the muffled helmet, and the wind. “My mom’s at home. She’s a nurse. She can clean us up.”

I hesitated. “Is she gonna ask questions?”

Cameron was silent. I didn’t know if that was because she hadn’t heard me or if it was an answer to my question. Sophia Torres struck me as the type who would want to know everything.

Oh, well. Hospitals were out. For all I knew, Rick might have paid some of his pack mates to be on the lookout for Cameron or something. And if he’d gone to screw with her mom or brother, I wanted to be there as soon as possible to fuck up that pretty-boy face.

At the next intersection, I took a right and headed to Cameron’s neighborhood. Twenty minutes later, I barged in through Cameron’s apartment.

Her mother, who’d been sitting on the couch watching TV, leaped up in surprise, giving a little cry of surprise.

“ Mija ? Oh, God, what’s happened to you?” she cried, rushing toward us.

If I was honest, it looked much worse than it really was. The blood had smeared Cameron’s arm in the fight, and it had oozed out more on the ride. At the moment, it looked like her arm had been shoved into a belt sander.

“Mom, I’m fine. We’ll explain later. Can you do something for us?” Cameron said, hissing in pain as her mother yanked her arm toward the sink.

Her mother’s tone changed as she inspected the wound, becoming more clinical and professional.

“Incised laceration. Looks like a sharp knife. Shallow but fairly long. Around seven centimeters. Let’s get a better look.” She turned and shouted down the hall. “Gael, grab my first aid kit!”

Mrs. Torres cranked the faucet and shoved Cameron’s arm under the stream of water.

“Holy fuck, that burns,” Cameron hissed.

“Language, mija . Say shit instead next time.”

Cameron snorted as her mother cleaned the wound with soap, rubbing it gently to wash away the residual blood and possibilities of infection.

Gael came bounding out of his room, eyes wide with surprise.

He skidded to a halt when he spotted Cameron and me in the kitchen.

Both of us were bloody, dirty, and slightly beat up.

“Whoa, what happened to you guys?” he asked in an awed whisper.

“Worry about yourself, Gael,” Sophia barked. “My first-aid kit?”

“Crap, sorry! I’ll be right back.”

The boy sprinted away and returned five seconds later with a big orange bag. He set it on the counter in front of his mother.

Within moments, Sophia had the wound cleaned, dried, and sterilized.

She pulled a few butterfly bandages from the bag and put them over the cut.

The woman’s hands moved like butterflies themselves—graceful, fast, and fleeting.

I’d seen a lot of medics and nurses work, and I had to admit, Sophia was damn good at what she did.

Cameron had every right to be proud of her mom.

“Okay,” Sophia said as she finished taping the gauze that would protect the butterfly bandages. “Are you going to tell me what the hell happened?” Sophia placed her hand gently on the wound. “Who hurt my sweet girl?”

“In a minute, Mom. Check on Nate first,” Cameron said.

For a moment, I didn’t know what she was talking about, but as the adrenaline faded, I noticed a sharp ache in my side. The pain became more intense as I thought about it.

“Ugh,” I grunted, pressing a hand to my side.

“Did you guys get in a fight?” Gael asked, edging his way into the kitchen to see better. “You look like you were in a fight.”

“Boy!” Sophia growled. “Out of my kitchen.”

He looked more disappointed than chastised as he backed out of the room. Sophia slid a chair over and eased me into it.

“What do we have?” she asked as she peeled my jacket off. “Stab wound? I don’t see any blood.”

“He got kicked in the side,” Cameron said, giving me an apologetic look. “Hard.”

“I’m fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “Check Cameron first. I don’t know if she has other injuries.”

“Hush,” Sophia said.

I glanced at Cameron for support, but she looked pleased that her mother hadn’t taken my advice. Defeated, I leaned over to give Sophia easier access to my side. Whatever she saw must have been rough as she and Cameron both hissed in sympathy.

“Oh, man,” Gael said from the entry hall. “There’s a shoe print on your side, bro.”

“Get out of here, Gael!” Cameron snapped, waving the boy away. “It was nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t worry about it?” Sophia said, a hint of exasperation in her voice. “Someone attacked you. We need to call the police.”

That was not a good idea. I wished Cameron hadn’t called the cops. More calls to the police meant more attention, more eyes on the problem. If the wrong set of eyes started looking into things—especially the murders—the pack could be in for some major trouble.

And as the one who’d helped cause the issue, shit would go downhill for me. Who was lower on the hill than a lone wolf? Nobody, that’s who.

I caught Cameron’s eye, trying to convey my worries with nothing but raised eyebrows and a severe look.

She frowned. The pack? she mouthed.

I nodded quickly.

“Nate knows someone on the police force. He’s going to look into it,” Cameron said. “It’s already taken care of.”

Sophia glanced up at me. “Truly? Your friend is a cop? He’s going to find the pendejo who hurt my girl? Who hurt you?”

“The guy who did this is going to pay. That’s a promise.” I flicked my gaze back to Cameron, who gave me a worried look.

It was the truth, though. Rick would pay. I’d see to that.

Sophia continued probing my side. The pain came and went with agonizing little flares, but seemed to be getting better.

“Rib isn’t broken,” she said at last. “It was close, though. You’re very lucky, Nate.

Looks like the impact has caused spasming in the intercostal muscles, if I had to guess.

That’s where the pain is coming from. Should subside in a couple hours.

” She chewed her lip like she was considering something, then added, “I have some muscle relaxers in my medicine cabinet. I can give you one to take the edge off and get the spasms under control.”

I gritted my teeth as another wave of sharp, cramping pain rippled across my ribs. “That would be great.”

“Gael?” she shouted again.

The boy was still in the entry, watching. “Yeah, Mom?”

“Go to my cabinet in the bathroom and grab the red pill bottle. It should be easy to find. Hurry up.”

He returned a few seconds later with the little red bottle rattling in his hand.

“Thank you.” She opened the bottle, shook out a pill, and handed it over. “This is cyclobenzaprine. You’re a big boy, so a whole one should be fine. I use them for my lower back pain.”

“Thanks.” I popped the pill into my mouth and swallowed it dry.

Sophia’s eyes widened in surprise. “No water?” She grinned at Cameron. “We’ve got a really macho one here.”

She sounded impressed, which I found a little silly. It was just a pill. I stood and pulled my shirt back down.

“I need to call my cop friend. I’ll step outside.” I nodded to Cameron. “Check her again. I want to make sure she doesn’t have any more injuries.”

Leaving the small family, I headed out to the hall and dialed Ollie.

“Did you call to chew my ass out again already?” Ollie asked when he answered.

“Listen, sorry about earlier, but things have escalated.”

Ollie’s irritation vanished. “What happened?”

“Rick fucking Masters happened,” I said, keeping my voice low to keep them.

“He jumped me and Cameron outside her friend’s place.

Dude went full psycho. Tried to slice and dice me.

Cameron and I fought him off, but he’s two steps away from needing a psych ward.

He’s bonded to Cameron, and he had it in his head that she was pregnant with his kid or some shit. ”

“What the fuck? Are you serious?” Ollie hissed. “JC is gonna flip.”

“Yeah. She explained what happened with the feral and how she got bitten. Told him that’s why she had all these weird symptoms. Wanna hear the weirdest part?”

“Of course.”

“When he heard that, he was excited. It was fucking crazy. The guy didn’t give a shit that she’d been attacked. All he cares about is that she can bear him an heir easier now that she’s gonna be a shifter.”

Ollie groaned. “Holy hell.”

“Yeah. I don’t think Rick is gonna let this rest. Do you think this can get JC on board with giving her more security?”

“Nate.” Ollie sounded pained. “This is still just the word of a lone wolf and a human against one of the most powerful families in the pack.”

“She’s not a human anymore, Ollie,” I growled into the phone.