Page 123 of Shadowed Sins: Nitro

I press fresh gauze against Jax's shoulder while Remy unpacks his medical kit across the safe house kitchen island. Eight bodies. Ninety seconds. He watched every single kill.

My hands shake against the white fabric as I apply pressure to his wound. The adrenaline crash hits hard, but it's not from the warehouse fight. It's from the way he's been looking at me since we extracted—like I'm something miraculous instead of monstrous.

"Sit still." Remy nudges Jax toward better lighting, spreading supplies across the granite surface. "Bullet went clean through, but there's muscle damage."

Pain medication is starting to take effect. I can tell by the way Jax's usual inability to sit still is mellowing, though his fingers still tap nervous rhythms against his thigh.

"Pretty lady's totally hovering." His words come out slower, unfiltered. A dopey grin spreads across his face as he tracks mymovement, but his free hand fidgets with the edge of the gauze. "That's new territory for us."

Heat floods my cheeks. The endearment should annoy me, but coming from his honest assessment, it sends warmth spiraling through my chest.

I'm not hovering. I move to check the tactical displays, then immediately drift back to his side like I'm tethered.

"You definitely are." Remy's tone stays professional as he cleans the wounds, but his lips twitch with amusement. "Step back. Let me work."

But I can't move away from Jax's warmth. Can't stop watching for signs of delayed revulsion, waiting for the moment reality crashes through whatever protective shock is keeping him from running.

"Hey." Jax catches my hand with his uninjured one, intertwining our fingers. His thumb traces across my knuckles while Remy works. "You saved my life back there."

The wonder in his voice cracks something open inside me.

"You moved like death was an art form or something." He searches for words, verbal filters stripped away. "Probably shouldn't be saying that out loud, but here we are."

Death as art. Not butchery. Not mindless violence.

"Most people would be horrified by what they saw."

"Most people are total idiots." His focus sharpens on my face despite the drugs. "You didn't even hesitate when they had me cornered. Didn't think twice about tearing through them to get to me."

Remy's hands pause, eyebrows climbing toward his hairline before he continues working.

"That level of precision under pressure was like, the most beautiful thing I've ever witnessed. Hot as fuck too."

Hot as fuck.Heat floods through me so fast it's almost dizzying. No one has ever found my violence arousing. But Jax is staring at me like my lethality turns him on.

"I should terrify you."

"You totally do." His thumb continues its slow path across my knuckles. "But like, in all the best possible ways."

The secure comm system crackles to life. Vanessa's worried voice fills the kitchen space.

"Frost? You better be breathing over there."

Asher's dry response comes from his position monitoring the perimeter. "Still vertical, Echo. Stop worrying."

"I'll worry as much as I want to worry." Her retort carries typical manic energy. "Did everyone make it back in one piece?"

Remy catches my eye over Jax's shoulder, that knowing smirk growing. Like he's witnessed something significant between us that he finds entertaining.

"Package secured," Cole's voice carries through the comm with tactical precision. "Minor injuries only."

"Define minor," Vanessa demands immediately.

"Through-and-through shoulder wound. Clean entry and exit, missed the major arteries." Remy applies antibiotic ointment. "Though our patient seems more interested in flirting with his girlfriend than staying still."

Girlfriend. Is that what I am now?

Jax's good hand finds mine again, fingers intertwining in full view of everyone. Public claim in front of our found family.