Page 96 of Stolen Matrimony

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My head throbbed as I slowly attempted to open my eyes. Confusion filled me at the bright lights hovering over me and the faint beeping sound around me. My head felt fuzzy and my sight was blurry. It felt like my body was being weighed down by pounds of heavy weights.

Pain seared through me when I attempted to lift. “Don’t move.”

The voice caused my eyes to shift over and Lucas stood next to me with a blank expression on his face. He shifted his eyes to the machine next to where I lay.

“Lucas?” My throat felt scratchy and dry as if I had swallowed sand. “Where?”

“You’re at the clinic. How you feeling? Do you remember what happened?”

Closing my eyes, I pushed out a deep breath as scenes flashed in my head.

“I was shot,” I gritted.

He nodded. “Once in your right arm, that went through and through, and then another on your left lower side. That one I had to remove the bullet. Nothing major was hit. You’ll be sore for a while but you’ll recover fine.”

The door opened, and Ezra and Cashlynn came storming in.

“About time you woke up. How you feeling, bro?” Ezra asked.

“Like I got shot. What happened to the guy?”

“River showed up after we left and had him taken to the barn after Ian dealt with the police.”

“How the fuck did he even get inside with a gun?” Lucas questioned. My jaw clenched. That was a good question. There was no way he should have even been allowed inside with a weapon. Only me, my family, and River’s people were allowed inside with one.

“I don’t know, but I’ma find out. The guy mentioned something about Neil,” I announced. Things were still fuzzy but I remembered that fact.

“We’re already on it. He’s in the wind,” Ezra noted.

Again, I gritted my teeth. “Raise his bounty to five hundred thousand. I want his fucking head!” I was furious. My blood boiled as my heart pounded in my chest.

Shifting my attention, I eyed Cashlynn who had been quiet, which wasn’t like her. I studied her. Her body was stiff, arms crossed over her chest with a blank face.

“Give me a second with my wife,” I demanded, never taking my eyes off her.

“Don’t do shit that’ll bust your stitches,” Lucas expressed. His eyes leveled on me then bounced to Cashlynn. “No fighting or fucking.”

He and Ezra left the room we were in. Cashlynn didn’t move. Her eyes remained unblinking.

“What the hell you doing all the way over there? C’mere.” I nodded and shifted in the bed, causing me to grunt. I knew my brother had me on pain meds, but the dull aching couldn’t be ignored.

Cashlynn’s eyes dragged down my body. It could have been the pain medicine but I swore I saw sadness pass through her face as she eyed me before her eyes hardened and she clenched her jaw and her arms fell from her chest. She balled her hands at her sides and stalked toward the bed.

“You took a bullet for me,” she stated. “I was caught off guard and you had to save me.” Her voice was strained as she spoke.

My eyes narrowed. “Wildfire?—”

“Why?” She cut me off. “Why would you do that?”

I studied her face. She looked to be having an internal battle.

“Cashlynn. You are my wife! I don’t know what else I have to do to prove I have your back. I wasn’t about to sit back and watch you get shot.”

“If I was paying more attention and watching my surroundings I would have noticed. And then you wouldn’t have been shot.”

My brows furrowed. “No. That guy slipped in somehow; he caught us all off guard. You need to realize you’re not alone anymore. You have people that have your back.”