“It’s scary, isn’t it?”
“A little. Mostly, it’s kinda exhilarating.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” She looks away for a moment.
“What’s wrong?”
“Can you… can you wash my hair, like you did before?”
“For you, anything.”
After I finished washing her, I wrapped her in a fluffy towel to dry off before tucking her into bed. She could hardly keep her eyes open, so after forcing her to take a couple of painkillers, she curled up and almost instantly fell asleep.
I’d hoped I was wrong about her being injured, but the second I started massaging her scalp as she asked me to, she let out a loud gasp and I knew it was wishful thinking.
Finding my phone in my jeans that I’d dropped on our way to the bathroom, I discover numerous missed calls from Zach, Biff and D.
Going for Zach first, I lift the phone to my ear and listen to it ring.
“Is she okay?”
“She will be. She’s sleeping. I don’t think it’s really hit her yet.”
“Fucking hell,” he mutters. I picture him tugging at his hair and spinning around the way he does when he doesn’t know what to say down the line. “I’ve only known about her for a couple of months and she’s already aged me a few years.”
“You don’t need to worry about her, Zach. I think she’s more capable of looking after herself than we are.”
“I know. Fuck,” he barks. “But it shouldn’t be that way.”
“I know, man. But it is what it is.”
“I fucking hate that I haven’t been able to help,” he admits.
“You’ve helped more than you think you have.”
He blows out a long breath. “D sorted everything.”
“Was he…” I trail off, but Zach clearly knows where my question is heading.
“No. Although he is now.”
“Who was he?”
“Jet’s brother. Cruz didn’t think he was involved anymore. He hadn’t been seen for months. Seems that he might have just been working in the background.”
“Is that it now?” I ask, almost pleading for this to finally be over for Kas.
“Yes. Well, they’re pretty confident.”
“That’s not exactly reassuring.”
“They thought they had them all last time, so…” he trails off. Neither of us need a reminder of tonight’s events.
“D’s going to call you. He’s got a friend or something who Kas might want to talk to about all this.. A shrink of some sort.”
“I’ve already had a missed call from him.”
“Okay, you should probably call him back then,” he suggests awkwardly.
“Yeah…” Silence hangs heavy between us. “Zach?”
“It’s okay, Spike. Everything’s okay.”
“I… um… What I said earlier, it’s tru—”
“I know,” he interrupts. “I know. Just… just promise me something.”
“Sure.”
“Make sure her future is a fuck load better than her past.”
“You got it. She’s one of us now, Zach. We’re not going to fail her.”
“Maybe so, but you’re the only one with her heart.”
My breath catches at his words. “Fuck,” I mutter.
“Trust me, I know how you feel. Just for the love of God, don’t fuck it up.”
“I’ll do my best, man. I’ll do my best.” I hear Biff in the background asking about Kas and I make my excuse to hang up so I can ring D.
He tells me a slightly more detailed version of what Zach did, seeing as he was there with Cruz when they found the motherfucker who jumped my girl. He also explains about his friend and tells me he’ll shoot her number over so I can give it to Kas, should she feel she needs it.
After thanking him for once again bailing her out of his fucking disaster, I hang up and crawl into bed beside her.
Wrapping my arm around her waist, I pull her warm back against my front and breathe in her sweet scent.
“I love you, Tiny.”
“I love you too. Thank you for saving me.”
31
Kas
“Morning, Tiny.” I blink a couple of times to get my eyes to focus.
“What are you doing?” He looks down at the small bag he’s currently packing before looking back up at me.
“Uh… packing.”
“Going somewhere nice?”
“We sure are.”
“We?”
“We, Tiny.” He winks. “And if you want to find out where we’re going, then I suggest you get your cute arse out of bed.”
“What do I need?” I ask, excitement starting to bloom in my belly.
“Normal stuff.”
I raise a brow. “You’re talking to a girl here.”
He chuckles. “Just normal stuff. Clothes, underwear, you know.”
“For how long?”
“A few days.”
“Wow, you’re full of details.”
“That might be because it’s a surprise.”
“Would now be a good time to tell you that I don’t have a passport?”
“We’re not leaving the country, don’t worry.”
“So, we’re not going on the run because I killed a guy. Good to know.” His movement stops at my words and his eyes find mine.
“Kas, I—” The seriousness in his tone has me cutting him off. I really don’t want to do serious right now, especially if he’s planned something for us.
“It’s okay. It was a joke. I’m not sure anyone will miss that scumbag, just like his friends.”
“I know, and I agree. I was just going to say that you didn’t actually kill him. When D and Cruz got there, he was still alive.”
“Shit, that must have hurt then.”
He shrugs. “He was Jet’s brother.”
I nod, acknowledging that would be why I recognised something about him.
“They sorted it?” I ask, wanting to confirm what I already know.
“Yeah. And…” Spike hesitates, making dread start to push away my earlier excitement. “D gave me a number for a shrink friend, should you want it.”
I smile at him. “I appreciate that, but I’m good.”
He flashes me a knowing smile. “As I thought. I’ll forward it to you anyway, just in case.”
I want to argue, but I don’t have it in me. All he’s trying to do is look after me, and I appreciate it more than he could possibly know.
“So where are we going?” I ask, changing the subject back to something a little lighter.
“Not telling you. But the sooner you get up and pack, the faster you can find out.”
Scrambling from the bed, I falter when my head starts to ache and my muscles pull, reminding me
