Justus Read online

  Carefully, she draped them over her arm, trying to keep them as clean as she could. When she stepped back into the kitchen, she picked up the box and returned to the living room.

  His still form lay where she had placed him on the floor. Paige’s stomach knotted over the amount of blood soaking the blanket under him.

  She set her box next to her on the floor and the bowl of hot water on the other side. The towels were placed safely on the coffee table.

  Blood soaked his side, the red and bleeding muscle visible through his shirt. She cringed as she lifted his shirt.

  Gunshot wound.

  It wasn’t the first time she’d seen a bullet graze the skin. Somehow in the movies they always made them seem so simple, like they were nothing more than a nasty cut, but in truth, a graze represented a line of torn flesh.

  She dipped a washcloth into the water and wrung out what she could.

  When she placed the cloth to his battered side, Justus groaned.

  On instinct she placed a hand against his damp forehead. The soothing gesture seemed to help.

  She held the cloth there for a moment before pulling it away.

  The wound was puckered in areas, likely where the bullet had burned a little. It was luck though that it hadn’t ended up lodged inside. Things could have been much worse.

  She stared at the wound for a moment. Although he’d lost a chunk of skin, it would heal without stitches. Besides, his stiff muscles would make it hard to pull the skin together.

  Paige placed some ointment on the wound and taped a bandage to the skin.

  She glanced down at his leg. The amount of blood alone indicated it was bad.

  Her hands went to the hem of his shirt. It would really be best if he wasn’t stewing in germs.

  As easily as she could, Paige lifted the shirt off. Her hands cradled his head, and she stared down at the semi-conscious man now in her arms. His face was wracked in pain. She placed her hand back on his head and watched the lines fade.

  Her hands went to his pants, and she blushed. She was a nurse and had taken clothes off tons of people. Yet this time she was nervous. Paige tried to tell herself it was just nerves at dealing with such severe injuries solo.

  She popped the button and slid the pants down. Justus winced in pain, but she kept going until they were past the wound on his thigh. She flushed again at his near nakedness and was grateful he wore underwear. She’d heard rumors that many of the hybrids preferred not to.

  Her eyes shot back to the wound, and all embarrassment vanished. Paige lifted his leg and looked at the exit wound. The bullet had missed organs and arteries from what she could tell. So many things could have gone wrong, but they hadn’t.

  She frowned.

  And yet he still bled heavily. The hybrids were known for their strength and ability to handle wounds. It was what made them great warriors. This was different.

  She shook her head. Maybe they didn’t have enough information to really make those sorts of statements.

  Paige picked up the alcohol and took a deep breath before pouring it over the wound.

  Justus shot up, eyes glowing a bright amber.

  The roar the came out of him was like nothing else she’d ever heard. It was inhuman and primal in every way that made her scared. She trembled.

  As if on command, her hand went to his bare chest. She wasn’t quite sure if it was in comfort or fear.

  Justus looked down at her hand and then to her.

  She pressed a little harder, and he lay back on the floor.

  “I have to clean it,” she said quietly.

  Without a word, Justus nodded. The pain was clearly written on his face.

  This time she poured the alcohol on his leg, and he only grunted in pain. She could see the wound more clearly and knew she needed to stitch it.

  She started to stand but stopped when his dark hand shot out to her own.

  “Don’t leave me,” he said, his voice rough and weak.

  She swallowed hard at his words.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said. “I’m going to take care of you.”

  Paige let his hand slip out of hers and picked up the needle.

  She hurried into the kitchen. She flicked on the gas stove and placed the end of the needle into the flame until it glowed bright red. She pulled back and turned off the flame. When she came back into the room, she wiped off the burned end with an alcohol cloth.

  Not daring to look at his face, Paige threaded the thin fishing line through the hole. It had been a long time since she did stitches. It was rare that an RN would even do anything like that. Still, she did have the training, even if it was years ago.

  She glanced over to Justus. His light amber eyes focused on her, and she felt a little shiver under the intense stare.

  “Are you ready?” she asked.

  His eyes roamed across her until he found the needle in her hand. They fixed on the point.

  She cleared her throat. “I don’t have anything for the pain,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

  Paige jumped when his large, warm hand landed on her thigh.

  “Do it,” he said.

  She leaned over and set to work. The pattern came back quickly, and before long, she had moved into a rhythm. When she finished, she cut the string and sat back.

  It wasn’t until that moment she realized his hand had stayed on her thigh. She followed his dark bare arm up to his face. To her surprise, he had passed out.

  Concern ate at her. He’d lost a lot of blood at her place, and there was no telling how much more he’d lost before he found her.

  She hated to do it, but she was going to have to roll him. It was the only way to get at the other hole.

  With a great grunt, Justus rolled to his side. It was better to put the pressure on the unhurt area than risk tearing the stitches.

  Blood continued to flow from the wound.

  The only thing she could hope was the bleeding slowed once he’d had some rest.

  Faster the second time, Paige stitched up the next wound. When she’d finished, and with him still out, she poured more alcohol over the wounds. There were so many ways that this could be done better, but it was all she had for now.

  She set to work wrapping the leg. She blushed a little when she glanced down at his underwear-clad body and realized just how close her hand was getting to other areas. In the heat of the moment, she hadn’t even thought about it, but now she couldn’t seem to get it out of her mind.

  Justus stirred, and she blushed at where her thoughts had been. As gently as she could, Paige pulled his pants back up. They might be tattered and bloody, but it was better than nothing.

  She stood and placed the towels on the couch, then crouched next to him.

  “Let’s move you to a more comfortable spot,” she said.

  His eyes opened slightly, and he shook his head.

  “I’ve got to go,” he said. His words slurred as he spoke.

  Paige sighed loudly and lifted him as best she could.

  His body wasn’t nearly as heavy as it had been when she’d pulled him inside, and she knew he was straining himself to stand, but there was no way she’d be able to do it on her own.

  They stumbled around her coffee table. She sagged under his weight but pressed on. Only a few more feet, and they would be clear.

  As if sensing the couch, Justus leaned forward, pulling them both at a more rapid pace than she expected.

  Paige gasped and braced for the impact, her eyes wide with worry.

  Smoothly, he dropped to the couch, her body half over his.

  Paige bolted backwards and knelt next to him.

  “Can’t stay,” he mumbled again.

  She ignored his words and lifted the tape on his side. The wound was still bleeding, but it had slowed some. Paige peeked through the hole in his pants. Blood dotted the white bandage, but she didn’t want to disturb the leg more than needed. For now she would just hope the stitches held and the bleeding stopped.
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br />   Her eyes came back to his, his stare distant. It bothered her. He was really in bad shape, and there was no way she was capable of handling this.

  “Maybe I should call Titus.”

  His deep growl set the hairs on the back of her neck on end.

  “No,” he grunted, his voice loud and firm.

  Faster than she would have expected, Justus gripped her arm and pulled her across his body so they were nearly nose to nose.

  A bright glow burned in the depths of his eyes. The light amber she’d seen before deepened and almost pulled her in.

  “What—”

  Her sentence was cut off as he pulled her a little more, pressing their mouths together.

  Warm heat pulsed through her at the touch of his soft lips. She wanted to pull away. Everything in her said this was the worst idea possible, especially given the situation. She knew nothing about him other than he’d been locked up at the lodge and was on the run likely from more than one group.

  Still, she pressed into the kiss, pulled in by something she’d never felt before, something she couldn’t even name if she’d been asked. Passion seemed like such a weak word. This was almost primal, as if she needed to kiss him.

  The thought tore through her, and she pulled back, not quite sure what it all meant.

  Her breath came out in small puffs as she tried to regain some composure.

  She leaned back and realized the arm that had pulled her before lay limply at his side.

  Everything that had just happened vanished as the nurse in her kicked in.

  Now focused on something she could deal with, Paige placed a hand on his forehead. It was damp and warm.

  “Fever,” she whispered and pulled an acetaminophen from the bottle she’d brought in.

  Paige raced to the pantry to pull a bottle of water out.

  She twisted off the lid and palmed the pills. When she came back into the room, his eyes were closed, but unlike before, he seemed to be aware of what was going on around him.

  She knelt beside him and lifted his head. Gingerly, she placed the pills to his mouth and pressed them in.

  “You need to take these,” she said and held the water to his lips.

  Justus swallowed the water. She let out a sigh of relief.

  “You’re not well,” she said quietly. “I should really call—”

  “Let me stay,” he said. “Please let me stay.”

  His voice was quiet but rang out in the silence of the room, cutting off all other thoughts but one. She could sense it. He trusted her.

  Chapter Six

  Pain pulsed through his body before he’d even opened his eyes. Justus groaned and was surprised when a cool, soothing hand pressed against his head.

  “You’ve spiked again.”

  His eyes opened, and he swallowed hard as the room spun around him.

  “Here.”

  His eyes tried to follow the soft, familiar voice. Slowly she came into view as last night came crashing down on him.

  “Paige,” he said. His voice cracked and hurt more than he’d expected.

  She leaned over him, and worry creased her brow. Justus could see the deep circles under her eyes and wondered how much sleep she’d been able to get. It didn’t seemed like she’d slept at all.

  “You are burning up,” she said and pulled her hand away.

  Just as quickly as it’d left, her hand was back, this time pushing pills into his mouth. He swallowed the water she poured.

  “You aren’t getting better,” she said and set the water back onto the table.

  Part of him wished she’d continued to let him drink, but when his stomach churned, he knew it was best he didn’t.

  “You’ve been asleep off and on most of the day,” she said.

  He looked out the window in front and could make out the setting sun in the distance. A whole day he had lost, and he didn’t even know where it went.

  His eyes settled back on her. Now he understood the reasons for the dark circles.

  “I just can’t figure it out,” she said mostly to herself. “The wounds were fresh. You shouldn’t have an infection, and yet that’s what it seems like.”

  Justus placed a hand on his bare chest and slowly slid the hand over to his aching side. The bandage was damp and warm to the touch.

  He looked up at her as she leaned over him.

  “You need to tell me what happened,” she said quietly.

  His words were rough coming out, so he kept them to as few as he could.

  “Men in the woods,” he said. “Shot at me.”

  “From Luna Lodge?”

  He shook his head.

  Paige frowned. She had doubted the men from the lodge would actually attack Justus, but verifying that someone else did it only made her more uncomfortable. For one thing, it raised the possibility the Horatius Group was lurking about.

  “Did they know who you are?” she said. She furrowed her brow. “What you are?”

  Justus nodded and looked away. The shame of his ability to be hit by such men ate at him. If he hadn’t been so desperate and starving, he’d been able to disarm and knock them all out with ease.

  “Were they local men?”

  He looked back over to her and nodded. At least he thought they were. They seemed to know what was going on at the lodge. The way they talked and their mention of John only reinforced his belief.

  Paige stood and paced the floor. She frowned and paused.

  “It has all the same symptoms,” she mumbled to herself and then looked down to him. “It’s not as intense, but then it couldn’t be that strong since they’d have to handle them as well.”

  Justus frowned. “What?”

  She looked over to him. “Wolfsbane. It has to be. The wounds are the only spots that aren’t healing. Maybe they coated their bullets or something.”

  He frowned. He’d heard of it before. The people at the lodge had issues with the plant.

  His stomach churned, and he laid his head back, suddenly far more exhausted. He didn’t open his eyes when Paige came to stand next to him.

  “I have to leave,” she said.

  He tried to open his eyes, but there was no more strength in his body.

  “I just need to get a few things that will help.” She sighed. “I’ll be back soon.”

  He could hear her moving around the room as everything else faded out.

  “I’ll be as fast as I can,” she said. “For now just, just wait for me.”

  * * *

  Paige stood outside the small hospital and took in a deep breath.

  It had been a long night and an even longer day. After she’d cleaned Justus, she cleaned the blood outside. It wasn’t like she had many people come over, but it seemed wise not to have the place looking like someone had been murdered there.

  She shuddered. If she didn’t hurry, it might actually become a reality. Justus was in bad condition. Her best guess was wolfsbane, but that was still just a guess. It’s not like she had the ability to run bloodwork at her house. What he needed was a doctor. One with a lab and experience dealing with his kind.

  Rachel. That’s who he really needed. She’d let herself be suckered into not calling, but Paige wasn’t so sure that was the wisest choice. For any of them. Strange men were out to kill Justus, Titus was hot on his heels and the Horatius Group was always a threat. All her choices seemed crappy.

  Paige shook herself. Now wasn’t the time to have the debate. If he didn’t get medicine soon, Justus wasn’t going to make it another night.

  She pushed herself through the door and followed the path she normally would when working.

  Several of the women working the front desk whispered as she made her way back, and she frowned. It seemed like word of her suspension had made the rounds.

  “Just grabbing my things,” she said. One of the women gave a sympathetic nod while the other gave her a serious case of side-eye. She’d never liked that one anyways. Always seemed to find her way into the bed of
another woman’s man.

  Paige nodded, ignoring the other woman. She rounded the corner and sighed when the break room came into view. All she had to do was make it to the lockers, and the rest would be easy.

  Without anyone noticing, she walked into the break room and quickly found her locker. There really wasn’t much inside beside an old jacket she kept just in case. But that wasn’t the reason for her visit. She needed meds, and this was the only way to get them.

  She carefully opened the locker next to her and searched out the extra key card that Lena kept. She hated the idea of stealing from her friend, but she couldn’t involve her in all this. If locals had been the one to attack Justus, the hospital might not even be willing to let her have the supplies even with a medical need, and bringing him in was out of the question. She was certain now someone would shoot or poison him while he slept.

  “Paige?”

  She whirled around and found large brown eyes staring back at her, surprise and worry in them. Ashamed at being caught and concerned others might be nearby, Paige scanned the room.

  She placed a finger to her lips and walked casually over to shut the door. When she turned back around, Lena was over at her locker, staring at it in disbelief.

  “Look,” Paige said and stepped over to her friend. “I know this looks bad, but I swear there’s a good reason.”

  Lena raised a well-manicured brow.

  Paige winced. “One that I can’t really tell you about for your own protection.”

  She waited for something. Anything. Still Lena stared at her as if trying to see something. What? Paige wasn’t quite sure, but she just hoped the woman she’d considered a friend could see past this.

  As if it were nothing, Lena wrapped her arms around Paige in a giant hug.

  “I trust you,” she whispered and only squeezed harder.

  She sighed and gave into the comfort. It had been a long night and even longer morning. She was beyond exhausted and drained emotionally. Knowing she had a friend was enough to keep her going.

  Lena leaned back to stare at her. Paige wondered if she saw the guilt there that seemed to be knotted in the pit of her stomach.