Page 97 of Captured Immune

I drop the apple back into the bag. “Oh, right.”

Now that I think about it, that makes sense. Ever since I was kidnapped, he’s been in the infirmary for most of that time. Any time he wasn’t in there, he was getting used as a test dummy for people’s powers.

I dig through the second bag and drag out a pair of black sweatpants. “I figured this would be more comfortable for you than jeans. I also got you a new shirt, socks, boxers, and some clothes for me too. We can change after I redress your wound.”

From the third bag, I pull out some first aid supplies. While in the store, I almost bought some ibuprofen until I remembered it wouldn’t do anything for him. Do Zordis have special pain medications they can take? If so, where can we get some?

“Thanks, Arella. All of this is great.”

“Thank yourself,” I say, gesturing toward his wallet sitting in the cup holder. “You paid for it.”

“With cash?”

“Of course. I’ve seen movies.”

When I made it to this Walmart, Trey was still out cold, so I dug through his jacket pockets for his wallet. That’s when I caught a glimpse of his bare chest and realized the shirt tied around my arm is probably his. Up until that point, I hadn’t thought about where this shirt had come from.

Knowing this man literally took the clothing off his back to give to me makes me feel even worse for trying to ditch him. At the time, getting away from him seemed like a good idea. Now, knowing the Royals have people everywhere, I’m positive the safest place I can be is with Trey.

“Fuck.” Trey hisses through his teeth as I clean around his wound with baby wipes. His thigh isn’t bleeding as much as it was before, but it still looks gnarly.

After I rewrap his wound with clean gauze and fresh medical tape, I use more baby wipes to clean off his bloody face. The whole time, he lies still and stares at me with an admiration in his eyes that gets my stomach to flutter with love-sick butterflies. This time, I don’t try to fight the feeling. For me, there’s no resisting this guy.

I unzip his jacket to reveal a red and purple discoloration over his right rib cage. I can’t imagine how painful it is. The rest of his torso doesn’t look any better. He groans while I help him get into his new shirt—a plain black one, of course. After that, I help get the rest of him into fresh clothes.

“Do you want to put your jacket back on?” I ask, holding it up.

He pants heavily as he slumps back into his seat. “Not right now. That requires more moving.”

I set his jacket onto the backseat, then get dressed in my own pair of black sweats and shirt.

“Matching outfits,” Trey says. “I likey.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever worn all black before. I feel like a ninja.”

“You sure shoot like one.” He places a gentle hand over my knee. “Thank you for saving me.”

I can’t look at him as I say, “I wish we could have saved Dennis.”

Trey keeps his hand over my knee. “That man was so brave. When that lady ran toward the closet, he didn’t hesitate to shoot her. He helped save you.”

“And I’ll never be able to repay him for it.”

“I’ll never be able to repayyoufor saving me.”

I offer him a warm smile. “I suppose we’re even now.”

He scoffs. “Not even close. You only needed savingbecauseof me.”

“Technically, I put you in danger too. I was the one who told Dennis to call the police.”

His gaze falls to his lap. “I’ll admit that even though it makes me sad, I understand why you did that. You also didn’t know the Royals have connections with the police.”

“And you didn’t know your uncle is a psychotic evil maniac with henchmen.”

He scoffs again, shaking his head. “Don’t remind me.”

I place my hand over his on my knee. “Like I said, we’re even now.”

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