Page 85 of Bound By Her

Eric pushed the gun aside. “Seth, get your ass up.”

“Eric, you know this guy?” the man asked.

Eric hauled Seth up and shot a glance at Adria. “Go to the car.”

Adria willed her legs to move. Putting her hand on Seth’s bicep, she led him out of the bar. Leaving Eric to deal with the fallout.

“Eric knows those guys?” Seth asked, checking over his shoulder.

Adria kept moving, glancing along the road, searching for her car.

“He knows the owners, that’s why he feels comfortable bringing me there,” she responded robotically.

“Well, he shouldn’t have left you in there alone,” Seth said.

She rounded on him. “And you shouldn’t be popping off whenever your fists feel like it. Maybe use your head once in a while.”

He stood there, and she took a second to really look at him.

“You’re bleeding,” she said, running her fingers along his side.

His white shirt was stained with blood; some of it belonged to the other men, but the bright red crimson that oozed out his left side, that was all Seth.

“Fuck, hold some pressure on it,” she said, moving his left hand to cover it.

“Suddenly you care about me,” he said with such an amused tone that Adria thought he was actually laughing.

“Do none of you three take anything seriously?”

“Kaydon mostly.”

“Maybe that’s your problem,” she mumbled to herself, spotting the car.

“Sit.” She pointed to the curb behind the trunk.

Moving quickly, Adria retrieved Eric’s first aid kit and went to Seth’s side. Rolling up her sleeves, Adria inspected the wound. She was relieved that it wasn’t deep.

“I don’t think you need stitches,” she said, fingers running over his ribcage.

Spraying the wound out with saline, she said, “This might sting,” before dabbing him with the Bactine.

Her heart squeezed when Seth’s eyes closed, but he didn’t flinch.

Not wanting to prolong his discomfort, she pressed a large square of gauze to his side. A sharp breath escaped him, but he held firm, jaw tight, body still.

She had to give it to the Winters boys—they were tough.

“I have to hold pressure until the bleeding stops,” she murmured. “Then I can add the Steri-strips.”

Seth let out a small huff of acknowledgment. “Who taught you all this?”

“Eric, mostly,” she said. “And my father.”

Something flickered across his face, but he didn’t press.

Instead, he sighed. “I’m sorry if I messed up your guys’ spot. That guy, he was, ah…being rude.”

Adria laughed, shaking her head. “And you thought breaking his nose was the answer?”

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