Page 86 of Brandishing Beginnings

At home, I find both Marcos and Jason sitting at the kitchen table holding dish rags to bleeding wounds. Marcos’s was pressed against his calf and Jason’s was held against his left bicep. Once again, my heart stopped in my chest, and my breath hitched as I gasped.

My guys were hurt.

“Come here, Mia Vida,” Marcos murmured, holding an arm out to me.

I walked slowly, tentatively toward him; my eyes darting to Jason as well. Jason gave me a tight smile and reached for my hand as I slid onto Marcos’s thigh. Perching on the leg that wasn’t injured, I looked up at Marcos and frowned. “What happened?”

“Las Serpientes,” he replied immediately. He sighed. “Their leader Dax Hillcrest is looking to make a move in Creekton. Starting with trying to take out the Psychos.”

I swallowed thickly. I could feel the blood draining from my face. Slowly I turned to take in Jason. He was pale himself, but still he reached out to me with his injured arm and looped our fingers together loosely.

Nico stepped in beside me and rested his hand on my shoulder, massaging gently. “Don’t worry about the snakes,” he muttered. “We’ll take care of them.”

I could only nod my head, my voice unreliable. My loss for words didn’t seem to bother my guys, though. I swallowed thickly again and looked down at Marco’s calf. His jeans were a bloody mess and he was dripping onto the tile floor. “Shit,” I swore. I dropped Jason’s hand and slid from Marcos’s lap.

I bumped into Nico as I tried to back away and he wrapped his hands around my hips. “Easy, little Dreamer.”

I took a deep breath and tried to steady my nerves. I had work to do here. “I need my bag,” I muttered, mostly to myself.

“Right here,” Nico said from behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder, to find my medical bag sitting on the counter, already open. The three of them were oddly calm, for two of them just being shot. Realizing I was probably in shock, I slowly stepped away from Nico and walked the short distance to my bag.

“How did this happen?” I asked again, my mind struggling to keep up. I started pulling out gaze and iodine, forceps and suture kits.

“The other night he went after our warehouse, raided us. His crew took an entire shipment of both weapons and drugs. We went after his crew tonight, took a little pay back,” Marcos answered.

I gasped, immediately dropping the supplies I had gathered from my duffle.

“Shh, little dreamer. It’s ok,” Nico murmured. His warm hands enveloped mine, steadying my shaking fingers.

I squeezed my eyes shut, wrapping my fingers around his, stealing his strength.

Nico pressed a kiss to my temple before he murmured softly to me. “They’re ok. We’re all going to be ok. I promise you.”

I let out a shuddering breath.

“Darlin, be a good girl, now.” Jason’s voice was a soft croon that sent shivers down my spine for a different reason. After two years together, the man’s voice could still affect me. He knew exactly what he was doing to me too—it was a weapon he honed to his advantage.

I took a deep breath before I shot him a withering glare.

His answering smirk was hot as fuck. The little quirk of his lips in the corners, his eyes crinkling. God damn, even dripping blood, Jason Langford was sexy as hell.

“Fucking hell,” I muttered. His little trick had worked though; I managed to clear my mind and snap out of my funk. I was able to gather all of my supplies quickly, before I gloved up and got to work.

Maya

Thegunshotwoundshadlooked worse than they actually were.Flesh wounds, as my guys had called them. Jason’s had a deep graze through the side of his bicep, while Marcos’s was a fairly simple through and through in his calf muscle.

I had patched them, stitching and bandaging them, before ordering them to rest.

Resting, turned out to be a joke for men like Marcos and Jason, though. I had managed to keep them home and in bed for day and half—mostly with bribes and blow jobs. Half way through the second day, they compromised for the couch, but I knew after that, I would lose them.

It was for the best, though. I was going stir crazy myself. I was still trying to figure out if I should come clean, especially now that Dax knew who my guys were. There was too much pressure. Too much riding on me keeping my mouth shut.

Dax was dangerous. His threats were real. I could lose my men.

They’d already been shot.

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