Page 21 of Blood Revealed

She sucks in a deep breath. “Will he… Will he be okay?” I hear her swallow.

Tell the truth or don’t tell the truth, that is the question. I decide to go with honesty. “I don’t know. He’s in the best hands, but I just don’t know.”

There’s sniffling on the other end of the line. She’s been friends with Sneak a long time. Been friends with Trish a long time.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

“Pissed off, but yeah, I’m okay. Wasn’t hit.”

“What happened?”

“Don’t know. Sneak and Boetcher went off to do their thing and we heard the shots.” I pause for a minute, collecting my thoughts. “I’m glad I can talk to you about this stuff now.”

“Oh,Blood,” she cries. “I’m worried about you.”

“Baby, I’m fine. If you don’t want to know any more, I won’t—”

“No,” she says, cutting in. “I’m an old lady now. You need to tell me. I can handle it. It’s just… It’s just…”

“I know, baby. Trust me, I know.”

“Do I tell Brin that Hero was hurt or do I let him tell her?”

“He’s gotta be the one, babe. It’s up to the brother to tell his old lady anything he thinks she should know; you know that.”

She sighs. “Yeah, I do. But it’s hard. She’s my sister.”

“I know. It’s all hard. Every fucking bit of it. But we’ll be okay. I gotta go now, but I’ll check in again tonight, yeah?”

“Yeah,” she repeats. Then, “Love you, Blood.”

I’ll never get tired of hearing her say that. “Love you too, baby. Bye.” I hang up. I didn’t have to go, but talking to her was just making everything worse. I want to bury my face in her neck and hold on, let her use her mouth and body and comforting little whispers to take it all away.

Instead, I drink one more beer and pace the room until Hero walks into the common. He’s walking slower than usual and a bit hunched over, like he’s in pain. I’m glad he’s on our side. That’s one brave motherfucker.

“You okay?” I ask.

“Not bringing me down yet,” he answers as he eases onto a barstool. “How ’bout a shot?” he asks the hot mama. The woman picks up a bottle of bourbon, pouring two fingers’ worth into a glass, and slides it along the bar top to Hero. “Any word on Sneak?” he asks me.

“Not yet. Far’s I know, he’s still in surgery. Boetcher?”

“Getting patched up now.”

“Brothers are on their way. Han called.”

“You tell her?”

“Only that you and the others were wounded. She knows not to tell Brin.”

“Don’t know how to tell her about this. I don’t want to scare her, but I refuse to keep it from her, either.”

“Brinley’s a strong woman. Grew up in the life; she’ll get it.”

“I suppose she will. Hope this shit ends soon. We’re heading to Vegas.”

That gets my attention. “Like to gamble or…?”

“Or,” he answers, smirking. A downright devilish smirk at that.

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