Page 81 of Forbidden Confessions: Vol. 2
Seconds later, Ethan removes the needle from my arm, sticks a cotton ball over the entry point, then finishes up with a quick bandage. When I open my eyes, he’s already done the same to his dad’s arm.
But Ransom’s color looks a hundred times better.
I glance up at him. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to. He’s my dad, remember? Just don’t break his heart, huh?”
More like the other way around, but if he lives, I’ll feel more than blessed.
“I never would.” But I think Ransom has already written off any potential future we might have together. “Are you going to take him home?”
If Ethan does, he might need help. I could stay and take care of Ransom until he rebounds. I’ll treasure the time we have together because he’ll probably ask me to leave again.
Ethan shakes his head. “I don’t think that’s smart. If whoever shot him knows his identity…”
They’ll only follow Ransom home. “Oh, that makes sense.”
“If I go back and act like nothing is wrong, it might deflect suspicion. And if things get hot, I’ll call one of my uncles. Plus, you have more medical knowledge and access to supplies.” Ethan gestures to the shelves behind him. “Got any ideas where to take Dad? You can’t stay here.”
He’s right. “My apartment, I guess.”
“Probably too obvious and not secure enough.” He pauses, thinks, then sighs. “Listen… I know of a place. It’s the party pad of a friend of a friend. He’s not in town right now, but he said I could use it whenever I want. It’s behind a gate, so it’s secluded and private. I’ll try to figure out who shot Dad and why. You stash him there until he’s well enough to defend himself.”
I have no idea how long that will take, but other than a quick animal check tomorrow afternoon, I’m not scheduled to work again until Wednesday. Hopefully, that’s long enough. “Okay.”
As I clean up the surgical room, Ethan stuffs his father back into his bloody T-shirt. Thankfully, it’s black, so the blood doesn’t show. I find spare towels in the storeroom, near the cleaning supplies, so my car won’t get blood-soaked.
But I have nothing to wear except a bra and jeans.
Ethan whips off his shirt and hands it to me. “Put this on. It might save you.”
“Save me?”
He raises a brow. “Dad won’t be out long, and he’ll bounce back fast. When he comes to, if that’s all you’re wearing…” He lets me imagine the rest. “You still a virgin?”
“Yes.”
The tilt of Ethan’s mouth is nothing short of cynical. “If he gets a look at you dressed like that, you won’t be for long.”
5
Fifteen minutes later, I’m speeding down the wet highway west to Summerlin. The roads are freaking jammed. Then again, it’s a Saturday night in Las Vegas. The partiers and drunks are coming out of the woodwork. The good thing about that is, if anyone looks into my vehicle and sees Ransom propped up in the passenger’s seat, he’ll either look asleep or wasted. Neither is terribly abnormal in Sin City at ten p.m.
The GPS tells me we’ll be at Ethan’s mystery destination in roughly ten minutes. I keep looking in the rearview mirror, but I don’t think we were tailed. I’ve been on the lookout. A clean getaway would make me feel tons better, just like Ransom’s coloring returning.
He looks a lot like he did the day I left his house, except now he’s unconscious, rather than fighting himself and filled with regret.
I’ll stop giving a damn how old you are. I’ll strip you down, get between your pretty thighs, and fuck you until you understand you’re mine.
A day hasn’t gone by since that I haven’t thought about Ransom…and wondered if he still thinks of me.
“Meow,” Shadow whines from the back seat, sitting on Ransom’s discarded duster that’s concealing the handguns once strapped to him.
I probably shouldn’t have brought the little feline along. If her owner comes back, I’ll get in a ton of trouble for taking her, but she cried and cried as Ethan and I were loading up my car. I didn’t have the heart to leave her there, especially after I’d promised to be her human. Besides, she brings me comfort, too.
And since I’m going to spend days alone with Ransom at an isolated party pad? I think I’ll need it.
Finally, we arrive. I punch in the gate code, half expecting it not to budge. After all, how the hell does Ethan have anytime access to a place in this swanky neighborhood? But the gate swings open right away.
