Page 57 of Seeking Vengeance
She peeled off her clothes, making a mental note to burn them later, and took a look. The force and heat of the water directly on the open wound made her hiss, and she quickly turned her back to it. She exhaled heavily. Stitches would be required, but at least no vital organs had been hit.
The sound of a bag being dropped on the floor preceded Fisher pulling open the shower curtain. Fisher’s eyes immediately locked on to the ugly gash still seeping crimson.
His eyes turned angrier than she’d ever seen.
“Perv,” she said, attempting to lighten the mood, but he ground his teeth and glared at her.
“I knew it,” he said, letting out a string of oaths that surprised even Nicki. “Brookes!” he called, and Nicki almost shivered from the power of it.
Normally, Josh Fisher was an easygoing guy. Nicki was one of the few people who knew that despite the fact that everything about him screamed Boy Scout, he could be just as merciless and deadly as she was. Though this was the first time he’d ever turned that persona on her.
Brookes was there immediately. His eyes dropped down to her wound, but his expression remained a mask. He said nothing as Fisher wrapped Nicki in a towel and tugged her out to the bed. Brookes got out the med kit and prepared the sutures. Without a word, Fisher helped Nicki into panties and a T-shirt, his movements quick and efficient. At one point, she started to protest, but with a single glare from his eyes, which were now as black as onyx, she thought better of it.
She remained quiet while Brookes stitched her up with skill, refusing to acknowledge the pain of the wound or the treatment. Brookes said nothing, though his eyes occasionally lifted to meet hers, his expression unreadable. When he was finished, he covered the wound with a self-sealing pad and announced he was heading out for food.
Fisher sat in the corner, ever watchful, his eyes burning into her. He stayed there, silent and unmoving, for several minutes after Brookes cleaned up and left the room.
“You lied to me,” he said finally. The weight of the anger and the betrayal in his voice was almost suffocating.
“I didn’t,” she said, but she avoided meeting his eyes.
“Bullshit. You withheld crucial information.”
“That’s different.”
“No, it’s not.” Fisher got up and began to pace the room. “That was no standard assignment. It was personal for you. Beyond personal.”
Nicki’s eyes followed him. She didn’t deny it.
Fisher paced the room a few more times. When Brookes came in with a pizza and a brown bag with two-six packs, Fisher stalked outside.
“Give him some time to cool off,” Brookes said, twisting the top off of a beer and handing it to her.
She took a long pull and eyed the pizza. She didn’t have much of an appetite. “You know then.”
He regarded her thoughtfully. Brookes had warm brown eyes and sinfully long lashes, an old-fashioned cowboy in a modern world. “Yeah.”
He was a man of few words, but that one told her that the intel on her history with Benny had been shared—at least the highlights. No doubt Fisher had pulled a few strings when he saw how Nicki had lost it and felt the need to dig into the hows and whys. He was fiercely protective of both her and Brookes.
“Do you hate me too?”
“Hate you?” His lips quirked as he sat back in the chair. “Fish doesn’t hate you, Nix. He only wishes he could have ripped the man’s dick off himself. Knowing him, he would have choked the son of a bitch with it too.”
Nicki almost smiled.
“We love you, Nix. You’re one of us. You’ve got to know that.”
She nodded and blew out a breath. She loved them too. They’d been her family when she had no other. They’d saved her life as many times as she’d saved theirs. She tried to imagine what it would feel like if she learned that someone had done something so vile to either of them. Felt the answering roar burning through her gut.
“There’s something else that’s got him worked up though,” Brookes said.
Nicki looked at him questioningly.
Brookes stood up and carefully removed the bottle from her hand, moving it to the table and well out of her reach. Nicki narrowed her eyes, waiting for it.
“You’ve been suspended until further notice.”
Nicki dropped her head and blew out a breath. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
