Page 31 of Pack Owned
Dane’s gaze meets mine, a flicker of something warm passing through his dark eyes. “You’re doing great so far, sweetheart.”
I focus on keeping my hand steady.
Liam leans casually against the counter. “Don’t worry about leaving a scar. Dane has too many battle wounds to care.”
“You’re just jealous, asshole, that Kayla’s touching me instead of you right now,” Dane shoots back with a wolfish grin.
“Bite me,” Liam growls, but there’s a playful edge to his tone.
Thankfully, Liam’s needling is a distraction from the nervous knot in my stomach. Dane continues, his voice low and reassuring as I position the tweezers. Gently, I slide the tips inside, my stomach churning at the sight of torn flesh. Dane’s body trembles slightly, like he’s trying not to jerk away from the pain.
“That’s it, nice and slow. You’ve got this,” he murmurs, throwing Liam a challenging look.
“What if I make it worse? Or hurt you?” The thought of causing Dane or anyone pain like this makes my chest hurt.
“Hey, you’ll do perfectly.” Dane guides my hand with his own, his touch washing my whole body with heat.
I swallow hard, feeling that dangerous spark between us.Get it together, Kayla!
“Come on, old man, I’ve seen paper cuts tougher than you,” Liam taunts with a smirk.
Their back-and-forth banter keeps my mind from dwelling too much on the fact that I’m basically performing minor surgery.
“I’m starving,” Liam says. “How does Chinese sound?”
“Amazing,” Dane answers as if I’m not hurting him at all, but I know I am. “Kayla?”
“I’m not hungry.” The idea of eating anything right now while Dane’s bleeding has my acid burning the back of my throat.
“You will be.” Liam laughs. “Once Dane’s bullet stops playing peek-a-boo, and he stops bleeding all over the place.”
“Fuck you.” Dane grunts.
Carefully, I probe deeper, my heart pounding when I feel something hard and rigid.
“I think... I think I found it,” I say, sweating now from the tension and effort of being so precise.
“Atta girl,” Dane rumbles proudly.
Forcing myself to breathe deeply, I draw air in through my nostrils and expel it slowly through pursed lips.Get it together, Kayla. You got this. Against all odds, my shaking fingers manage to keep their grip on the tweezers without them clattering to the floor.
“Hey, you might have a talent as a surgeon or doctor,” Liam says. “Either that or Dane’s not cussing you out like he did me last time I had to get a bullet out of his back.”
“That’s because you were tunneling from where the bullet was next to my kidney.”
“Got the bullet out, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, and punctured my lung. Never letting you do more first aid for me, then hand me a fucking bandage.”
Their playful banter is a welcome distraction, offering a brief respite from the knot of tension tightening in my gut. I force myself to take another deep breath, willing my hands to stop trembling. This is no time to panic. Focus, Kayla. You can do this.
I grit my teeth, squaring my shoulders as I refocus on Dane’s wound with renewed resolve. The bullet, however, seems to be having none of it. It wiggles stubbornly, refusing to budge.
If this bullet thinks it can hole up in there and hide from me, it’s got another think coming. I brace myself and give the tweezers a firm twist, determined to dig this slug of metal out of Dane’s ridiculously sculpted shoulder if it’s the last thing I do.
My throat dries.I can’t do this. I can’t.My hands are sweating, but if I pull out the tweezers, I’ll lose my grip on the bullet.
Dane squeezes my shoulder gently. “Hey, relax. Slow and steady.”
