Page 150 of Nest of Thieves
I never thought anything could compare to the pain I felt when my dad sold me for drugs, but finding Jo facedown on the side of the porch is worse. The last of my sanity fractures, and I stumble over and collapse at her side.
She’s not moving.
“Kitten,” I whisper as tears spill down my cheek. “Kitten, wake up.” I shake her shoulder. Warm blood,real blood, coats my hand. I gasp and fall back on my ass, scrambling away from her.
She’s shot.
“She’s not moving,” I shout. “She’s not fucking moving!”
“Jo?” Lark drops next to her body, pressing his palms against his temples. “What the fuck happened?”
“Is she dead?” Vette’s voice is strained, like he’s trying to repress whatever it is he’s feeling.
I’m not so strong. I sob, a chest-deep, aching sob. “She’s shot. She’s not moving.”
“Did you check her pulse?” Vette squats in front of me. “Was her heart beating?”
“I don’t fucking know, Vette!” I spit out the words, and strands of my hair fall in front of my face. I fume and shove them back, glaring at my brother.
No one was supposed to get hurt.
We had a plan.
We had a fucking plan.
Dammit, Kitten.
His lips press into a thin line, and he places his hand on my shoulder. “Breathe, brother.” He stands and steps over her body, sinking to his knees and gently rolling her over.
Thick strands of her dark hair cover her face, and I crawl toward her and push them out of the way, unable to bear the thought of her being uncomfortable. Red is smeared over her face, but at this point, I don’t know if it’s real or fake blood.
After we’d gotten home from meeting with Damien, Jo retreated to her room to clean up. When she came out, Lark put on a distortion device to keep Damien from overhearing our conversation. We asked her what really happened in the office, and she explained that Damien was also Laurence, her boss from Philly. That’s how he knew about her sister and niece, and that’s why he talked to her as if he knew her. She had a plan to deal with him. We all agreed to follow it. We knew the risk, but the guys and I were going to be awake to make sure she wouldn’t get hurt. Using her as bait was dangerous. We would have stopped Damien, but Jo took that chance away from us.
Why the hell did she do that?
Lark snaps out of his stupor and places two fingers at her pulse point. The Earth stops spinning while I wait. I would pray to God, but I don’t think he’d listen to a bastard like me. Instead, I swear to make sure her sister never wants for anything. If the world is cruel enough to steal her away from me, the only reason to exist is to take care of what she loved so fiercely.
“There’s a pulse,” Lark says. “She’s alive.”
“I’ll call the doc.” With shaky hands, I pull the phone from my pocket. It takes four rings for him to answer.
“Hello?”
“We need you. It’s urgent.”
“I’m in the middle of an appointment—”
“Are they going to die?” I interrupt.
“No.”
“Then you have ten minutes to get here, or I’ll kill you.” I hang up and toss my phone onto the porch.
“That was rude,” Lark murmurs.
“But honest.” I run my hand over her forehead. The cracks in my soul are still there. If she recovers, so will I. If she dies...I can’t think about that. I’m already mad with rage. Already ready to kill the doc, even though it’s only been a minute.
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