Low Sided A.J. Downey (ebook reader macos TXT) 📖

and I could tell it was for a lot more than just stopping his bleeding.

I got him unlocked and out of his cage with the key Mace provided after speaking with Dahlia and secreted it away.

“Thanks for that, too,” Tic said without making eye contact.

“It’s no problem,” I said. “Any of it.” The first fine trembling started in my hands. I wouldn’t crash. This wasn’t over yet.

“You did good,” Eulogy praised as he put the final stitch into Tic’s hip. He’d shot him up with something for the pain and it was a heavy enough dose, Tic was out. I was grateful for that. Tic had been a trouper and through enough pain.

“Thanks,” I muttered softly.

“No, I mean it. You did real good, Raven.”

I handed him some triple anti-biotic ointment to smear along the fresh line of stitches and he set the needle and pair of forceps he was using aside in the metal tray that’d appeared, and sighed.

“You doing alright?” he asked, eying me.

I nodded. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

I shook my head. “I’ll crash later, but right now, I’m fine.”

He nodded and something like pride crossed his face, or like he was impressed. I bowed my head and started cleaning up.

“Leave it,” he said. “You’ve done way more than enough. I can get it.” He sounded genuinely grateful, and I was honestly exhausted and on the ragged edge of my adrenaline petering out, so I graciously stripped my gloves and bowed out.

“Thanks,” I said and discarded the gloves in the black garbage bag that’d somehow appeared in the midst of all of this.

His breath hitched on a scoffing laugh. “Heh! Thank you, darlin’. You definitely kept him from bleeding out.”

I nodded.

“Let me know if there’s anything else I need to do.”

He looked back at Tic and shook his head. “Nothing left now but to get him full of fluids and let him recover naturally. I got all that, though.”

I’d started an IV after I’d gotten him stabilized but he would be in need of a new bag in a few. I let Eulogy handle it.

Out in the hall, I took a deep, cleansing breath that didn’t hold the sour note of fear and the copper tang of blood.

“Hey.” I looked across the hall in the direction of Mav’s office where he leaned in the doorway. “Before you go down that way,” he said, nodding in the direction of the barroom, “come talk to me in here a minute if you don’t mind.”

I slipped into the office behind him, and he went around the desk, dropping into the seat behind it and gesturing. I took the seat across from the cluttered desktop and felt like I’d gone from the conquering hero to being called into the principal’s office in the blink of an eye.

“You look like you could use a drink,” he said as the sweat still cooled on my clammy hands from being trapped in the latex gloves for as long as they were.

“I could,” I agreed. He reached into the file cabinet drawer, the loud clang of the old, metal, 70s desk making me jump.

“Whoa there, relax. You’re cool,” he said, and I nodded. I was back to being jumpy. I think it was part of the impending crash and burn.

He poured a measure of vodka into two glasses and nudged one in my direction. I leaned forward and took it, downed the contents, and held out the glass for a little more. He raised an eyebrow and obliged me, his smile slow and easy.

“Can I get personal?” he asked.

I nodded slowly, not sure what he was going to ask but guessing it had a lot to do with Mace.

“This thing between you and Mace, this blowup or whatever—”

“It’s not a blowup,” I said defensively.

His smile grew. “Apologies,” he said and cocked his head. “I’m gonna be straight with you. The way you came through that door and the look on your face when you saw him, you thought it was him didn’t you?”

I stared at him impassively, not really wanting to give anything up, but yeah, I had and Fenris – he was so on my shitlist for it, too.

“Might I suggest,” Mav said carefully, “that you aren’t as mad as you think you are, and that maybe you’re only as mad about whatever it is as you want to be?”

I thought about what he was saying for a second and chewed my bottom lip and finally nodded. He was right. I knew that. Loving Mace was easy. Being loved by Mace, that was scary. I had a lot of trust issues, not just from the whole thing with Max, but from before that. The only thing I feared more than death was being some sort of a failure, or disappointment to the ones who loved me. It made for some interesting struggles sometimes. It was something I was thinking about – especially the last few days.

“I think you might be on to something there,” I said softly, and Mav nodded slowly, his deep blue gaze level with mine and unwavering.

“You want I should bring Mace in here so you two can talk?” he asked gently, and I nodded carefully. I did want that. I wanted that very much. What I didn’t want was to fall apart in front of Maverick, who I didn’t know.

It struck me then, that despite how Mace went behind my back, contacted Angelica, went to my old house, I still managed to trust him, and deeply at that. With the important things, at least. With my heart, and my emotions.

Mav heaved himself to his feet and stopped next to me. I looked up at him and he put his hand on my shoulder and said, “That man loves you more than life itself. More than freedom, and, I reckon, in some ways as much if not more than this club.” He reached into his pocket and held something in his hand. He rubbed his lips together and searched my