28. Chapter 28
Chapter 28
“ I love you, Ignacio.”
The words burned inside Naz’s mind.
“I love you. Please, stop. Come back to me.”
As he blinked the gray out of his vision, he found his hands around Seb’s throat, the whites around his dark eyes filled with red.
Meg’s arms clung to his as she pressed along his back. “He helped. Let him go.”
Naz released Seb, his hands moving to where Meg’s clutched him, streaking her arms with blood.
Seb coughed and wheezed. He wasn’t dead.
Everyone else around them lay still.
Naz hoped they were dead. He hurt all over and wasn’t up for another fight.
“Meg?”
Her arms tightened, and he didn’t give a shit that she was choking him a little with how hard she held him. “I’m here,” she said, and he hated that she released him, her hands stroking his back instead. “We’re both alive.”
“Only both? Fucking hell.” Seb coughed again as he glared and tried to sit up. His glare faded as he took in Naz’s body.
Naz didn’t care about Seb. He tried to turn around to see Meg, but his leg wouldn’t work, wouldn’t hold him.
“No! Don’t move.” She grabbed his arms to keep him from falling over.
He breathed through the pain, feeling dizzy. Meg’s bare breast in his face had fear for her skittering along his skin. He wanted to grab her and hold on, but he pushed her back so he could drag off his shirt.
Meg was naked, scraped, and bleeding. Bruises were already forming on her skin.
She went still while he dropped his shirt over her head, but then she put her arms through the sleeves.
Her eyes slid down his bared torso, wincing at what they saw. “You need a hospital.”
“No hospitals,” Seb said. “This was just the first wave. You take him there and he’s dead.” He let out a sound as he stared at Naz. “Fuck, you should be dead now. I don’t know how you’re not passed out. That leg alone. Never seen anyone kill with their bare hands while dragging a fucking leg.”
Naz stared down at it. Nausea burned in his clenching stomach from the blood and visible bone. Acid crawled up his throat to choke him. Naz was broken and bleeding, but he was going to die choking on his own vomit.
Meg’s hand cupped his jaw, turning his face toward her. “Don’t look at it. Look at me.” She stroked down his neck, helping the acid to recede.
One of his eyes was swollen shut, but he still tried to drink her in. She was alive.
“Meg,” he said, his head swirling.
An SUV screeched around the corner.
“Fucking hell,” Seb said, scrambling for a gun.
Naz recognized the SUV. “No,” he told Seb, relieved when the man nodded and lowered the gun.
Diego hopped out before the SUV had fully stopped.
“Holy shit, kid,” Diego said, rushing toward him. His eyes scanned the yard for trouble before he crouched down. “Dammit, what the fuck did you do?”
“My fault,” Seb said. He met Naz’s gaze. “I tried to steal the drugs and got snatched instead. Should have laid low. When they were beating the shit out of me, I blamed you and led them here, hoping to buy time.”
Meg made a noise in her throat. “I should have let him kill you.”
“It worked, didn’t it?” Seb said with a shrug, but a muscle ticked in his jaw. “It’s his fault we’re in this mess in the first place. He killed Julio for you.”
Meg’s eyes dropped.
“No, Meg,” Naz said, not liking the expression on her face. “My…choice.”
Diego stared at him with wide eyes before he laughed. “You’re being chatty now? Shut up and lie down before you fall down.”
Naz’s neck felt like spaghetti. The dizziness was getting worse. He lowered his head to Meg’s thigh.
Her hand stroked his face. “He’s hurt. Bad. What are we going to do?”
Diego dragged out his phone. “Ram, where the fuck are you?”
A sleek, black car slid around the corner, not squealing as much as the SUV had.
Naz struggled to keep his eyes open. They weren’t out of this yet. He could pass out once they were safe. At least the pain in his side had gone numb, but his shot ear hurt worse pressed against Meg. He tried to lift his head but failed.
Fancy shoes stopped in the grass near them.
“Fuck,” Ramiro said.
Naz tried to lift his head again, but Meg’s palm pressed him down.
“Where can we take him?” Diego asked. “That same clinic?”
“Only choice. Fuck, he looks bad.” Ramiro crouched down, his gaze finding Naz’s. “You idiot. Why didn’t you call me? There are over a dozen men out here! You should be dead.”
“More bodies in the house,” Seb said. “Never seen anything like it.”
Ramiro’s eyes flicked toward him, his face tightening. “Who the fuck are you?”
“A friend,” Seb said, shifting.
“That so?” Ramiro’s voice had gone low. Dangerous.
“Not if he led them here,” Diego said. “Naz wouldn’t have blabbed.”
Ramiro looked at Meg. “Did you?”
“No,” she said, her hand tightening on Naz, too tight.
Naz’s arm wrapped around her back to drag her closer. “Meg. No, Meg.”
“I followed him, okay?” Seb ran a hand over his busted-up face. “I’m good at that.”
Acid burned up Naz’s throat again. His damaged ear rang, and his leg was on fire.
“Meg,” he mumbled, his head dropping into her lap. The world swooped. “Love Meg.”
She made a choked sound. “Shh, I know.”
“We can figure all this shit out later.” That was Diego. “Help me get him into the SUV before he bleeds out.”
Spots danced, and he couldn’t open his eyes. “Meg,” he mumbled into her thigh.
Her name repeated in his mind as blackness dragged him under again.
N az didn’t feel quite as awful when he woke up. There was still a buzzing in his ear, but his side wasn’t killing him and his leg felt itchy more than it stabbed in pain.
There was a cast on it.
A hand he knew well gripped his arm. He turned his head, finding Meg’s sleeping face close to his, close enough for his lips to press against her forehead.
Someone snorted.
Ramiro wore a different suit than the one he’d had on when he’d crouched near Naz.
“Welcome back,” Ramiro said. “You’ve been a lot of fucking trouble, kid.”
Naz was alive, and Meg was near him, sleeping peacefully. The trouble had been worth it.
Ramiro stepped closer, his gaze raking down Naz’s body. “The leg was the easiest part, even though it looked the worst. You’ll have to hobble around with that cast for a while, but maybe that’ll make your episodes less lethal.” His smile was grim. “There was no way to hide all those bodies you made. I left them.” He shrugged. “Had to send a message to the cartel anyway.”
Ramiro paused, as if waiting for Naz to chime in. Naz didn’t give a fuck what was done to the bodies. He only wished he remembered killing Julio’s uncle.
“We didn’t kill Sebastian Guzman. Diego wanted to, since it was obvious he brought that shit down on you, but I decided letting a Guzman live might work more in our favor.” He lifted an eyebrow. “Hope that’s not a problem?”
It took a moment for Naz to understand who Ramiro was talking about. Naz hadn’t known Seb was a Guzman.
Meg lifted her head from beside him, yawning. “I told you he’d have let him live.”
“Meg,” Naz said, wishing she was closer.
As if she’d heard the wish along with her name, she leaned over him and pressed her lips on top of his.
“Don’t start that shit while I’m still here,” Ramiro said.
Meg giggled, the sound sending warmth inside Naz’s chest.
“I don’t see anything fucking funny about this. You both should be dead. I’ve never seen you so reckless, Naz, and I don’t like it.” He glared. “Between you and Diego, everything has turned to shit, and all over women.”
Meg’s expression dimmed, and Naz considered punching Ramiro.
“He’s right,” she murmured. “You almost died because of me.”
“No.” Naz tried to reach for her, but an IV tugged on his arm. “Meg…no die.”
Her hand found his as she leaned closer, a scowl on her face. “You don’t get to die either. I was so mad at you. You didn’t even look back before running out like that. I can’t believe you didn’t get shot again.”
Ramiro hummed in his throat. “He’s fucking lethal when he’s dragged into an episode like that. No one moves as quickly as him.”
Naz didn’t explain that he hadn’t been having an episode at the time. That hadn’t come until later. He tried not to think about the way Meg had screamed and begged.
“And he may not have been shot again, but that bullet wound from before was going septic because you didn’t ask for help!” Ramiro’s chest heaved as he stomped closer. “The doctor has been pumping you full of antibiotics for a couple of days now.”
Naz blinked. Days? No wonder Ramiro had changed. He looked at Meg, who still wore his bloody shirt, though the blood had dried, hardening the material.
“Oh, and the doctor couldn’t do much about your ear. So you’ll be even uglier to look at with half of it gone.”
A huff of breath slipped out of Naz, surprising him, and he watched Ramiro’s eyes soften.
“I think it’ll look sexy,” Meg said.
Naz didn’t want to look sexy, or good in any way, but he didn’t worry at all when Meg said it. He hoped he’d be able to make love to her again once he felt better.
Ramiro was watching him, and his jaw unclenched. He sighed, his arms uncrossing and falling to his sides. “I’ll talk to the doctor about antibiotics you can continue to take since swallowing pills is a pain for you. Then we’ll find a place to stash you for a while.” He moved forward, his hand squeezing Naz’s toes below the cast.
Naz was relieved he could feel the pressure there.
“I’ll take it from here. I’ve been itching to take out the cartel for a while.” Ramiro released him and smiled. “You spend your time with this woman you decided was worth dying for.”
Naz watched Ramiro leave the room, rolling around the idea his boss had put in his head. He could focus on Meg from here on out. He liked the sound of that.
“I’m the one lucky enough to spend all my time with you,” Meg whispered in his good ear. Her arm slid over his chest, and her cheek rubbed against his. “I love you, Ignacio. I want forever with you, so no more almost dying.”
Naz couldn’t return her words of love. Emotion clogged his throat as he clutched at her arm, thankful they were both alive.