CHAPTER 8 #3
I’m so mad at him. I don’t know who is more surprised, me or him, when I slap him so hard on his cheek his head jerks to the side and a red print of my hand shows prominently on his now white cheek.
“You MOTHERFUCKING ARSEHOLE,” I scream at him. “You nearly got yourself killed. I told you not to be a fucking hero.”
“Damn, baby, are you trying to finish me off?” Skinny mutters, closing his eyes in pain.
Shit, I’d forgotten all about his concussion.
Careful of the kitten I still have in my shirt, I fall across his chest and sob my heart out, ignoring the murmuring of the rest of the camp as Skinny’s arms come around me, cradling me to his chest as he rocks up with a pained groan and pulls me onto his lap.
I stick my face into the crook of his neck, inhaling him, and cry like my heart is breaking.
In a way, it was because honestly, for a split second I thought I’d lost him and the rest of my entire life without him in it flew through my mind, and I’d been devastated.
“I’m sorry, baby,” he whispers to me as my sobs start to peter out.
Sitting up on his lap, I turn and face him, my legs on either side of him. Cupping his cheeks, I ignore the revelry coming from the other guys. Their relief that their friend was okay is clear in their exultations.
I ignore them. I have something to say to my husband first, and he needs to listen to what I have to say.
“You can’t be throwing yourself into danger like that, Skinny.
I need you; our baby needs you. I know it goes against everything in you, but I thought you’d died and my entire world collapsed for a split second. I can’t do this without you.”
Softly, Skinny answers, “You’re right,” and kisses me. “I didn’t think. I acted. I’m sorry I scared you.”
He takes my mouth in a hard kiss, his fingers gripping my head tightly as he tilts my head and devours my mouth.
A whimper leaves me and then a hiss of pain as the kitten I’d forgotten all about makes itself known, not happy with being squashed between us.
Skinny immediately pulls away at my hiss and looks down, starting to laugh.
I follow his gaze and can’t help but laugh with him; the Serval kitten has her head out of my sweatshirt, her ears have folded back on themselves, and she has a completely disgruntled look on her face at the audacity of the humans that keep disrupting her sleep.
Skinny reaches out and fixes her ears before saying, “I really am sorry, Josie, I’d never do anything to hurt you on purpose.”
I sigh a heavy, heartfelt sigh as I stand and hold my hand out to him to pull him up before wrapping my arms around him and giving him a little squeeze, “I know, and you wouldn’t be my Skinny without a hero complex. But please remember, it’s not just us anymore.”
Hearing footsteps approaching us, I turn my head to see who is coming but leave it against Skinny’s chest so that I can hear his heartbeat—more for comfort than anything else. It’s Shadrack that’s approaching us.
“I’m sorry to bother you both, but I was wondering if Josie could check out my recruit’s leg where the leopard bit him. And he’d like to say thank you to you, Skinny.”
“Of course,” I reply. Removing my arms from around Skinny, I reach into my shirt and take out the kitten, who rumbles grumpily at me as I hand her over to Skinny.
She’s probably being handled too much, but I’m not sure what else to do with her.
It’s not like I can leave her to roam free just yet.
That’s a worry for another day. I walk up to Shadrack and hug him.
Ignoring the way he stiffens in surprise, I whisper, “Thank you for saving him.”
His body loses its tension as he awkwardly pats my shoulder, replying, “You’re welcome.”
Letting him go, I walk over to where I’d left the first-aid kit and get the gel to clean my hands before walking over to the mauled recruit.
Surprisingly, his heavy-duty boots have protected him from its teeth; however, the claws have badly injured his thigh and calf.
I clean up the cuts as much as I can and pack them with the rest of the antibiotic cream and the last of the gauze, warning him he’ll have to go to the hospital because of the chance of infection.
When he said he’d understood and then proceeded to stand up and limp towards where Skinny was standing with Shadrack, I threw up my hands and cleared up the mess I’d made, muttering under my breath, “I give up. Boys are stupid. They’re hurt but still have to be heroes.”
We hear the first vehicles just as the sun stains the sky pink and purple as it rises. Bull and the others arrived not long after, and I’d never been so happy to see them in all my life.
I was still good and mad, but not so mad that I hadn’t taken the comfort Skinny had offered when he’d opened his arms up for me as we waited for the MC to reach us.
I’d snuggled right in because, as angry as I was at him for putting himself in danger like that, I was also proud of the man he was.
I knew the type of man he was when I’d married him; it wouldn’t be right to expect him to change his nature.
His brothers, however, had no problem telling him their thoughts when they’d found out what he’d done. I don’t think I’d ever seen Bull or Bond so angry before. They put my little temper tantrum to shame. It was only when I reminded them he had a concussion that they calmed down.
It took hours to get everything organised and those injured to the hospital, including Skinny, who insisted I come along to get the baby checked out.
I’d agreed because while I’d pushed it to the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but wonder if the stress from the last twenty-four hours would cause complications or not.
I’d handed the Serval kitten over to Blaze and asked him to make sure Chase checked her over when they got home.
Bond had driven us, with Skinny and me sitting up front, leaving the back seat and the empty rear of the covered four-by-four for the more injured.
The silence was heavy throughout the entire journey. I think we were all trying not to think about how differently this morning could have been if Shadrack’s bullet had missed.