Everyway that counts

Connor's POV

The instant the words left her lips, I turned and walked back to the car. Blood still dripped from my knuckles and soaked the ripped edge of my shirt.

I kept my shoulders loose on purpose, but every step felt like I was leaving something behind on that road.

Her voice stayed with me. “So you’re what now? A murderer? I never knew this part of you existed.” It landed harder than Tyler’s cheap shots ever could.

I reached the SUV about to pull the car door open. But just then, behind me, I heard Tyler’s boots scrape. Then Claire’s sharp breath.

I glanced back once only to see Tyler now had her by the hand and yanked hard enough that she stumbled forward toward him. His fingers dug into her wrist like he still thought he had any right to touch her.

My hand moved before my brain finished the thought. I pulled out my gun from the small of my back. One clean shot. KPAA! The bullet punched straight through the meat of his hand.

Tyler howled and let go of her like she burned him. He dropped to his knees, cradling the bloody mess against his chest.

Claire jumped hard, eyes huge, staring at me. I dropped the gun on the gravel, closed the distance in two strides, and scooped her up around the waist. She was light but solid in my arms. I set her in the passenger seat, reached across to buckle her in because my hands were still shaking with leftover rage, then slammed the door shut hard.

I got behind the wheel, started the engine, and peeled out.

***

The city lights blurred past the windshield. My side started throbbing in time with the engine. I had taken a round of bullets earlier during the ambush.

Silver—the burn was low and mean, spreading under my ribs. I hadn’t felt it until the adrenaline crashed but I kept one hand on the wheel and pressed the other against the wet spot on my shirt. Warm blood. Great.

Claire sat stiff beside me. She didn’t speak. Neither did I. I could feel her looking at me every few seconds, then looking away. Her hands stayed clenched in her lap. I wanted to ask about the words she’d thrown at me back there. Instead I kept driving.

Let her sit with it. Let myself sit with the fact that she’d stepped in front of my fist to save the same asshole who’d been fucking her father and trying to drag her back.

I drove into my penthouse garage, the door rolled up when I hit the remote. I parked in my usual spot, killed the engine, and got out without waiting. The elevator ride up was quiet except for the low hum of the cables. My side hurt worse with every floor. By the time the doors opened on the top level I was breathing through my teeth.

I headed straight for the kitchen island, dropped my keys, and leaned both hands on the granite. A groan slipped out before I could swallow it. The silver was doing its job now. My wolf felt muffled, heavy. Every movement costs more than it should.

Claire’s soft footsteps followed me inside. She closed the door behind her and stood there a second, just watching. I straightened up and was about moving toward the bathroom but she moved at the same time.

“Connor, wait.”

I kept walking. “I got it.”

She didn’t listen. Of course she didn’t. I heard her follow. I flicked the bathroom light on and caught my reflection in the big mirror. My shirt was soaked dark on the left side. I peeled it off slowly. The silver hadn’t gone deep but it was already working, turning my veins to fire and dragging my strength down with it.

I grabbed the first-aid kit from under the sink and set it on the counter. Claire appeared in the doorway. Arms crossed. That look on her face I was starting to recognize. The one that said she was about to be a pain in my ass and I was going to let her.

“You’re bleeding all over the place,” she said. “Sit down before you fall down.”

“I said I got it.”

“Yeah, and I said sit your ass down.” She stepped inside, grabbed the kit, and flipped it open like she owned the room. “You think I’m going to stand out there while you dig silver out of yourself and pass out on the marble? Not happening. Move.”

I stared at her in the mirror. Blood on my skin. Her eyes steady on mine. Something twisted low in my gut that had nothing to do with the bullet. I sat on the closed lid of the toilet because arguing was going to take energy I didn’t have right now.

She wet a cloth and came closer. The first touch of her fingers against my side made me hiss.

“You took that round earlier and didn’t say shit,” she muttered. “Typical Connor”

“Had bigger problems.”

“Like almost murdering my ex in front of me?”

I met her eyes. “He grabbed you again. I wasn’t letting that happen twice.”

She paused, cloth still against my skin. “I had it handled.”

“You slapped him. That was cute. Didn’t stop him from trying to yank you back into his mess.”

Claire gave a short laugh that didn’t reach her eyes. “Cute. Right. Because nothing says more like watching the guy you just defended blow a hole through your ex-fiancé’s hand.” She went back to cleaning. “You’re an idiot, you know that? You acted all strong yet you still let silver get the drop on you.”

“Wasn’t exactly planning the ambush.”

“Still.” She reached for the tweezers. “This is going to suck.”

It did. She worked the silver out slow and steady while I gripped the edge of the tub. Sweat beaded on my forehead. The burn flared hot when the fragment came free. Claire dropped it in the sink with a small clink and rinsed the wound again. Her free hand stayed on my shoulder the whole time, steadying me without making a show of it.

She looked at the taped wound, then at my face. “You’re still shaking.”

“I’m fine.”

“Liar.” Her voice dropped. “You killed eight men and took those silver bullets. Now you’re sitting here pretending you don’t need help. Why?”

I didn’t answer right away. My hand came up on its own and brushed a strand of hair off her cheek. She didn’t pull away.

“What you said and the way you looked at me back on that road,” I said and low and honest. “Like you don’t know who the hell I am.”

Claire’s mouth tightened. “I said that in the heat of it. You were about to put Tyler in the ground and I panicked. You think I don’t know what he is? Or what my father is? I chose to stand in front of your fist. That should tell you something.”

“It tells me you still have a soft spot for a man who betrayed you in every way that counts.”