Before I could finish assessing the scene, I felt Darren’s hands grab my face and wrench me to him.
“Where were you?Are you hurt?”he asked intently, panic lighting up his eyes as they scanned over my entire body, looking for signs of injury or distress.
“I’m fine,” I answered, attempting to swat his arms away.
“There’s blood on your leg,” he pointed out, anger in his tone.
“It’s not mine.”
At that, he turned his stern gaze to Sloane.“What happened?”
“After using the restroom, Jaden wanted some fresh air on the bow.When the helicopter appeared, we retreated back to the doorway just before the gunfire came.A stray bullet struck the security panel, so the door-lock could not be disengaged.I instructed Jaden to remain within the safety of the doorway while I terminated the four assailants that had descended from the helicopter.”
“Then how did she get blood on her leg?”Darren asked, his voice clipped.
“Darren, I’m fine?—”
“As long as it wasn’t hers, I was unconcerned until her safety had been secured.”
My stomach tightened at her words, but I tried not to react at the fact that Sloane had just lied for us both.What I had done would no doubt get us both in trouble, and I actually kind of liked Sloane.But she lied — right to Darren’s face — without skipping a single beat.
Who the fuck is this woman?
Darren’s hardened gaze turned back to me, an accusatory glare piercing right through my already cracked exterior.I forced myself to quickly compartmentalize the growing panic behind the lies and shrugged off the anxiety like I would an itchy blanket.
“Have you seen Camaro’s muzzle?She tore some guy’s throat out, there’s blood all over her fur.It’s probably from that, I don’t know what the big deal is.”
Darren’s eyes then shifted over to Camaro, who clearly still had blood coating her teeth and fur while some of it dripped onto the floor.Despite the graphic display, Darren didn’t look entirely satisfied.
“Have Sid ready and waiting for us at the house.I want him to check her over immediately,” he told Sloane.She nodded and stepped away to make the phone call.
Darren then ushered me over to the couch at the back of the stern where I could easily look out onto the water and told me to sit down.“Stay here,” he ordered, then turned away to address Scott.
“Wait!Where’s Katherine?”I asked, worry suddenly hitting me as I hadn’t seen her at all yet.
“She’s inside.She’s fine,” Darren answered and then paid me no more attention as he walked off.
Relieved that at least Katherine was okay, I sat in silence, looking over all the chaos that had ensued on my actual birthday.Blood, death, and destruction.Just another Tuesday.
Camaro sniffed at the random bodies, growling as she walked by until she came across one that I actually recognized—Carla’s.
While I wasn’t exactly a fan of hers, seeing her chest riddled with bullet holes made me feel a twinge of guilt for how she had met her end.I found myself staring at her glassy open eyes, trying to remind myself that she chose to work for an evil man.And sometimes this was the price you paid.
So what does that say about Sloane?
I didn’t get much time to linger on the question before I noticed a body begin to move near the swim platform behind me.I couldn’t quite tell if he was one of ours or one of theirs until his arm moved toward the direction of the open deck with a small pistol in his hand.And then I realized his aim was pointed in Darren and Scott’s direction, but with Camaro directly in the line of fire.
Without thinking, I bolted for Camaro and shoved her out of the way just as a gunshot rang out.We slid along the floor onto the other side of the deck, Camaro barking and growling in shock while ten more gunshots rang out, sending the gunman’s body to fall back over the swim platform and into the water.But even as the threat was now over, a lingering sting along the side of my rib cage brought a cold sweat down my spine.
Do not look at it.Don’t draw attention to it.You know you’re fine.
I knew what getting shot felt like, and this definitely wasn’t it, but still, a graze would be problematic.
Maybe it’s just a scratch?
Thundering footsteps approached me, Darren stopped to glare at me with a dark, venomous look.Sloane quickly reappeared behind him.
“What happened?”she called, looking between Darren and me.