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With shaking fingers, she struck a match and tossed it into the oil. The warehouse was an inferno as she stumbled out to an empty car. Clearly, none of them thought that anyone would be daring enough to try and steal something from Rita because the keys were still in the ignition.
"Fucking amateurs," Bellona hissed. She blocked out the pain burning through her and started the car. She needed to get back to Rafael so he didn't worry. Set would be able to help her with the wound.
Bellona cursed herself. She should have checked the cupboard. She didn't think anyone would be dumb enough to hide inside of it. Damn, cowards.
Sweat dripped down Bellona's face as she fought not to give in to the shock. She just had to stay in her lane and keep to the speed limit, and everything would be fine.
20
Rafael woke up after midnight to the murmuring sound of the TV and someone moving about the kitchen. He pulled on his pajama pants, and instead of finding Bellona, he once again discovered Set putting together sandwiches.
Rafael's shoulders slumped. "She's left again, hasn't she?"
"Yeah, she had to follow up on something and didn't want to wake or worry you. Sandwich?" Set offered and placed one of them on a plate in front of Rafael before he could reply.
"You mean she didn't want me to go with her," Rafael muttered and sat at the counter. He didn't like the sick feeling curling its way through his stomach. Did she only want him to fuck? Because it was starting to feel that way.
"Whatever thought you just had, I'm telling you right now, it's wrong," Set said. He put a glass of juice next to the sandwich. "Eat something."
Rafael was hungry, so he bit into the sandwich. "Thanks."
"Bellona is used to doing things her way, Rafael. You mean too much to her to keep putting you in harm's way. You're not like us. Yes, you can handle yourself in a fair fight, but these fucks aren't going to be fair on you. They want you dead so they can get their money," Set said, putting his sandwich down. "Let her look after you for the love of all the gods. She's losing her mind worrying about you, and this is the only way she sees how she can fix it."
Rafael swallowed a mouthful of food and tried to push his hurt feelings aside. "I don't like that she didn't tell me she was leaving, that's all. I know I'm not like you two. Obviously. That doesn't mean I don't care what happens, and never, ever ask me to be okay with her getting hurt. It's never going to happen."
Set let out a tired sigh. "I know. It's not like she goes out of her way to get messed up. We heal, but we still feel pain. She would rather take the bullet for you because she will come back from it. You won't. When the sun comes up, I'll let you call Ayla. She was human when we met. She might be able to give you better advice than me about dating a god."
Rafael laughed. "Dating? Is that what we are doing?"
"Some variation of it. Bellona is too busy to figure that part out yet, but she will."
Rafael finished his sandwich as he thought. "What do you mean Ayla was human? Is she not anymore?"
"Nope. It's a long story, but I ended up giving her part of my power when we had to get resurrected."
Rafael blinked. "I don't know where to start with that."
Set laughed. "You hang around the gods, and weird shit is going to happen. Something you need to consider."
"Apart from people trying to kill me, this is the most fun I've had in years," Rafael admitted. He hadn't given much thought to the fact that Bellona was immortal, and he wasn't. He filed it away as a future problem. There was no way to know Bellona would want him once the job ended anyway.
The locks on the door rattled, and Bellona hobbled inside. "Raf..." she gasped. Rafael bolted to her, catching her before she collapsed. Golden ichor was pouring out from underneath a soaked towel.
"Set! She's hurt!" Rafael cried out. He lifted Bellona in his arms and carried her to the guest room.
"What have you been hit with, Bells?" Set asked, his voice deadly calm.
"S-Shotgun. Gut," she said. She was drenched in sweat, her usually golden skin a deathly gray.
"Show me." Set reached for the cloth, but she shook her head.
"No. R-Raf can't see…"
"It's okay. I can handle it," Rafael said, not knowing if it was true.
Set gently lifted the towel to reveal a gaping wound surrounded by a spray of pellets that were working their way out of her. Rafael swallowed hard and focused back on her face. "What can I do?"
"I'm going to need hot water, clean towels, tweezers, and a small bowl for the metal coming out of her," Set replied, studying the wound. "Fuck, Bells, you're a mess."
