Page 86 of Brutal Truths

“He?” I whisper, then grow angry. “You mean Rurik?”

He nods.

My finger slides across the raw, reopened gash on his arm. “You shouldn’t have gotten these wet or overexerted yourself. That’s gonna leave a nasty scar.”

His eyes follow my finger. “It’s fine. Jen can stitch it up again.”

I shake my head, not about to let someone do my job. “I’ll do it. And while I do, you can fill me in on that shitshow.”

Chapter 25

Aiden

Now that I’ve cleaned up and fucked my girl, we head to the kitchen to join the others.

Trent waited. He didn’t have a choice.

The deep gash on my arm needs to be stitched up right. In the chaos following Merial’s hospital drop-off, Jen did the best she could.

When the barn blew up, Merial took the worst of it. She had large pieces of shrapnel embedded in her body. Surgery was the only option for her. Not something Jen could do in a field.

Teddy flew us to the nearest hospital, or as close as possible without drawing attention. I rushed her into A&E and handed her over to a staff member. They tried to keep me. One look at the blood and they were full of questions. I shut it down. Good Samaritan. Wrong place, wrong time. Then I was gone.

Which reminds me.

“Pauly, wipe any footage from Southmead in Bristol.”

The kitchen goes quiet the moment we step in. Too quiet. Every set of eyes lands on us.

“Check every CCTV camera in the area. Make sure none of them caught me coming or going. I did my best to stay invisible, but that’s difficult to do when you’re carrying someone who looks like they’ve just come out of a war zone.”

Trent speaks before anyone else gets a chance. “Nice of you to finally join us. Who was it?”

I ignore him and turn to my cousin, who looks just as rough as when we got here. “You should shower. It’ll do wonders for you. You can use the one in my room. Izzy⁠—”

“Is staying right here and stitching up your arm.” With her hand on my shoulder, Izzy looks at Lane. “Do we have a suture kit, or do I need to improvise?”

From behind him, he tosses a kit onto the table. “Jen said he’d need that done again, so I grabbed a few extras.”

I tug my shirt off and set it aside so Izzy can get to work. “Someone grab me a stiff drink.”

Wylan has a bottle of scotch and a tumbler placed in front of me before I can finish. “Had that ready, too. Big guy tried to do without, but folded. He’s passed out in one of the guest rooms.”

“Thanks for taking care of him,” I say to Jen, who reaches for my bottle and refills her glass.

“He’ll need an X-ray and some strong antibiotics. Bear fucked it up pretty bad.” She tips her cup back and then stands. “I’ll go check on him, make sure he’s not running a fever, then shower. Teddy can show me where it is.”

Teddy’s on his feet immediately, offering his arm like it’s second nature. “I sure can.”

On her way out, Jen pulls Izzy into a quick hug. “It’s good to see you again. You can tell me all about how my cousin saved the day later. I bet it’s one hell of a story.”

“You have no idea.” Izzy whispers as her eyes find mine.

Once they’re gone, my attention shifts to the rest of the room. “Give us a few minutes.”

Chairs scrape. Boots move. No one argues. My men know better than to stick around when Doyle business is on the table. They won’t go far, but they will go far enough.

Except for Isabel.