Page 80 of Property of Kevlar

“Dammit, Weston,” she grumbled.

Who?

“Oh my God!” Kelsey squealed and threw her door open and hopped out.

Rounding the car, she stood as Kev’s sister struggled to keep him from falling over. Janell stepped up to assist, but the driver stood back, leaning on the fender of the SUV, smoking a cigarette as though nothing out of the ordinary was going on.

Where was his sense of urgency?

“How can I help?” Kelsey asked, approaching them, unsure if another set of arms would hinder the process.

As the women shuffled toward the door, Janell glanced in her direction. “You hurt too?”

Kelsey ran a hand under her chin, recalling what had happened to her earlier. She hadn’t forgotten so much as she shoved it aside out of concern for Kev. She wasn’t someone who’d been on the sidelines watching the hellfire rain down. Men had their unwanted hands on her. Weapons were used against her. She’d bled too.

But not like Kev. He was the priority.

“Nothing serious.” She waved a hand. “He needs your attention.”

Following along helplessly, Kelsey went with the women inside the auto shop. Each lady had one of Kevlar’s arms over her shoulder. His head lolled forward, and his feet dragged on the ground as they brought him past the lifts to the back of the building.

A steel desk had several towels laid over it.

“Careful.” Kelsey cringed, watching them hoist him up and onto the desk.

Kev’s sister glared at her once she’d let him go. “Who are you?”

“Kelsey,” she said quickly, realizing that meant nothing.

While a portion of her wanted to claim being his kitten, that wouldn’t help either. Besides, this didn’t seem like the right time to bring that up, so she stuck with her name.

The sister furrowed her brows. Kelsey understood. She hadn’t given a sufficient answer, but she didn’t know what else to say.

“She’s the reason Kev looks like that,” his brother announced as he entered the room carrying Carrie.

“Oh, thank God.” Kelsey breathed a heavy sigh seeing her friend.

Though her relief was short-lived. Carrie’s eyes were closed. Had she passed out too? Kelsey couldn’t blame her after the evening her friend had. Anyone would be overwhelmed by it.

“Goddammit.” The sister rolled her eyes. “You got one too? You’re aware this isn’t a hospital, right? How many more people should I expect?”

Shifting Carrie in his arms, he glanced down at her. “This is it. She’s Hitman’s sister.”

Hitman? What the hell? Carrie’s brother was Tim. He’d died a few years ago, tragically, in a building fire. It’d been all over the news. Did Kev and his family know him? How?

Kelsey’s head spun, either from the night’s events or from the information she wasn’t sure how to process.

The sister muttered curses under her breath, which drew Kelsey’s attention back to Kev lying on the desk, groaning in pain. Her heart pinched, and she wrung her hands, fretting over his condition. She’d never been in a situation like this before.

Blood dripped down his arm and saturated his torn shirt. The color had drained from his face. He didn’t look good.

Wearing rubber gloves, Janell poked at the knife in his side.

“Is he still alive?” Kelsey had to ask.

“For now,” Janell said.

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