Just Bob (Assassins Inc. #1)(15)

This was all my fault.

“You should go.” I whispered my suggestion because I really didn’t want Shade to go. It nearly broke my heart just thinking about it. I wasn’t sure when the man had become so important to me, but I think it happened right about the time I woke up in his arms this morning.

Geez, had it only been this morning? It felt like a hundred years ago.

“Not gonna happen, babe.”

“Shade—”

“Mate means forever, Bob.”

“Forever?” I echoed.

Forever was a really long time.

Shade’s smile sent my emotions soaring. “Forever, baby.”

I reached into one of the kitchen drawers and pulled out a stack of hand towels before tossing them in Shade’s direction. Next, I opened to bottom drawer next to the sink. My parents always kept a junk drawer when I was growing up. The habit had been one I adopted when I moved away from home. Now, I was glad I had.

I pulled out the duct tape and tossed it at Shade.

“Patch yourself up before you bleed all over my forever.”

Shade chuckled as he grabbed the pile of stuff I had thrown at him and began doctoring his wound. “I guess we know who wears the pants in this relationship.”

I’d actually prefer if neither of us wore pants, but I didn’t think now was the time to mention that. As a matter of fact, I wasn’t sure what to mention. What did you say to an assassin who promised to kill anyone who harmed you?

I have a few addresses I can give you?

I wasn’t really mean enough to do that, but I could certainly dream about it. Mrs. Staudemeyer would be at the top of that list, right under whoever wanted me dead.

“Can’t you just shift and heal yourself?” I asked.

It was an honest question. I heard shifters could do all sorts of things. It was reasonable to think they could shift and heal themselves. The ones in the movies could.

“I heal faster than a human,” Shade said, “but even I can’t heal a gunshot wound, Bob.”

I was disappointed.

“Can you run faster and stuff?”

It would make sense if they could. What would be the point of being a shifter if they weren’t faster and stronger than a human?

“Yes. I can run faster, smell better, see farther and in the dark. I’m also stronger than the average human and have more endurance for pain and physical exertion.”

I know my eyes bugged. I could feel them widen. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

Shade grimaced as he looked down at the wound in his shoulder. “Duck.”

I shuddered, amazed that for a moment, I had forgotten someone was shooting at us. “Am I going to die?”

It was an honest question under the circumstances.

“No!” Shade’s growled, rather loudly, too. “You are not going to die.”

It certainly felt that way.

I stiffened when I heard something crash against the front door. Fearing whoever was shooting at us was breaking in, I grabbed a hammer out of the junk drawer. I debated staying where I was for about half a second. Shade was injured. Even a shifter couldn’t defend themselves if they were injured.

I jumped up and raced over to stand in front of Shade, hammer raised in my hand to hit whoever was coming in. I was probably about to have my head handed to me, but it was a chance I was willing to take to defend Shade.

“Um, Bob?”

I tore my eyes away from the front door and glanced back at Shade.

“What are you doing?”

I thought it was fairly obvious, but… “You’re hurt.”

“Yeah.”

“How are you supposed to defend yourself if you’re hurt?”

Duh.

I felt my cheeks heat up when Shade’s eyes went to the hammer in my hand. I shrugged when the guy looked back at me. “I don’t have a gun.”

Made sense to me.

“Do you even know how to shoot a gun?” Shade asked.

I did not roll my eyes.

I didn’t.

Really.

“Yes,” I replied as if I was talking to a small child. “My father belongs to a gun club. Growing up, he took me to the gun range every Saturday for father and son time. I’ve been shooting since I was seven years old.”

Shade’s dark eyebrows shot up his forehead. “But you don’t own a gun?”

“Of course I own a gun. I actually own two handguns and a rifle. I just keep them at my parents’ house in the gun safe.” It would be stupid to have a gun lying around in the neighborhood I lived in. I’d already been robbed once. I didn’t want anyone to get a hold of my gun and shoot me with it.

“I earned a gold ribbon in junior championship skeet shooting when I was twelve.”

So there.

Shade grinned. “I’d like to see that ribbon.”

I stared for a moment, unsure if Shade was joking with me or not. After watching Shade for a few seconds, I decided he was being truthful. “I keep it at my parents’ house.”

All thoughts of championship ribbons and guns left my head when the front door to the apartment pushed open. I didn’t because the man who walked in carried one in his hand. Well, it was a rifle, but same thing.

I raised the hammer higher into the air.

“Whoa!” The guy with the gun stepped back, bumping into Stone, who was coming in right behind him. Stone shoved him forward before stepping through the doorway and then shutting the door behind him.