A Necessary Sin (The Sin Trilogy, #1)(45)

“I know. Me too.”

Jamie comes into the bedroom and stands over Sin. “What have you gone and gotten yourself into this time, brother?”

“That f*cking Neil Allaway piece of no-count shit has been dodging me for weeks. I found him tonight and he shot me when I went after him.”

“Did you at least catch the bastard?”

“Hell yeah, I got him. He’s in Sangster’s hands now.” Uh-oh. I have no idea who Sangster is but it sounds as though Neil is in deep shit. Even I know that.

“Let me take a look.”

I slide over so Jamie can move in for a better assessment. “It’s still in there?”

“Aye.”

“You told me it was only a flesh wound.” The * lied to me.

Jamie reaches into his bag and takes out a portable light. “When I extract it, I’ll need you to shine that on the wound so I can find it.”

What is this? Medieval times? “Seriously? You’re going to be digging into his flesh while I stand over him holding a flashlight?”

“It’s how this is done, Bonny.”

“Can you hold the light or do I need to fetch one of the goons to come in here instead?”

“My bonny one is tough.” Sin squeezes my hand. “She’s got this.”

He wants me here with him. How can I say no? “I can do it.”

I’ve been with fellow agents when they’ve taken a bullet but this is an entirely new experience. I don’t want to watch what Jamie’s doing. Each time I attempt to look away, the light moves and he scolds me, so I’m forced to keep my eyes on Sin’s wound when he injects him with local using a long ass needle and again while stainless steel pliers dig into his shoulder. “Can you not give him something for pain?”

“I did. I injected him with lidocaine and gave him a shot of morphine. He’ll be fine.”

“He doesn’t look fine.” He’s clenching my hand so tight it hurts. “You need another drink?”

“I won’t turn it down.”

I fill his tumbler and he downs it in one gulp. “Thanks.”

He sighs as he lies back on the bed. “Let’s get this done.”

“Have one of those men come in and hold the light so I can talk to him.” I’m sure I won’t be able to distract him from all the pain but maybe I can help take his mind off it a little.

The skinny one comes in after Jamie calls for him. I take Sin’s hand and Jamie returns to his previous task. “I had to have a few IVs when I was a kid and this is what my dad did. He’d kneel at my bedside, hold my hand, and talk. His voice didn’t take away all the pain but it soothed me. There’s something special about hearing a father’s voice tell you everything is going to be okay. You can’t not believe he’s telling the truth,” I say.

“I got pneumonia when I was a child and had to go into the hospital. They gave me an IV for the antibiotics and I cried because it was painful. My father told me to suck it up and stop being a baby. I think I was five.”

Sin grimaces; I look over at Jamie. He’s digging deep.

“Breathe in slow … and deep.” He does and his chest expands. “Now, blow it out slowly. Close your eyes and concentrate on breathing. Push the pain out of your mind. You can do this.”

We repeat the process through four cycles—me talking him through—and Jamie finally announces, “Got it.”

Thank God!

“That f*cker was in deep.” He holds the lead slug up to the light in his gloved hand. “I’m sorry, mate. I know that hurt like a son of a bitch. I didn’t have a needle long enough to get the local in that far. That’s why it hurt more than usual.”

He still needs to suture him so I pour another whisky. He takes it without hesitation. “This part won’t be bad since the skin is numb. The deep digging is what was killing me.”

I see a huge difference in his posture. It’s more relaxed.

He continues holding my hand, stroking his thumb back and forth across my palm on the underside where it’s hidden from Jamie. “How did shopping with my mum go today?”

Jamie stops and looks at us but doesn’t say a word before returning to his suture job.

“Surprisingly well. She helped me choose this bedding.” I want to tell him he’s wrong about her but now isn’t the time.

“The bedding that I’ve now ruined.”

“It can be replaced. You’re okay. That’s all that matters.”

He picks up one of the pillows next to his head. “I want you to buy this same set again, ruffled pillows and all.”

“You like it that much?”

“You like it so I like it.”

Jamie leaves after he’s finished caring for Sin and it’s the two of us. “We should get you out of these trousers.”

“Now, you’re talking.” He lifts his hips when I pull downward. “I believe you, Miss MacAllister, are trying to take advantage of a man while he’s on the poppy.”

“You wish.”

“Aye. That is an incredibly accurate statement.”

I wrestle his pants off and decide to leave him in his boxer briefs. The morphine is kicking in. I don’t feel like dressing a giant toddler.