Dead Drop (The Guild #2)(78)
34
The bathroom door clicked open as I finished putting my bra on, and I met Kai’s sheepish eyes in the mirror. Not saying anything, I picked up the tight black T-shirt I’d bought on my shopping trip and tugged it over my head. I was already wearing a pair of snakeskin-printed yoga pants in a blue-gray color, but I wasn’t engaging him until I was fully dressed.
Because I didn’t trust myself.
“I’m sorry about snapping at you,” he rumbled, running a hand over the back of his neck.
I cocked one eyebrow, still looking at him through the mirror. “The doors were locked for a reason, Malachi.”
His expression tightened at my use of his full name. “I know,” he replied, “but I don’t want you to lock me out.”
I drew a deep breath, spinning around to face him and leaning my butt against the vanity. “You don’t always get to call the shots, Big Man. It’s not always about what you want.”
He had the good sense to look properly chastised by that, and my anger diluted as I took in his appearance. He really did look rough. Leon had handed him his ass, but it could have been a lot worse.
Sighing, I stepped forward and touched my hand to his cheek, tipping his face to the light so I could see the sloppily patched cut through his eyebrow. “I thought you’d have been better at first aid than this.”
He winced as I touched my thumb to a puffy bruise on his cheek, and his dark eyes pleaded with me for forgiveness.
“Fucking hell,” I muttered. “You’re impossible.”
“Does that mean you’ll take pity and kiss my ouchie better?” His lips twitched with a smile, and I gave an eye roll in response.
I brushed a light kiss over his lips, then pushed him out of the bathroom. “Come on. You need that eyebrow stitched, and we all need to have a conversation.”
Kai grimaced but didn’t argue as he followed me back downstairs. Leon was on a ladder in the middle of the living room, messing with something electrical embedded into the light fixture, but his gaze locked on mine the moment I stepped into the room.
“DeLuna, you look fresh,” he observed, then his eyes flicked to Kai behind me and turned venomous. “You don’t.”
Kai gave an angry sound, his hands tightening into fists at his sides. But they’d had their chance to swing fists at each other, so I wasn’t putting up with another brawl. Not when I would be liable for the damages. I placed a restraining hand on Kai’s wrist to let him know I’d seen how tightly strung he was.
“Marx, be nice,” I warned Leon with a hard look as I led Kai through to the kitchen once more.
The medical kit was still out on the counter, so I pushed Kai to sit down on one of the dining table seats—near the kitchen, thanks to the open plan layout. Bypassing the first aid supplies on the counter, I headed for the freezer. I’d picked up groceries and essentials when I’d gone shopping a few days ago, so there were a few bottles of vodka waiting in the freezer. I pulled one out, then twisted the cap off before taking a shot straight out of the bottle.
“I thought that was for me,” Kai commented, propping his elbow on the wooden table top with a wince.
Licking my lips, I crossed back over to him and held out the bottle. “I guess I can share.”
He held my gaze steady as he brought the bottle to his own lips, his tongue chasing the vodka droplets from the rim in a way that was far too fucking sexual for my liking right now. Especially with Leon right there, watching our every move.
I had no clue what the two of them had discussed to form a cease-fire, but I doubted it was going to hold for long. Shit.
Swallowing hard, I turned my attention to the medical kit and pulled out the items I needed to properly clean and stitch the cut on Kai’s face. Focusing on his injury rather than the way he was looking at me helped clear my head a little.
When I’d peeled off his hopeless attempt at a patch up, I nudged him to take another mouthful of vodka before cleaning the cut quickly and thoroughly with disinfectant. Kai hissed between his teeth, and I caught Leon’s smirk as he moved his ladder to a closer light fixture.
“This might sting a bit,” I murmured, threading my needle and pinching the edges of his split brow together.
He groaned when the needle pierced his skin, but didn’t jerk away while I completed the two little stitches his cut needed. When I was done, I cleaned off the excess blood and stuck a dressing on.
“Done,” I announced. “What else?” I spotted a smear of dried blood on his throat and tugged the neck of his T-shirt down to inspect the cut across his collarbone.
“Just that one,” Kai said in a low voice. “The rest are just bruises, I think.”
I arched a brow, then indicated for him to take his T-shirt off. I may as well clean that cut while I had everything out. “Shit, Big Man,” I muttered when I saw the mottled purple bruising already coming up across his ribs. “You got your ass handed to you.”
He winced as I slapped a disinfectant wipe on his collarbone cut, and then he grabbed the bottle of vodka for another gulp. After he set it down, he rested his hands on my hips, pulling me closer as I swiped the dried blood off his throat. Did Leon have a knife on him? He must have, because he’d cut my panties off.
As though summoned by my thoughts, Leon slipped silently off his ladder and took a few steps closer to us. His eyes were locked on where Kai held my hips, and he’d produced a switchblade from somewhere.