Chapter 39
Chapter 39
Aria
“Okay, how are you feeling? Comfortable?” I ask Xander once he’s all set up on my bed.
“Unfortunately, yes. I was hoping to use this bed for other things, but I guess this is fine too.” He scowls.
I can’t help but laugh a little. “I know exactly what you were hoping for, but you’re injured. So no hanky-panky until you are healed.”
“That could be weeks!” He says, sounding partly surprised, partly offended.
He watches as I walk around the bed to sit down next to him. I take his hand and hold it.
“You got shot, Xander. I’m not risking you hurting yourself more. So rest, for me. Please?” I try to sound as pleading as possible, and he crumbles immediately.
“Fine. But I’m expecting you to pay me back double when I’m healed.” He says with a dimpled smile that makes my insides melt a little.
Uh, I hate it.
“First, get better, and then we can discuss payment. Okay?” I stand but lean over and kiss him. “I’ll make it up to you. Now, can I get you anything?”
He opens his mouth to say something, but the door to my room flies open, and a rumpled-looking Daniel is standing in the doorway.
“What happened?” I ask.
“There has been a…situation.” He makes a face that looks both guilty and apologetic.
“What kind of situation?”
I hear several voices suddenly coming from outside. Daniel doesn’t move until I’m standing directly in front of him. He hesitates but eventually steps back. When I walk into the living room, I see a couple of the club guys helping a limping Jaxon over to the couch. Beth follows behind them with a bag, which means someone is hurt. I look Jaxon over and notice his foot is crudely wrapped.
“What happened?” I call out.
“Roman fucking shot me!” Jaxon calls out.
"What?" My voice is sharper than intended. This is the second gunshot wound one of my guys has had in days!
When I look around, I see Roman standing in the small kitchen with a frown.
I storm over to him. “Shouldn’t you be doing something? Aren’t you a doctor?”
His head tilts down so he can look at me. I hate how all these guys are taller than me. How am I supposed to look intimidating and authoritative if they have to look down at me?
“He won’t let me.” He says calmly.
I lift my hand and pinch the bridge of my nose. “How did he even get shot? Why did you have a gun in the first place? What the hell is wrong with you guys?”
“Buck asked me to take them to the range. I put blanks in the guns just so they could get the feel of them first.” Daniel starts to explain.
“You were teaching them how to shoot? Why? Look at them! What makes you think it's a good idea to give these two guns?” I yell.
“What is going on? What’s with all the yelling?” Ezra waltzes in with Noah right behind him.
The apartment is past capacity now. Everyone starts talking at once I can feel my annoyance moving to frustration. Without the pills I'd been taking, I can feel my emotions a lot more strongly than before. Mostly my anger, and I can’t say I like that side effect much. I need to calm down, but the voices around me start to get louder, and I snap.
“Everyone shut up!” I yell with a bit too much oomph.
There is instant silence. Because…an Alpha just gave a command. Even though I’m not Beth or the other club guys’ Alpha, they are still affected by my authority when I use it.
Guilt immediately drenches my anger. “I’m sorry. Just…thank you for helping with Jaxon, but we’ll handle it. Thank you.”
The club guys nod and leave. I walk over to Beth and wrap my arms around her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”
She doesn’t hesitate to hug me back. “I know, sweetie. It’s gonna take time. But I’ll get out of your hair. And I will be giving Buck a good lashing about this.”
I lean back and smile. “Thank you, Ma.”
“Of course.” She gives me a kiss on the cheek and leaves.
Once I’m alone with just the guys, I take a deep breath before tuning to face them.
I am calm…
I am cool…
I’m going to kick their asses!
“Why the gosh darn mother…” I cover about every swear word I can think of. “…were you idiots doing?”
Silence.
Then they all burst out laughing.
“Fuck!” Jaxon’s cry of pain cuts that laughing short, though. “God dammit!”
Sighing, I walk over and crouch down to examine his foot. I lift it and rest it on my knee, ignoring his protests. Then I carefully unwrap the bandages and curse when I see the injury. There is a huge bruise, and his foot looks swollen.
“Do you think it’s broken?” I ask aloud.
My question is meant for Roman, but Ezra speaks up instead.
“Of course it is! Look at it! That bullet must have shattered something. Aren’t blank bullets supposed to not hurt you?” He asks.
“They aren’t meant to be lethal, but you can still get injured, especially if hit by one at close range,” Daniel explains.
“Roman, get your ass over here now,” I say firmly.
“He doesn’t-“ He starts to say, but I cut him off.
“I don’t give a damn if he doesn’t want your help or not.” I look up at Jaxon and narrow my eyes at him, daring him to say something.
He clamps his mouth shut like a good boy.
Roman appears next to me and assumes the same position as me, but doesn’t move to touch Jaxon at all. He just leans over to examine his foot.
“There might be a fracture, but without an X-ray, I won’t be able to fully tell how bad the injury is. What’s your pain level?” He asks Jaxon.
“One hundred! It hurts like a mother!” Jaxon says before cursing as Roman decides to push around the wound.
“Could be a break, and given the situation, I can assume it is. We can fix him up for now, but he will need a proper cast at some point.” Roman says, looking at me.
I sigh and drop my head back. “Great. We have a target on our backs, and two men are injured. This just keeps getting better and better.”
Standing, I walk toward the door, not saying another word. I start down the deck toward the stairs when I hear my name called out. Roman is walking toward me when I turn to see who it is. He stops a few feet from me and slips his hands into his pockets.
“I just wanted to apologize.” He says, looking believably remorseful.
“Why are you apologizing to me?” I ask.
“Because I have just added more stress on you.” He says.
I wave him off. “It was an accident.”
“Still, I hate that I added more stress on you. Which is the last thing you need right now.”