“I’m fine.”
Nina looks over at Matteo. “Can you help him?”
He nods.
“Then, what are you waiting for? Stitch him up before he bleeds to death. I want you both alive because I still plan on killing you both myself before I finally get out of here.”
I smile a little at her sass. She doesn’t understand what power she holds. If she commanded me to do anything but rescue her, I probably would just because I couldn’t help but give in to her smart mouth.
Matteo smiles, too, as he walks to his dresser to get the supplies he needs to stitch me up. She has both of us under her spell. She could get either of us to do practically anything she wanted. If only she understood what was really at stake. That this is much bigger than her.
I take off my bloodied shirt, tossing it to the floor of the kitchen, as I take a seat on one of the backless barstools at the counter. Nina stares at me the whole time with wide eyes that I’m even still standing and not about to pass out on the floor from blood loss. The wound isn’t good, and it hurts every time I breathe, but it is far from lethal. It’s worse than the graze that Nina caused in my shoulder, but it’s nothing compared to what Nina went through with my father. She could have died. I’m merely in a lot of pain.
Matteo returns with a box of supplies and sets them on the counter next to me. I can tell he’s still concerned about my wound from the grimace he has on his face every time he looks at me, but he’s trying to act like it’s no big deal. Matteo starts pulling out the different equipment.
“Are you sure he doesn’t need to see a doctor?” Nina asks Matteo as she stares at my deep wound.
Matteo opens his mouth to answer, but I don’t want them to join sides and gang up on me. I’m not going to a doctor. I never have and never will.
“I don’t need to see a doctor. Matteo is the best. He did a good job of taking care of you, didn’t he?”
Nina nods.
“He has always been the best when it comes to medical care. He would have been a doctor if it wasn’t for being born into this messed up family.”
“You weren’t allowed to become a doctor? Why?”
Matteo brushes off her question. “I can teach you how to stitch him up. It is a good skill to learn. We could use more than one person in this family who knows the basics about medical care for as often as someone gets shot around here.”
Nina’s eyes narrow as she looks back and forth between us, obviously wanting more answers but too concerned with my wound to distract either of us by asking them. “What if I mess up?”
Matteo laughs. “Then, you get to cause my brother here a little more pain. But, since you hate him as much as you hate me, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
Nina smiles a little at that while I give my brother an I’ll-kill-you look because my jealousy is going crazy right now. It makes no sense. I have no claim to Nina any more than he does. He helped me save her. She’s never been mine. But, still, my jealousy rages inside like a fire I will never be free of.
Matteo starts cleaning my wound while I memorize every freckle, every look, and every scar on Nina’s face.
“First, you want to make sure the wound is clean of debris before you stitch it up.”
Matteo pours cold, sterile liquid onto the wound, making me wince at the sudden sting.
“Shouldn’t you give him pain medicine first?” Nina asks.
Matteo chuckles. “Do you want me to give you pain medicine?”
He cocks his head to the side with a sly grin because he already knows my answer. I’ve said it countless times before.
“No.”
“My dear brother is a bit of a martyr. He thinks he deserves every bullet he takes and deserves to feel the pain. That it is the only way he will care enough to stop the bullets in the future. I vehemently disagree with him. Not even you, dickhead, deserve to feel this kind of pain,” Matteo jokes as he starts pulling debris out of the wound.
I growl when he does. This is the worst fucking part, and he’s intentionally making it worse to prove a point. He thinks he’s stronger because he knows his limits when it comes to pain. I think I’m stronger because I can take any amount of pain.
He hands the tweezers to Nina. “Your turn. Dig around and see if you can get anything else out.”
Nina takes the tweezers from him but hesitates.
“Go on. I know you want to hurt me for stealing you and fucking you. Now is your chance for a little payback.”