Shiver (Unbreakable Bonds 1)

“Thank you.”

“Thank you for saving my life.”

Andrei jerkily nodded, his eyes on his unopened bottle of water clenched in one fist. The awkward silence stretched between them and Lucas spent it mentally kicking himself. Was his rationale true? Had he said too much? Fuck if he knew. It sounded true, but his brain was so scattered he would have claimed belief in the tooth fairy at that moment. He just didn’t want Andrei to leave, which made his next words all the more painful.

“If you want to leave, I would understand and wouldn’t blame you.”

A slow smile lifted the corners of his mouth, but Andrei didn’t meet his gaze. “I’ve never walked away from a client because he was a stubborn bastard. Good night, Mr. Vallois.”

Lucas continued to lean against the sink, sipping his water while cursing himself and his choices recently. Rowe was right in that he’d completely underestimated his opponents. It had been years since he’d last been physically threatened by another. There had been a few times that Snow had unsettled him, but even then, he’d been more afraid for his friend than himself. Through it all during the past several days, even weeks ago when the threat first surfaced, he’d never truly taken it seriously.

But he had a new thread to tug at, thanks to his friends’ snooping. Lucas even had a good idea of how best to start with Thomas Lynton, and it would certainly be safer than trekking into Price Hill late at night.

Shoving away from the sink, Lucas climbed the stairs, his ribs protesting the continued movement. His body was demanding that he fall into bed despite the fact that he smelled of sweat and smoke. He paused at Andrei’s partially open door on the way to his room, noting that the light was still on. He knocked on the door, pushing it open a little farther.

“Do you want to split a Percocet?” he asked, figuring the man could use something to take the edge off whatever pain he must be feeling.

“Fuck that sounds good,” Andrei groaned, dropping his hands back down to his side. He stood in the middle of the Spartan guest room near the foot of the bed. His shoes had been kicked off and he was now struggling with his shirt.

“What happened?”

“Someone set fire to the building I was in,” Andrei said sarcastically. He started to reach over his head to grab the back of the shirt as if trying to pull it over his head, but stopped suddenly with a hiss of pain.

Lucas leaned against the doorjamb and glared at him. “I meant how were you injured?”

“A bullet grazed my arm and my back got scorched a bit. Kind of like a bad sunburn.”

Entering the room, Lucas paused to put his water on the nearby bureau and stepped up to Andrei. He picked up the edge of his shirt, trying to ignore the feel of Andrei’s warm, smooth skin under his fingertips. “Lift your arms.”

“That’s the problem. It hurts like hell when I lift my arms over my head.”

“How’d they get you in the shirt in the first place?”

“With a lot of swearing and shouting.”

Lucas smiled at Andrei, leaning a little closer. “Suck it up, buttercup. Looks like that’s how it’s coming off.”

Not giving Andrei a chance to argue, Lucas started pulling the shirt up, revealing hard abs and a sculpted chest that sent desire through him. Andrei swore under his breath as he lifted his arms and stepped back, bending down as he pulled free of the shirt. His breathing was heavy and ragged when Lucas dropped the offending garment on the floor and stepped around to look at the man’s back.

It was bright red as if he’d lain out in the summer sun for too long. There was a pair of tan stripes cutting diagonally across his shoulder where the leather bands of his holster had given some added protection to his skin. The worst was at his shoulders, but there was a patch along his left side that stretched down to the waist of his pants.

“Sit,” Lucas said, pointing at the end of the bed. “I’ve got a couple things that will help.”

“I’m not taking your Percocet,” Andrei called after him as Lucas disappeared down the hall. He made a quick run down to the kitchen before hitting his own bathroom. He snapped a pill in half and popped one half in his mouth before returning to Andrei’s room.

The younger man was seated on the edge of the bed, his elbows balanced on his knees and his head hanging down. Exhaustion had put dark circles under his eyes and that lush upper lip was pinched. The enjoyment they’d found at Rialto appeared to have been forgotten and maybe that was for the best. The easy flirtation would have created nothing but trouble, Lucas told himself. He just wasn’t sure he believed it.