She tried to pull away, but he tugged on her, bringing her forward. Right there, in front of his entire family, he kissed her. It was short and sweet, and she felt wobbly on her feet as she pulled away.
Yes, this was definitely so much more than she had expected. She refused to look at his family as she backed away. She couldn’t imagine what they were thinking about the two of them—especially with the way she was dressed. Normally she really didn’t care what anyone thought about her, but it was different with this family—with Ace. She knew who she was and didn’t shrink away in sticky situations, but from the moment she’d set eyes on Ace Armstrong, her world had been spinning. The longer she was with the man, the more the wind whipped her around.
She didn’t want to remain in the room as Lindsey and Chloe began cleaning Ace’s wound. But she couldn’t tear her gaze away from his face. He looked up and met her eyes, and she felt the sting of tears in her own.
He wasn’t making a sound, but she could see how much pain he was in as his wound was being tended to. She wanted to stop it, but this had to be done. Ace gritted his teeth around a wooden kitchen spoon as Lindsey slipped a sterilized pair of tweezers into one of the small holes in his arm. Maverick was at his side, steadying his arm. Sweat began pouring from Ace’s brow. He still didn’t make a sound, but his teeth were biting hard on the spoon. He was even more pale than he’d been when they’d walked into the house.
Blood poured from the wound as Lindsey pulled back, a bullet easing from Ace’s arm. She dropped it in a cup sitting on the table, the sound unusually loud.
“I know that sucked, Ace,” Lindsey told him, apology in her voice. “But that was the easier of the two,” she added. “The next one is going to be worse.”
“Thanks for the pep talk, Doc,” Ace said, his voice hushed as he tried to mask his pain.
“Can’t we give him a break?” Dakota asked.
“We need to get it finished as quickly as possible,” Chloe told her as she wiped his wound and put more antiseptic on the area. “The longer we draw this out, the worse it is for him.”
“Just do it,” Ace told her.
Dakota was shaking as Lindsey wiped the other wound before dipping the tweezers inside his tender flesh. This time, though she knew he was desperately trying not to, a groan escaped Ace’s tightly clamped teeth.
Dakota moved forward, not wanting to be in the way but needing to comfort the man. Without thinking about it, her hand lifted and she wiped away some of the sweat from his brow. He wasn’t even able to lift his face up and look at her. She just kept out of the way, comforting him as best she could.
“It’s almost over,” Lindsey promised. She began retracting the tweezers, and Dakota prayed she had the bullet, that this was truly almost over. She didn’t think Ace was going to be able to take much more, no matter how strong a man he was.
Time dragged on endlessly, but then the tweezers popped back out of his skin holding the thing that had caused so much pain. Blood streamed from the wound now that the second bullet was out of his flesh. Tiredly, he turned and looked at the tiny piece of mangled lead before Lindsey dropped it in the cup holding the other one.
Chloe took over, cleaning up the area. Dakota was so impressed with both women. They had remained calm the entire time, offering words of comfort and steady hands. Dakota had always thought of her best friend as a hero, but she had an entirely new appreciation for her in these moments.
Chloe washed away all the blood, cleaned the wounds again, then began to wrap his arm to protect it. Ace didn’t utter another sound, but Dakota knew the area was tender as hell. They’d given the man a healthy dose of painkillers. Still, they didn’t compare to what he would have gotten at a hospital.
“We’re all done, Ace. Before we talk, you need to rest,” Lindsey told him.
“There’s no time for rest right now,” he said. His body was trembling, and Dakota didn’t at all agree with his assessment.
“If you won’t do it for yourself, then take a look at Dakota, who appears to be on the verge of falling over,” Mav pointed out.
“I’m fine,” Dakota argued.
“No, you’re not. You need a shower and a change of clothes,” Chloe told her.
“Okay, let’s take an hour break,” Ace agreed, his eyes meeting Dakota’s. “I’ll rest on the couch while you take some time,” he told her.
“Good, it’s
a plan,” Chloe said, not letting Dakota argue any more. Chloe grabbed Dakota’s arm and began pulling her away while Ace’s brothers helped him to his feet and led him into the living room.
Chloe didn’t try talking to Dakota as she led her straight to the guest room’s bathroom. She looked at her best friend with tears in her eyes. Dakota was too close to falling apart now that the danger seemed to be over.
“Take your time. There will be clothes on the bed when you come out,” Chloe said. “Then we will talk.”
Dakota nodded, and Chloe left her alone. She was in shock. She knew this, and still, she didn’t know what to do next. People often said that when a couple was in a high-stress situation, they would misconstrue certain feelings that they believed were real. That might be the case for Dakota, because all she wanted to do was get back to Ace. She felt a connection with the man that she hadn’t planned on ever feeling for him.
She was in serious trouble—and it wasn’t because people were shooting at her.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Standing in the bathroom, Dakota looked into the mirror, barely able to recognize herself. No wonder Chloe had seemed so worried about her. Dakota always smiled and was able to find joy in almost any situation. But she didn’t recognize the image staring back at her as she turned her face to analyze her appearance.