War of Hearts (True Immortality 1)
He pushed open the front door, which he’d clearly broken during his reconnaissance of the property. “No alarm, if you can believe it.”
Thea studied the cream carpets as he strode right on in. “Well, some people aren’t expecting a werewolf and whatever the hell I am to break into their house.” She wrinkled her nose. “Where’s the bathroom?”
“Come in and see.”
“No. I need to whoosh there, so I don’t get blood on the carpet.”
Understanding, Conall strode farther into the house and returned seconds later. He handed her a small black cloth bag. It was his first aid kit. “Down the hall, last door on the right.”
Thea found what she needed in the kit. She used forceps scissors to dig all but one bullet out. Sweat coated her skin as she tried to bend her body to reach the bullet that had lodged deeper than the others right in the middle of her back. Realizing they were running out of time, she decided she’d have to leave it until they got to safety in a hotel somewhere.
The other bullet holes closed over and she cleaned them up as best she could. Bandaging over the hole made by the bullet she couldn’t get to, Thea then searched her rucksack for her last shirt. She pulled it on and stuffed the bloody one into the backpack. Once she’d dressed, Conall came into the bathroom to help her clean up any evidence of their presence.
Her heart rate kept up a fast pace as they hurried into the town. The Scot had to remind her to slow her steps. They had to appear casual. Thea thought it a shame they were venturing into the picturesque Saxon town of Wilsdruff under such circumstances. As they walked across the cobbled town square, she ignored the way people stared at them. Or Conall, to be specific. There was no way to make him inconspicuous.
“We need to get out of here,” he grumbled. “And I dinnae want to steal a car.”
“You may have to abandon your scruples on that one if they don’t have a bus station.” Thea winced as a sharp pain shot through her back. A sign for accommodation caught her eye. “We need to stop, anyway.”
“We cannae,” he said, matter-of-fact and annoyingly bossy. “We need to keep moving in case the girl gives our description to the authorities. I wouldnae blame her after what we did to her parents.”
“We didn’t do it.” Thea ignored the aching pang in her chest. “Those asshole female wolves did it. As for us, we need to move, yes. But first I have to stop somewhere with a bathroom. And I need time.”
“Why?” He halted, turning to her.
Anyone else might have been intimidated at the way he towered over her, his expression forbidding, his scar stark against his tan cheeks.
Thea was too pissed to be intimidated.
The bastard hadn’t even thanked her for saving his goddamn life.
“Because one of the bullets I took for you is still lodged in my back and I need time to get it out.”
His scowl deepened. “I can do it.”
Her stomach lurched at the thought. “Uh … no thanks.” She swerved around him and kept walking. “This sign says there’s a hotel somewhere.”
Conall didn’t argue. “Fine, but we cannae stay long.”
“You can go out and find either a bus station or a car while I deal with the bullet.”
The rest of their walk was silent as the wolf stewed at her side. The accommodation turned out to be a stone-built hotel on the outskirts of town. It was quaint and far nicer than Thea would have preferred. People who ran nice hotels paid attention to their customers.
The owner looked terrified of Conall, and Thea cursed him for being so easily recognizable.
“It’s like trying to hide a T. rex behind a MINI Cooper,” she grouched as they walked down the red-carpeted corridor to their room.
“Well, if you’d let me help you with the bloody bullet back at the house, we wouldnae be here, showing my scarred face to potential witnesses,” he snapped back.
She frowned. “It’s not your scar that’s the problem. It’s your size.” She led them into the room. It was small with two tiny twin beds they, unfortunately, wouldn’t be using.
And an even smaller bathroom.
Instead of leaving to see about transportation, Conall insisted on waiting while Thea got the bullet out. She stood in the cramped bathroom, feeling him too close to her on the other side of the door, wishing he’d get the hell out of the room so she could muddle along by herself.
Pulling her shirt up and over her head, she glanced at her back in the mirror, reached behind her to rip off the bandage, and then opened the first aid kit for the forceps.
Angling her arm this way and that, Thea could touch the bullet hole with the medical scissors, but she couldn’t seem to stretch quite enough to dig in.