“Two shots. One to the upper back and one to the side of his arm.”
Creed nods and looks toward the hospital entrance. “So, nothing vital was hit.”
“No. But he lost a lot of blood.”
“I’m sure he did. Someone put two holes in his body. Who was it?”
“It was two men in a car driving by the courthouse. Bryan, Detective Daughtry, was there with us, and he fired back, killing them both.”
“How convenient.”
“That’s what Tristan said too,” I whisper.
“Right, because now there’s nobody left to question. Three for three on dead ends.”
“Three for three?”
“The guy in the alley who shot at you, right? Then, the detective in your apartment. Now this hit. That makes three. Without someone left alive to question, we’re not going to get to the bottom of who wants you dead.”
“I thought Bowen Bertelli was the number one culprit.”
“He is, but now that you’ve managed to piss off the entire police department with our dismissals, thanks to the claim of evidence tampering, you may have put another bullseye on you.”
“Well, why haven’t you done anything to Bowen yet?”
“I thought you were going to talk to his sister.”
“Right. I am. I will. I’ve just been…busy.”
“My cousin’s been that distracting for you? Wow. Good for him.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I huff.
“You’re obviously an uptight bitch. Whatever he’s been doing to unravel you is nothing short of miraculous.”
“I care about him,” I say even as my cheeks flush.
“You’re so dick-whipped it’s pathetic. Maybe it didn’t take much effort on his part if you were just that desperate for a good fuck, and he finally gave it to you.”
I haul my arm back and slap the shit out of the mob boss. Based on the darkness that fills his eyes, I quickly reach up and rub the back of my bloody head. “Pretty sure I have a concussion,” I lie to explain my unexpected reaction.
I’m not sure why I hit him. It’s just, I want to believe that it’s more than physical between me and Tristan, and I hate that Creed fucking Ferraro wants to take that away from me, making me doubt everything.
25
Tristan
“Creed?” I say in surprise, sitting up straighter in my chair when my cousin appears in the hospital room. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“What do you mean what am I doing here? You got fucking shot! Why wouldn’t I be here? Not to mention, your DA chewed my ass out about how I don’t appreciate you before I showed up at the hospital, and she assaulted me.”
“Wait, what? I refused all pain meds, but I must be high because it sounded like you just said that Kirstenassaultedyou.”
“She did. In public. Right outside, in front of the ER, in front of God and everyone. And because she’s a woman, the goddamn DA, and your girlfriend, I couldn’t do anything but stand there and stare at her like an idiot.”
“Kirsten slapped you?”
“Yes”
