“Eli!”My tone was curter that time.“Wake up!”
“Huh?”Eli’s eyes flickered open, bewilderment gleaming in them as his gaze settled on me.“Where am I?Who the fuck are you?”
“Charming…” I muttered as Erin pushed in beside me.
“Eli, this is my brother, Owen.”Reaching for the side of Eli’s face, she caressed him gently.“Remember?”
“Oh, right.”Eli’s attention darted back to me.“Sorry.It’s been something of a day.”
“Yeah…” My gaze traveled between them.“I heard.”
“We need to get you into the house,” Erin soothed.“Owen and I can help you, but you need to move.”
“I’ll try.”
Eli pulled in a breath, pain glinting in his eyes as he shifted on the seat and flung his feet out of the car.It was obvious he was struggling, but asking for help apparently wasn’t Eli’s style.
“Come on.”I caught his arm as he gripped the car door and attempted to pull himself out.“Hold onto me.”
I could tell how little that thought pleased him, and to be honest, the feeling was mutual.I didn’t know who the man was.Thanks to the suspicious story Erin had weaved about him, I wasn’t sure I wanted to, but he needed help.Years of medical training kicked in as I heaved him to his feet.
Taller than me by an inch or so, he was a similar stature, and hooking his arm around me, I forced him to lean in my direction.
“Get on his other side, Erin,” I instructed.“Let’s get him to the lounge.”
Not that I relished the idea of some stranger bleeding all over my beautiful reception room, but he had to go somewhere until I could sterilize the tools to cut out the bullet.
Lodged between me and Erin, Eli inched forward, though each step was, evidently, agony.
“How much further?”he panted as soon as we maneuvered him over the doorstep.“I’m exhausted.”
“We need to get that bullet out.”I signaled in the direction of my lounge, guiding them both toward it.“It’s the first left.”
Dragging Eli the few feet required to make it into the vast room, I motioned to the couch.“Let’s get you on the sofa, Eli.I need to examine you.”
It took some effort, but we made it to the leather upholstered furniture I’d hand-picked, steering Eli onto the soft cushions on one side.
“What now?”Erin looked at me, wide-eyed.
“Tidy up outside,” I told her.“Lock the car and the house, then get back here.I’ll need your help.”
“Got it.”The compliant woman nodding beside me was nothing like the sister I remembered.
The girl I’d grown up with had been loyal and loving, but she insisted on being stubborn and rarely did anything she was asked.It seemed being around Eli had changed her.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
Watching her turn and dash from the room, I wandered toward my cabinet and selected three glasses.It was just as well I wasn’t supposed to be working because, all in all, the last day had been pretty emotionally draining.
“What’s your poison, Eli?”I glanced over my shoulder at the man in agony on my sofa, thankful I’d had the foresight to order the piece in easily-cleanable black leather.
His brow furrowed.“Sorry, what?”
“Alcohol.”I lifted one of the glasses at him in clarification.“It’s the best sedative you’re going to get.Do you drink whiskey or brandy?”
Eli blew out a pained breath, the hurt making his countenance reminiscent of someone far older than the age I suspected he was.“Whiskey.Thanks.”
Reaching for the appropriate decanter, I poured three even levels of the amber fluid as I heard the front door close.
