Rogue Darkness by Dianne Duvall

“No, damn it.”

He stole a quick kiss. “I love you, kick-ass cranky puss.”

She tried to smile, but it looked more like a grimace. “You’d better.”

He checked her thigh next. That bullet had passed through as well, damaging muscle and tendon. Though it had missed the bone, it had come alarmingly close to nicking her femoral artery.

Sean flattened his hand over the wound. Healing warmth built in his chest and flowed down his arm into her thigh. “What about the blood on your side? Is that from your arm?”

“No. A bullet caught me just under the edge of my vest.”

They had shot her three times? “How bad is it?” Even with his gift pulling double duty healing the gunshot wounds he’d received, Sean could heal her leg and arm. But blood loss weakened him and may make mending more serious injuries difficult. He shifted his healing touch to her arm. “Did it hit any major organs?”

“I don’t think so.”

“You don’t think so?” he parroted incredulously. “Seth!”

Seth appeared beside him.

Sean finished healing Nicole’s arm and shifted to the side to give him room. “She’s hurt, and I’m running out of energy.” When dizziness made the hallway around him spin, he braced a bloody hand on the floor to hide it.

Seth knelt in front of Nicole to assess her wounds.

Sean met her gaze.

Clenching her teeth against the pain, she jerked her head toward the opposite end of the hallway. “Go check on Seong-Su and Amani. Make sure they aren’t injured. The asshole who shot me was firing blindly.”

His eyes widened. Crap. He’d been so concerned about Nicole that he’d almost forgotten about them.

Rising, Sean raced up the hallway and burst through the door.

Amani and Seong-Su both grabbed 9mms and swung around in their seats.

Sean quickly threw up his hands in surrender. “It’s okay. It’s just me.”

Relaxing, they turned back to their respective computers.

“Is it over?” Amani asked.

“For now.” Sean didn’t know if more mercenaries would follow. “Are either of you injured?”

“No,” they replied absently.

“Are you almost done?” he asked hopefully.

“Yes.”

Satisfied, Sean hurried back to Seth and Nicole.

Seth’s hand covered the wound on her torso. Pain creased her features as the flesh knitted itself back together and healed.

Though Sean kept his expression impassive, inwardly he growled with fury. Those bastards had hurt her!

Nicole glanced up at him. “It’s not that bad, Sean.”

Hmm. Had he outwardly growled with fury?

She consulted Seth. “Is it?”

“The arm wasn’t,” the immortal leader announce impassively. “But Sean’s thoughts tell me the bullet that passed through your leg came dangerously close to nicking your femoral artery. And this one damaged your kidney.”

Sean glared at her for underplaying it.

“What?” she demanded. “I didn’t know.”

“Too bad. You get no pizza tonight.”

Her laugh twisted into a grimace as Seth’s hand began to glow. A muscle in her cheek jumped as she ground her teeth together. Soon she blinked furiously to dispel the tears that rose in her eyes.

Sean rubbed his palms against his thighs. Not being able to touch her and comfort her was killing him.

Then the creases in her forehead and lines of agony in her face smoothed out as her face lit with relief.

Seth withdrew his touch and rose. “All healed.”

Sean held a hand out to Nicole and helped her up. “How are things upstairs? Is Cliff okay?”

“He’s good,” Seth said.

Nicole smiled. “What about Darnell?”

“He’s fine. Neither received so much as a scratch,” Seth told her. “When we return to network headquarters, make sure you visit the infirmary. You need a transfusion to replace the blood you’ve lost.”

“I will. Thank you.”

Nodding, Seth gave Sean a quick inspection. “Any wounds you want me to heal?”

“No.” Now that he’d stopped healing Nicole, his injuries mended quickly. “I’ll be as good as new once I score a quick infusion.”

That Nicole needed blood worried him though. And his mind was full of what-ifs that soon made him tremble.

What if that bullet had nicked her femoral artery?

What if that mercenary had tossed a grenade instead of a flash-bang?

Yet again, Sean had come terrifyingly close to losing her.

Too shaken to worry about Seth watching them, Sean drew Nicole into a tight embrace and rested his chin on her hair.

“I’m okay, Sean,” she assured him softly, and wrapped her arms around him.

Closing his eyes, he shook his head. “If one of those bullets had hit you in the head…”

She gave him a squeeze. “It would’ve bounced right off. You know how hard my head is.”

Chuckling, he held her as close as he could without harming her. His eyes met Seth’s over her head. I can’t lose her, he thought.

You won’t. Smiling, Seth clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. Once she transforms, she’ll heal as quickly as you do. Even faster if you ask Roland or Aidan to transform her for you.”