Cort shifted so that he was seated on the floor, facing Grey, carefully picking the little bits of glass, drywall chunks, and other pieces of debris from him that had fallen when the bastard sprayed the wall above Grey’s head with bullets. The simple act of caring for Grey went a long way to slowing his heart rate and clearing the haze of panic from his brain.
“Are you okay?” he asked gently.
“No,” Grey replied in a low voice.
“What hurts? Do you think you were hit with a bullet or—”
Grey was already shaking his head. “Not like that. I’m not okay with you being put in danger.” His steely blue-gray eyes flicked open and stared unfocused at him. “The whole purpose of making you stay here was to keep you safe. You could have been killed today, and there wouldn’t have been a damn thing I could have done to stop it. I should have fired you and demanded that you stay home.”
“And what would have happened if I’d stayed home? What if they came for me there without you and your family to keep me safe?”
Grey’s eyes slammed shut again and a shudder ran through him. Cort could easily guess what images were running through Grey’s head. He would have been killed in a matter of seconds. He wasn’t prepared for this kind of insanity. Yeah, he might have been in the middle of some really crazy shit, but Grey and his family had protected him.
No longer caring about where things were heading and if it was a good idea, Cort placed his hand against Grey’s cheek, loving how the man instantly leaned into his touch. He brushed his lips across Grey’s It was the faintest of kisses, but the hitch in Grey’s breathing was intoxicating.
“In case you’re wondering, that was me. Not Calder,” Cort teased.
“Don’t you bring me into your crazy moment. I’m just sitting here, trying to get my heart to stop racing,” Calder groaned.
He could feel Grey smile pressed to his lips. “But you’re okay, physically at least?”
Grey hummed, his mouth moving against Cort’s, capturing his bottom lip and giving it a little tug before releasing it. “I’m okay now, but I could be developing a new physical problem that you can help me with.”
Cort started to kiss Grey again, but a moan from Calder was accompanied by feet rushing down the stairs and through the rooms. They were about to have a whole lot more company than just Calder. Exploring this needed to come later. The first priority was making sure that everyone was safe and sound. Second was coming up with a plan for improving their defenses.
But he was very interested in exploring this new development with Grey. To hell with him being a client. To hell with everything. He’d just stopped a gunman with a frying pan and locked eyes with a giant gorilla that was really a man. He’d earned a hell of a lot more than a few stolen kisses with the sexy man.Chapter 14Grey stood in the kitchen, dripping olive oil. Shuffling footsteps and crunching glass came to his ears as the others moved around. A cold breeze blew in from what had to be shot-out windows. Cort still stood beside him, the man’s harsh breaths in Grey’s ear, the smell of his sweat making his nose itch.
“Shit,” Clay swore as he walked into the kitchen. “They did a hell of a number on this place.”
“And right after Dane had gotten it so nice,” Wiley added mournfully as he joined them. “How many were there?”
“Five,” Grey answered. “I picked up on five.”
“They’re all dead?” The sadness in Wiley’s voice pulled at Grey’s heart.
“It couldn’t be helped, babe,” Baer replied. His voice came from the same direction as Wiley’s. “They were trying to kill us.”
“It’s just so sad,” Wiley said softly. “We’ve got to stop whoever’s sending them.”
“It would help if we knew who,” Clay grumbled. “It has to be another witch or wizard.”
“Think it’s the man Cort saw on the beach?” Grey asked.
“There’s no way to know. But we’re sitting ducks here. They sent one; then they sent five, and these men were professional killers who knew exactly how to infiltrate the house. If we didn’t have magic, we’d be dead.” Their leader’s voice was low and frustrated. Grey’s heart went out to the man. Not one of them had been trained for this kind of shit, and it was all falling on Clay’s shoulders to lead them safely through it.
“You’re bleeding!” Wiley suddenly cried out.
Grey’s stomach knotted. “Who’s bleeding?”
“Clay is. Holy shit, Clay, you got shot!”
“Let me see,” Dane demanded. Grey hadn’t even realized he was in the room. He inwardly cursed his lack of sight, feeling all sorts of flustered. A chair scraped the floor, and quick footsteps shuffled through the debris.