She blinked up at me. “Really?”
“Truly,” I told her, bending down to kiss her on the nose. I was, I’d admit, touched that she’d care for one of our men this way. And from the respect in Eoghan’s eyes, he was, too.
“O-Okay,” she told me quietly. Then, to Eoghan, she asked, “Do you need any help?”
“I’ve got this, Aoife. You go on now. You don’t need to be seeing the likes of this,” he told her softly.
She licked her lips and looked at Donny. Patting his knee, she asked, “Would you like some cake?”
I snickered. “Cake’s the last thing he’d like, Aoife, baby. Could you grab some whisky?”
Donny grunted. “Please? A big bottle.”
Though she was a little wide-eyed, she scurried off to do as I’d asked. When I turned to follow her, then tilted back to look at Eoghan and Donny, I saw they were looking at me like I’d grown two heads.
“Never thought you’d marry, Finn,” Donny mumbled, tipping his head back against the wall as Eoghan motioned at me to press the towel against the wound.
Fuck, I hated getting blood on my hands—it was a bastard to get out from under your nails—but I moved forward and did as asked, letting Eoghan bustle around to collect the various shit he’d need to cleanse and stitch up the wound.
“Me, either,” I admitted.
“Can see why, though,” he stated.
“She’s good people,” Eoghan added. “Anyone can see that.”
I dipped my chin in agreement, and felt, literally fucking felt, when Aoife was back. Her feet slipped soundlessly against the floor, but I knew she was there without even having to turn my head.
“Are you sure you should be drinking this?” she asked when she handed the open bottle to Donny.
“Trust me,” he rasped. “I’m positive.” He grabbed the bottle and drank a good five fingers. Though he coughed as it went down, he admitted, “That feels fucki—” He cleared his throat. “That feels better,” he corrected without my even having to glower at him for almost cursing in front of her. “Thank you.”
She gnawed on her bottom lip. “You really should see a doctor after you’ve been sewn up.”
That she cared enough to pressure Donny had me grinning at her. “His head’s too hard for a concussion. Not even a kick to the head by a jackass could knock some sense into Donny.”
He laughed at my joke, and though Aoife still looked worried, she ceased pleating her hands together and took a step back.
“If you need me, just call.”
“Will do, honey,” I told her softly, seeing her gaze was glued to my bloodied hands, I watched her bite her lip again before scurrying out of the room.
None of us said anything while Eoghan cut off Donny’s shirt and cleaned up the wound. He was a good field med, the perfect man to be with if you got hit out on the streets, and he kept up-to-date with his certification as well. Not that this was legal, but fuck—what did legal matter inside these walls?
I had a bedroom dedicated to basic medical care.
Did it seem like I gave a fuck about the letter of the law?
Donny had consumed half the bottle by the time Eoghan started sewing him up. He’d numbed the area with some purloined local anesthetic, but having been shot myself, I knew that it didn’t do shit.
It wasn’t like we could walk into the ER without questions being asked, so this was just a part of the job.
My calf ached where I’d been shot over nine years ago. It hadn’t been as clean cut as this wound, though. Eoghan had to dig around in the goddamn hole like he was looking for gold. I swear, I’d cried like a baby while he’d gone hunting. Donny was too hammered to cry, though.
His eyes were closed, and it seemed like he was dozing—either that, or he’d passed out.
“Who was it?” I asked, sensing he was too out of it to listen in.
Eoghan shot me a look. “He said he’d had word of where the next hit was going to be. Because Aidan’s a dumbass, he didn’t listen, so Donny went looking on his own. But he had the wherewithal to ask me first, and because I have a brain, I went with him. Even if it was a false lead, any information is for our benefit. There were four of them. Tagging some shops over on Sixth and Regis.”