CHAPTER 10
Darren
RUINED. EVERYTHING. ALL OF my carefully planned work, destroyed. And why? Because of that ridiculous self-absorbed, thinks he's better than everyone, Jack Biggs.
Why did he have to come here? Why now? We were doing fine without the added drama. Piper had begun her training. She was finally getting confident in herself and the path she had chosen. The others were not as accepting of it as she would like them to be, but they'd come around. What other choice did they have?
I tossed the pan with what was left of the fettuccine I had specially prepared for Piper and myself into the sink. It hit the steel basin with a loud twang, making me wince at the sound. Still, it felt better to cause some chaos instead of doing what I really wanted to do, which was punch that smiling lawyer in the face.
Glass shattered everywhere after I squeezed a cup a little too hard. "Damn." I stared down at the pieces that had lodged themselves into my hand and then down at the mess on the floor. Jaw tightening, I stalked over to the sink and was careful of the glass as I knelt on the ground. I used my good hand to open the cabinet beneath and searched for the first aid kit.
"Hey," a soft voice came from behind me.
I jerked, hitting my head on the top of the cabinet. "Arggh," I groaned, sitting on the ground and clutching my head with one hand, the other bloodied one out in front of me.
"Jesus Christ, Darren, what have you done to yourself." Piper tiptoed around the glass on the floor and crouched down beside me. She looked over my hand and then the mess on the floor. "Have a disagreement with the kitchenware?"
I pursed my lips and winced again. "Something like that."
"Here," Piper forced back a smile, reaching for my hand. "Let me."
I allowed her to take my hand and baby me for a moment. She pulled a large piece of glass from the side of my hand, and I sucked in a sharp breath.
"Some of these are too small for me to get," Piper murmured. The comment seemed more to herself than to me. "I need some tweezers."
"There's a first aid kit," I jerked my head toward the still open cabinet.
"Oh," Piper glanced away from my hand to grab the small white box.
I watched and wallowed in my pain while she set the box down and riffled through it. She'd changed out of her bloodied hunter clothes and into her usual pajamas, a pale pink tank top and plaid shorts to match. Unfortunately, today she had worn a bra, and I couldn't distract myself with the line of her nipple pressed against the thin material as she pulled the small shards of glass from my hand.
"I'm sorry about tonight," Piper said, not looking up from my hand.
I cocked my head to one side. "Why?"
Piper pulled her lower lip in between her teeth as she concentrated on a particularly stubborn piece. "Ah, ha! Got it." She lowered the tweezers and met my gaze. "About dinner. I forgot you had been planning on us having a romantic evening together."
"It's alright."
"No, it's not." Piper shook her head, returning to work on my hand. "I should have remembered and not let Drake get to me. He just pushes my buttons sometimes. Just such a smug asshole, and after the day I had, I just lost it. Next thing I know, I'm inviting my ex-boss, who I don't even like to stay at our house."
"Understandable. I, too, have felt the need to lose it when it comes to dealing with the twins." I gasped as she pulled the last piece from my hand.
"There. All done." Piper pulled a bit of bandage out to wrap my hand. "You should wash that first. Then bandage it. Wouldn't want to get an infection, now would we?"
I sniffed, holding back a laugh. "There is no worry for infection. One of the benefits of being a human servant is we are immune against all illnesses. No colds. No infections." I stood and went to the sink, turning the water on. I hissed as I put my hand under the running water.
"Well, that's just nifty." Piper stood and went to the pantry, returning with a broom and dustpan. "That would have been nice to know before. Anything else I should know?"
Rinsing the remaining blood from my hand, I took a clean dish towel and carefully dried it, wincing with each press of the towel. "Besides the things you already know about, not really." My brows furrowed as I tried to think about what else she might need to know that I hadn't told her.
Piper finished cleaning up the glass and replacing the broom and pan. She leaned on the counter next to me, taking the bandage she had sat out and began to wrap my hand. "That's good. I'd hate to have random ability pop up in the middle of a fight." She laughed slightly. "Most of the other hunters hate me as it is, I don't need another reason for it."
When she finished tying the bandage off, I placed my hand against her face, staring into her light brown eyes. "How are you doing? Really?"
Piper gave me a self-deprecating smile and shrugged. "I'm fine."
I stared at her a moment longer, trying to find some shadow in her gaze that said she was lying.