Chapter Twenty
Kat sat in the chair outside Bradley’s hospital room, leaning forward as she hyped herself up to go in and visit him.
She’d already heard that he was okay, that, while he had been shot, he’d recover. The bullet had gone into his shoulder when he’d shoved Olin out of the way, the action probably saving them both. Dean had taken Olin’s gun at that point, and Kat knew exactly what happened from there.
The sight of Dean with that cold look on his face haunted Kat, the flatness of his eyes, the way the touch of his hand on her cheek had been so at odds with how he’d so easily pulled the trigger. She’d done that.
Bradley could have been killed, Dean had to do something she knew would wear on him and Olin was no doubt being questioned fully, which meant his job could be at risk due to his connection with her and Sanctuary, and it wasallbecause of her.
Each of them had risked so much and for what?
The only blessing was that the cameras hadn’t caught all the exchange. The other man had survived his wound, and it seemed he’d been only too happy to throw Jerry under the bus and offer up all the information he had on their group to lessen his own sentence. It meant the official story was that Jerry had been shot in self-defense.
That story would save Dean from going to jail, but it didn’t stop the pain Kat knew he must be in.
The door opened, and a nurse came into the hallway. She paused, as if surprised to find Kat there. “Are you waiting to visit?”
Kat stood, smoothing down her clothes, wishing something could calm her nerves. “Yeah, I am. I was waiting until he was ready.”
The nurse nodded toward the door. “Well, he’s comfortable for now, so it’s a good time.” The nurse paused before walking past Kat, as if she spotted something in Kat’s face that she recognized. She set a hand on Kat’s forearm and squeezed. “He’ll be okay, honey.”
Kat nodded, even though she didn’t believe it. The nurse didn’t understand. She was talking about the moment, about that bullet, but she didn’t understand that it had all been Kat’s fault. “Right,” Kat said, because there was no reason to burden all that mess on the nurse.
The nurse offered a kind smile. “You’ll feel better once you see him—I promise. Go on in.”
Kat forced herself to do as she said, though when she entered the hospital room she didn’t look right at Bradley. It was too hard, so she kept her gaze on the floor. The beeping of machines wassodamned loud and it just reminded her of how close she’d been to losing him for good.
“Hey.” Bradley’s voice was rough, though not laced in pain. Then again, no doubt they’d given him the good drugs since he’d have to stay in the hospital for the night.
Kat didn’t lift her gaze, even as she stood beside the bed, and it seemed that wasn’t good enough for Bradley. He caught her wrist and held it tight. “Look at me.”
Kat shook her head.
He sighed, then tugged until Kat leaned on the bed.
“Wait,” she said and tried to yank back. “I might jostle your arm!”
Bradley laughed as if she were being absurd. “Well, you should have looked at me. Since you wouldn’t, this is the next best thing. Stop fighting or you’ll end up hurting me.”
Kat finally looked at him just to glare. “You’re so manipulative.”
He let out a laugh, one that didn’t sound entirely like him. It was probably the meds. “I learned it from you. Now, stop worrying—I’m fine.”
“You wereshot.I don’t think that counts as fine.”
He looked over at her, a grin across his lips, his cheeks pinker than usual. “All’s well that ends well, right? I’ll take a bullet for you anytime.”
“Well, technically, you took a bullet forme.”Olin chuckled as he came in, Dean on his heels. “I mean, I appreciate it, but I’m not into men.”
“Seeing as I castrate most of the males in my life, it’s probably not the best match for you, either,” Bradley said, his good arm over around Kat.
Olin laughed softly as he came closer, with he and Dean standing beside the hospital bed. “Doctor says you’ll live.”
“So it seems.”
“How long are you in here for?” Dean asked.
“At least until tomorrow. They want to start me on physical therapy.” Bradley groaned as he said it, as though physical therapy was the worst thing he could think of.