Chapter 49

"Didn't know all it took was being shot to make you want me naked." His pained chuckle did not earn him a smile. He peeled off his jacket and then his shirt. He glanced over his shoulder at his reflection in the mirror and winced at the sight of three bullet holes, one in his lower back, one on his left shoulder blade, and a third in the back of his thigh. Blood still trickled down, but very little, all things considered. He was lucky. He would have to get the bullets out before the wounds could heal with them inside. That could be fatal.

"Fuck," he muttered again. He unzipped his jeans and dropped them to the floor.

"What" Charlotte began until he angled his leg and showed her the wound in the back of his thigh.

"It's I thought it would be worse. But still, we should get you to a hospital." She held a first-aid kit in her hands, her face pale as alabaster.

"Trust me. I will be fine as long as you can be brave and dig the bullets out."

Charlotte gulped audibly. "Dig them out?"