Badass in Disguise bChapter /bb342 /b

The human bomb had been packed with razor des, maximizing the carnage. The men closest to the explosion were instantly shredded. One guard’s face was embedded with metal fragments, his screams piercing through the sudden chaos. Another clutched his abdomen where intestines spilled through his fingers.

Where the operative had knelt was nothing but a puddle of blood and scattered organs.

Ethan pushed through the bloody mist, ignoring the gore covering his clothes. “Are you hurt?” he demanded, reaching me first.

I grimaced in disgust at the mess. “I’m fine.”

“Night,” Chris called out, his voice cutting through the chaos.

We turned to see Night standing a few feet away. Being closer to the st, he hadn’t escaped unscathed. Arge piece of shrapnel was embedded in his arm, and his leg was bleeding from another wound.

“Fucking hell,” Night spat, fighting visible nausea. “Those Shadow psychopaths using human bombs now? This is disgusting.”

I moved quickly to his side, examining his wounds. The metal fragment in his arm had prated deeply, and the leg wound was bleeding profusely.

“The leg shrapnel is too deep–you’ll need surgery to remove it. I’ll do basic first aid to stop the bleeding, then you need to get to a hospital.”

“Not before I shower,” Night insisted, already trying to remove his tactical jacket despite his injured arm. The thought of human remains sticking to his body was clearly more distressing than his wounds.

“Get infected, lose your leg, lose function in your hand. A one–armed man with a cane sounds charming,” I said dryly, sessfully deterring him from immediate showering.

Chris looked nearly as disgusted as Night, removing his own jacket. “Can you walk? If not, I’ll carry you to the car.”

“I’ll go myself,” Night said sharply. “You stay here.”

He gave Chris a pointed look that clearly meant to keep an eye on Ethan and me.

“Take extra security,” I told Night. “Be careful.”

After helping Night with basic first aid and sending him off to the hospital, I spent nearly half an hour in the shower, using almost an entire bottle of shampoo and body wash to remove the blood and smell from my skin.

When I emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel, I found Ethan sitting on the edge of my bed. He’d showered and changed into fresh clothes, but his face still carried the tension of what we’d witnessed.

He took the towel from my hands and began drying my hair himself, his movements tender and thorough.

“This is just the beginning,” I warned him. “Shadow Organization has far worse tactics than this. Prepare yourself.”

Ethan set the towel aside and pulled me into his arms, his lips close to my ear. b“/bAs long bas /byou’re safe, I can handle anything.”

I turned my head slightly to look at him. “Scated?”

“Yes,” he admitted without hesitation.

:

“Not very brave, Mr. Haxton,” I teased.

“Can Miss Morganfort me a little?” he asked, his voice soft.

I made a show of reluctance. “A big man like you asking a woman forfort? Really?”

Despite my words, I raised my arms and patted his back gently.

“I’d like tofort you too,” he said, “but you never give me the chance.” fn09c0 ?????? ???? Find1Novel/fn09c0

“If I ever need yourfort,” I replied honestly, “we’re probably both doomed.”

His arms tightened around me. “I was terrified. If Night hadn’t shot him in time and he’d gotten closer… if you’d been hurt…” Ethan’s voice cracked slightly. “And if you’d been injured and needed to leave the house for medical treatment, the danger would multiply.”

I could hear the genuine fear in his voice, remembering our desperate days on the run when I bwas /binjured. I found myself returning his embrace fully, holding him close.

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