Vinnie nodded. “We can’t keep this incident within the shifter community. Humans in the street saw Rosemary in here and heard the gun go off. If we hadn’t assured them that we’d already made a 911 call to report a hostage situation, they would have called it in themselves—in reality, of course, we called our pride mates on the police force. People are out there, waiting to snap photos that they might then sell to the press.
“Take her out the rear exit, away from the cameras and nosy-ass spectators. Evander’s out there—I sent him to get his car, and I’ve instructed him to drive you both to her apartment building so you’re out of sight and don’t need to walk there. To explain that she’s healed, we’ll downplay her injury a little to the police and say you took her to your Alpha so that she could heal Mila.”
Dominic shifted Mila ever so slightly in his arms. “Tell your cops they won’t be getting a statement out of her. I don’t want any more of this fucked-up shit touching her. You tell the little white lie that she’s now part of my pack—it’ll place her out of the reach of human authorities.”
Vinnie gave a slow, satisfied nod. “We can do that.”
Her eyes wet, Valentina pressed a kiss to Mila’s head. “You keep my girl safe, Dominic. Understood?”
Dominic nodded. “Believe me, Valentina, she’s my absolute priority.”
After giving Mila’s hair one last stroke, James lightly slapped him on the back. “Go, get her out of here.”
Shooting one last glare at Rosemary, who was now shrieking his name, Dominic spun on his heel and stalked through the shop, down the length of the narrow hallway, and out the back door.
Evander was pacing near a gleaming black Mercedes. He halted as they approached, his brow creased in concern, and opened the rear passenger door. “Is she all right?”
“Unconscious,” Dominic bit out, sliding into the car. Cradling her, he kissed her temple, his eyes falling shut. She’d come far too close to death. Had bled profusely from a bullet wound right in front of him, and he’d been able to do nothing. A sense of failure pricked at both him and his anxious wolf, who lay down, resting his chin on his legs.
Evander quickly drove them to Mila’s apartment building, but Dominic didn’t take her inside. He walked to his SUV, settled her into the passenger seat, and hopped into the driver’s side. He needed to know she was safe, needed her to have privacy and peace while she rested. As such, he drove out of the lot and onto the road, heading toward his territory.
Oh, he knew her parents and pride mates wouldn’t like it. Understood they’d want to be there when she woke. But he couldn’t indulge them in that. Just couldn’t. As he’d told Valentina, Mila was his priority. He’d do what was best for his mate, not her parents. And Dominic knew Mila wouldn’t like it if she woke to find an apartment full of people anyway.
As he drove, he occasionally laid a hand on her thigh or reached out to stroke her hair. She never stirred. Not once. Not even when he finally arrived at his territory and took her out of the SUV to carry her up the stairs of the cliff face.
Walking through the tunnels, he heard chatter and laughter coming from the living area. He didn’t head there. He went straight to his room, kicking the door shut behind them. Only then did his wolf lose some of his tension. Dominic’s remained.
Not wanting her to wake to the sight and smell of her own blood, Dominic shed their clothes and stepped under the hot spray of the shower. Even the water didn’t rouse her—hell, she didn’t even so much as pucker her brow. He quickly and carefully soaped her body, washing every flake of dried blood from her skin.
Having patted her dry, he slipped her into one of his shirts and settled her into his bed. He was just about to join her when knuckles rapped hard on the door. A pulse of adrenaline shot into his system, because right then—while his mate was weak and unable to defend herself—any presence felt like a threat.
“Dom? I got a call from Vinnie.” Trey.
Forcing his fists to relax, Dominic crossed to the door and opened it to find both his Alphas standing there. Stepping into the hall, he pulled the door shut behind him.
“How’s Mila?” Taryn asked.
“Sleeping,” Dominic replied simply, not in the mood for conversation. He wanted to be with Mila. Alone.
Trey looked him up and down. “You good?”
“Yep.”
“From what Vinnie said, Mila’s family wasn’t happy to find her apartment empty, but I think they’ll understand why you brought her here.”
“Why don’t I check on her?” Taryn suggested.
Dominic stilled. “She’s fine.”
Trey sighed. “I get that your protective instincts are doing the mambo right now, but you know she’s not in danger from us. You know that, or you would never have brought her here.”
“When she’s at full strength, you can see her. Until then, no one comes inside.”
Her face soft with sympathy, Taryn looked like she might step forward and hug him. Instead she nodded. “All right. I’ll send Grace with food. She doesn’t have to come inside. She can leave the tray on the floor out here. Mila will be hungry when she wakes.”
Dominic gave a curt nod and returned to his room, locking the door behind him. Maybe it was irrational, but he just didn’t trust anyone to be around her while she was so vulnerable. Not a single soul.
Sliding onto the bed, he pulled her flush against him and dragged the covers over them, not wanting her to catch a chill. His wolf snuggled up to her, still anxious. The beast hadn’t yet fought his way completely through the raw shock that had gripped him earlier. Hell, Dominic’s brain was still scrambling to process what had happened, trying to make some sense of it. One second she’d been fine; the next she was bleeding on the fucking floor.
He caught her hand and pressed a kiss to her wrist, needing to feel her pulse beating against his mouth. “I’m sorry I left you,” he said, his voice like gravel. If he hadn’t gone to the break room, if he’d stayed with her, he could have pushed her out of harm’s way. Could have wrestled the gun from Rosemary’s hand before she had the chance to fire.
Intending to be the first thing Mila saw when she opened her eyes, Dominic didn’t move from her side as she slept. Not even when Grace knocked to say she’d left a tray of food outside the door. His attention was solely on Mila.
He plucked at her curls, traced her cheekbones and jawline, and dabbed kisses to her face, palm, and wrist. Not a single touch disturbed her sleep. Nor did the ringing and beeping of their cell phones. Was that normal? He didn’t know.
Panic tightened his chest and stiffened his muscles until they ached. Helena had told him that Mila would sleep for a while, but he hadn’t thought she’d fall into such a deep sleep. The longer she took to wake, the tighter the knot of panic inside him became. It was like there was a large rock lodged in his chest, making it hard for him to take a full breath. His ribs felt too tight, too constricting.
Maybe he should have let Taryn take a quick look at Mila. He could call his Alpha female and ask her to come. She’d—
His heart jumped as Mila’s eyelids flickered slightly. Relief swept through him like a tidal wave. “Hey there,” he said softly. “Can you open those eyes for me?” Seconds ticked by before her eyelids finally fluttered open and her dazed blue gaze found his. He smiled. “There’s my girl. How are you feeling?”