Page 67 of Shadow Burn

“Let’s get you inside,” he said.

She lifted her chin. “What about your arm?”

“I can handle it.”

Vivi shook her head. “Medical suite, now. You may need stitches.”

Katherine raised a brow. “You have a medical suite?”

“It’s two rooms,” Jasper said between clenched teeth, “And all I need is a bandage.”

“Where is it?” Katherine asked Vivi. “I’ll make sure he gets there and he will sit still and keep his mouth shut if he does need stitches.”

Mack, Garrett, and Vivi exchanged glances. Jasper suddenly felt too tired to argue. “Katherine⁠—”

“You told me not to run into open ground. Fine. You’re right—I blew it. But if you’re bleeding because you put yourself between me and a bullet, I’m not going to stand around while someone else patches you up. I’m helping, dammit.”

Mack muttered, “I’m going to go grab the evidence kit with proper markers and pretend I’m not enjoying this.”

Garrett shot him a look. “Move.”

Mack patted Katherine’s back and gave her a brief nod that looked suspiciously like approval.

Vivi walked with Jasper and Katherine back to the door. Her gaze moved from Jasper’s arm to Katherine’s face and back again. “All right, medical suite, both of you.”

Jasper let Katherine go through the door first, then stopped so he was eye to eye with Vivi. “I don’t need stitches. I’ve been injured enough times to know. All the wound needs is to be cleaned and bandaged.”

Vivi sighed and looked at Katherine. “If he does need stitches, you know where to find me.”

Katherine nodded. “I do.”

The hallway felt too bright after the shadowed yard. Jasper’s sleeve stuck to his skin, and the graze burned with every step. Katherine walked beside him without touching him, but he could sense how emotional she was about endangering his life. “You neglected to show me the medical suite on our tour.”

“Our operators get hurt once in a while. Not often, but Vivi has medical training. She’s stitched a few of them up.”

“Which way is it?”

“I’ve got a full first aid kit in my room. Let’s go there instead.”

As they passed the common room, Priss sat on the back of the couch with her tail lashing. Lightning split the sky outside the window, and she leaped off the couch, racing down the hall toward the private rooms.

They followed, and Katherine let her into her room. Then she followed Jasper to his.

In the bathroom, he peeled off his shirt. The fabric pulled at the wound, and he hissed before he could stop himself.

Katherine was instantly next to him. “It looks bad.” Her voice shook, but her hands didn’t as she grabbed a washcloth from the stack on the vanity. “Let me clean it.”

His gaze flicked to her reflection in the mirror. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I know.”

The graze had cut across the outside of his upper arm, shallow but ugly. She cleaned it with more concentration than the injury required, her lips pressed tight, her eyes too bright.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“Don’t.”

“You got shot because of me.”