Page 33 of Operation Daddy

Dutch opened his mouth to ask Sammie if he was okay. That was not what came out. “You can clean my place.” A drop of blood landed on Sammie’s face. He didn’t flinch.

A gorgeous smile exploded across Sammie’s face. “Okay.”

Like that, he had a maid.

July’s hands shook. He felt nothing but adrenaline pumping through his veins. The dead man at his feet was a total stranger to him. Yet he had watched him die. Fletch stood over the body with the gun still aimed at his victim. His face was hard and unreadable. Blood ran down his face. He was the sexiest man July had ever seen. Love swelled inside July, making him feel like he might burst. Fletch loved him. He would do whatever it took to keep July safe. All July could see was him, his beacon of hope and light.

The gun swapped to the detective’s face as Dutch moved to his knees. “What did you see, cop?” Fletch sounded terrifying. July was unbothered. He trusted Fletch in a way he never had a single soul. As excited as July had been about marrying Fletch, he knew now he had found a good man who would love him, cherish him, and kill anyone who tried to hurt him. There was no other shoe to drop. This was real.

“I didn’t see a damn thing. My head was down, trying to avoid the carnage. Give me the gun. I can make sure no heat falls on you. You were defending us.”

Fletch snorted and shoved the gun into the back of his pants. When Fletch’s gaze moved to July, July’s heart skipped a beat. There was so much love staring at him. “Are you good, baby? He didn’t get to you, did he?”

July shook his head. Reality hit like a sledgehammer. “Tuff!” He dropped to his knees and scrambled to turn Tuff over. Fletch landed on his knees next to July, helping. There was a bloodstain on his back, growing larger by the second. They needed to see where and if that bullet came out the other side.

Tuff’s eyes were open and filled with pain. He visibly fought for air. Tuff looked like a fish trying to breathe out of water.

“Oh my God, Tuff.” July held Tuff’s face while Fletch tore away Tuff’s shirt to see what they were dealing with. July didn’t look. He wanted Tuff to see that July had him. “You shouldn’t have done this for me.”

A raspy chuckle escaped Tuff. “I gave my word.”

July had no idea what that meant. But at the speed everything had happened, July felt certain Tuff hadn’t had time to think about his word. He had instinctively jumped to keep July safe. July would love him forever for that.

“Come on. We have to move him.”

At Banks' order, July stayed glued to Tuff as he was lifted and carried to the same room where July had been treated. A lot of unnecessary questions filled July's head. Would the same doctor treat Tuff, or would they take him to a hospital? Did Tuff want him to stay by his side, or would he be angry when the shock wore off? Maybe he wouldn’t forgive July for whatever damage had been done. July felt guilty as a person could. This shouldn’t have happened to Tuff. Why had this happened at all? Rex was dead. That was the only enemy he had as far as July knew. It had been months since that day with Catalina.

“I don’t understand what happened.” The words fell so quietly from his lips in the middle of chaos that July didn’t expect anyone to hear.

Fletch wrapped his arms around July from behind, holding him together. He hadn’t realized how badly he shook until Fletch held him. The emotions flowed in: the fear, the anger, and the confusion. That guy had been there for July. Had anyone else been hurt? The realization hit that he didn’t even fully grasp what he had witnessed. The carnage had been real and horrific. Who would be willing to kill anyone in their path to get to him? He was no one.

July turned. “Why?”

A sympathetic and sad expression covered Fletch’s face. “That’s what Banks had pulled me aside to talk about. It seems Rex hired an assassin to kill you. Since no one knows Rex is dead—”

“So he is dead.”

July’s gaze shot to Dutch at the statement. “We didn’t kill him.”

Dutch made a dismissive gesture. “We’re beyond all that now. We’re officially in the ‘someone tried to kill us all’ category of friendship.”

“You think of me as a friend?” July brightened. He had a bad habit of getting distracted.

“Well, we almost died together, so I’d say so.”

Fletch cut in, retaking the conversation. “Anyhow, no one knows Rex is dead, so it’s very likely the contract was still active. Banks caught wind of this guy following us and trying to gain entry to the club. He put out some feelers and had just learned about the contract after we came in. We were discussing the best way to handle the situation when the walls began exploding. Thank God Banks has this place fortified as fuck. The guy got in, but no one was hurt beyond Tuff.”

“And the assassin,” July added.

Fletch shrugged. “Yeah, that guy too.”

July shook his head. “It’s horrible knowing I once loved that guy. I don’t understand how I was so blind.”

Fletch kissed his forehead. “You have a good heart, baby. There’s no way you could’ve imagined someone could be as evil as Rex was. That’s in the past now.”

It was. July knew that, except Tuff was hurt, and that made his bad decisions still a part of life. He nodded absently and turned back toward Tuff.

Tuff reached for his hand.