Chapter Five

LILY

It's the middle of the night, and I can't sleep. My mind keeps wandering to next door thinking about Kace, trying to figure out who the hell he is. Max's words keep ringing in my head.

Trust him.

But how do I do that? How do you trust a man like him?

I settle on watching infomercials. There's a great deal on one of those nutrition extractor blender thingies when a dull thud echoes through the hall. It sounds like something fell against the wall in the hall outside, which is odd because it's three in the morning. Standing up, I hear a slight groan murmur from the other side of my door. I jump as my heart springs into my throat, and my skin prickles with nervous tension.

"Holy shit!" I race to the kitchen and grab a butcher's knife. I never use it for anything, I just think it looks cool, but I'm glad to have it now. Moving across to my door, I hear the groan again, and so I take a deep breath as my heart races so damn fast I feel a little nauseous. For one second, my mind screams at me, telling me I'm being stupid, that I'm that girl in the horror movie who runs toward the danger instead of away from it. But something drags me toward the door, that magnetism I can't fight. Pulling the door back, I peek out with the knife right up by my face and glance out into the hall to see Kace hunched over against his door.

Opening my door fully, I step out slightly to see if he's okay. His head snaps to the side looking at me with such a harsh glare, it shocks me for a moment. Then, when he sees it's me, his body slumps, and he relaxes.

"You're a surgical vet nurse, right?"

Furrowing my brows at not only how the hell does he know that, but why is he asking me, I reply, "Yeah."

He turns holding his arm, and my eyes widen as I take in all the blood oozing from the wound he's holding over his bicep.

"Shit." I race over to him and look down at his arm to see there's a lot of blood. Luckily, I'm used to animal blood, and I don't get woozy in any way. "I'll go get my phone. You need an ambulance."

His hand comes out grabbing my arm, and when the warmth of his skin touches mine, something shoots through my flesh. A spark? A jolt? I'm not sure, I've never felt it before, but something ignites a fire inside of me, and it makes my breathing hitch a notch. Butterflies flutter in my stomach, and my head starts to spin a little.

What the hell?

He looks into my eyes. and it's like time stands still. Even though he's bleeding all over the place, something's happening right now—a connection, an understanding—something's shifting, and I like it. Goosebumps litter my skin up and down my arms.

"What's going on?"

Both our heads turn to see Mrs. Henderson sticking her body partway out of apartment four and looking right at us. I go to tell Mrs. Henderson, but Kace looks straight in my eyes, and I see the desperation in them.

I hold up the knife. "I slipped while we were making toast."

Kace furrows his brows as I wince slightly. Obviously, you don't make toast with a butcher knife, but Mrs. Henderson huffs and closes her door.

"Thank you, help me inside?" Kace asks.

With a nod, I reach for his door handle.

"No!"

I jump, springing back again.

"We need to go to your apartment," he says, a lot calmer.

Scratching and whining on the other side of his door causes me to frown. "What's that?" I ask nervously.

He moves against the wall, heading for my open door as the whining becomes louder.

"It's my dog, don't worry, she won't hurt you. There's a first-aid kit under my sink, grab it, and I'll wait for you." He slips inside my apartment, leaving me standing in the hallway holding a large knife and looking completely bewildered.

I take a deep breath and reach for his door handle, turning it slowly. The second it's open, a Pitbull Terrier rushes at me, but she doesn't stop, squeezing past my legs. I watch as she shoots into my apartment in search of Kace.

I'm a little dazed, but when I hear him groan, it brings me back to my mission. I rush inside, barely taking any notice of his apartment as I drop to my knees in the kitchen and pull a hefty first-aid kit from the cupboard, just where he said it would be.

It's heavy, but I manage to struggle my way out, shutting the door behind me.

I kick my door shut with my foot before dumping the kit with a loud thump on my small dining table.

A wet nose nuzzles at my leg, and I look down with a smile. "I didn't know you had a dog." I kneel down and pat her cute little face as she licks up the side of my cheek.

"Yeah, she's well- trained. Her name is Daisy."

I smile. "Lily and Daisy. Two flowers. We're going to be great friends, Daisy, you cute little thing, you," I coo over the dog as she rolls on her back and lets me rub her pink belly.

"So, umm… if you don't mind, I kinda need this taken care of?"

I turn to see him sitting at a table, the first-aid kit is open, and in his hands, he holds a bottle of alcohol and a pair of needle-nose pliers.

Opening my eyes wide, I swallow hard and walk over to him staring at the obvious bullet hole in his bicep. Shaking my head, my eyes open even wider as my heart pounds, and I start backing away. "Oh no… no way. I'm a vet nurse, I don't do the surgery, I assist . I work on animals, not humans, and I certainly have never removed a bullet before. No. Just no. You need to go to the hospital. See a doctor. Wait… aren't you a doctor? You were in scrubs and—"

"Lily, I'm not a doctor. You're the closest thing I have to one right now—"

"No, I can't do this. There's just no way."

He stands up, striding toward me and places his hand on my face gently caressing my cheek, sending warmth inside me, easing my nerves instantly. "Lily, I need you to do this… please." I can tell he's in pain, but he's doing a damn good job of trying to keep a brave face.

Chewing on my bottom lip, I sigh. "I need to know one thing first."

He nods. "Okay."

Pausing, I take a deep breath. "Who are you?"

He slumps his body and looks into my eyes, calming me further. "It's a long story, one I can't explain right now. But I will if you take out the bullet. I promise, Lily. I keep my word."

Trust has to be earned. You both have to give a little to get there. Max's words echo again in my head as I stare into Kace's pleading eyes. Is this him giving? Offering something of himself for me to trust him. Is he the good or the bad guy in this scenario?

"Am I going to get into trouble for helping you?"

He shakes his head. "Not if you don't tell anyone."

"Shit." I race forward, grabbing the bottle of vodka and bring the seal to my lips, swallowing a giant mouthful. The liquid burns, and it feels like it's tearing at my throat, but I need some courage right now, and vodka always gives me courage.

Kace half-smiles and nods as he pulls off his shirt. My eyes open fully as I take in his incredibly muscular body, with well-defined abs, all leading to that perfect V just before his pants. I swallow hard as I clench my thighs together and try to catch my breath. He's pure perfection, even with blood smeared and sliding down one arm. He's a masterpiece, and I could look at him for days.

"Lily?" he asks, breaking me away from my trance.

"Shit! Sorry," I say and take another swig from the bottle, then take a deep breath and pour some on his arm. He flinches but doesn't swear or show any signs of pain.

He's tough. Of that I'm sure.

"Okay, so this is really going to hurt," I tell him, and he nods and smiles.

"It's okay, Lily. I've been through worse."

I furrow my brows. I should be surprised, but now I'm kind of getting used to his brand of crazy. "Okay, do you need something to bite down on?"

He smiles and shakes his head.

"Of course, you don't. Right, here we go, we can do this. It's just a bullet. Just a tiny bullet—"

He grabs my shaking hand and looks me in the eyes. "You can do this, Lily."

Nodding, I grab the pliers and take a steadying breath. Moving the pliers in line with the wound, my stomach churns ever so slightly.

I'm fine, probably too much vodka.

I inch the pliers toward the hole, and as the tip of the pliers ease into his flesh, I scrunch up my face waiting for him to moan, scream, writhe around in pain, but nothing. He sits there with his eyes closed like he's meditating or something while I internally freak out. Shaking my head, I push the pliers in further, the sound of his flesh moving with the metal turns my stomach as the pliers open slightly in my hand, and I feel around for the bullet.

"Jesus Christ," I murmur.

"You're doing great, Lily," he says like he isn't in immense pain right now. I swear this guy is strange. I cringe when a small tinkling sounds, and my chest tightens at the thought that I've hit the bullet. I squirm a little as I open the pliers and grasp the bullet, slowly starting to ease the pliers back out of his bulging arm.

How isn't he screaming? I have no idea. This man is quite possibly an alien. He seems so calm and relaxed about the whole thing, and I'm teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown. I pull the bullet out of his arm as he slumps his body while I place the bullet on the table. It seems so small, so minuscule.

Sighing out a big breath of air, he grabs my hands and looks me in the eyes. My lip trembles with the emotion of it all quickly coming over me. "Thank you, Lily. I really do appreciate it."

Nodding as I can't actually say anything, I pick up the vodka bottle and down another mouthful as it burns my throat. He hands me a bandage, and I slowly wrap it around the wound.

"You're probably going to need antibiotics and stitches. You really need to see a doctor."

A beep sounds, and he picks up his phone. Looking at the screen, he stands suddenly and grabs his shirt pulling it on over his head like he's in a mad rush, completely confusing me. He gathers his jacket and grabs my arm pulling me toward the door. "I have to go."

Furrowing my brows, I shake my head. "Umm… what? You need to rest."

"I'll be fine." He opens the door and smiles.

"Wait… you said you'd tell me."

"I told you, I keep my promises." Kace looks me in the eyes, and I furrow my brows wondering what the hell is going on right now. He smiles and leans in kissing my cheek. Warmth radiates from my cheek down my side and straight between my legs. Goosebumps tingle all over my skin, and my breath hitches at the simple gesture. "Thank you, Lily," he simply says. He turns and takes off quickly down the hall away from me with Daisy dancing excitedly around his feet, leaving me stunned and shocked at the events of the last half hour.

Kace Colt is one crazy ride, and I have no idea how I'm going to hang on.