Victory at Prescott High (The Havoc Boys #5) - C.M. Stunich Page 0,30

his eyes as the fluids drain down the tube and into his arm. “Say it in simple words.”

“I love you, Callum Park,” I say easily, because I’m not at all ashamed of it. I love Havoc. All five of them. And if I ever tried to deny it in the past, it was only because I didn’t trust myself. Because I wasn’t being honest with myself. I won’t do that anymore because more than anything, I want to make sure I’m worthy of that fucking crown. “Now, don’t you dare fucking die on me.”

I rock against him, fully aware that neither of us is in any state to fuck. Doesn’t matter. If stirring up a little passion can help us both breathe easier then screw it. I’ll rub myself all over my stalker’s dick.

“I killed six men just to get back here,” he whispers against my mouth. But not like he’s looking for praise. No, it’s more of an … observation. “Nobody can keep me from you, Bernadette. Not even the world.”

I kiss him again, but it’s slow and tentative, almost unsure. I don’t want to hurt him. And holy fuck, is he hurting right now. Cal is the one that cups the back of my head and brings some heat to the connection between our lips, tasting me and savoring whatever it is that he finds there. I want him to dance for me again, to show me with his body what he sometimes struggles to say with words. Love me for every dark, ugly, hideous thing that I am.

“We should get those stitches in,” I murmur absently, letting him take over holding the bag. It’s a little weird, to see a man holding a bag of saline that’s connected to his arm, but it works. I’ve seen Pamela, in her part-time work at the nursing home, set up plenty of IVs. And let’s be honest: anything that bitch can do, I can do. Ten times better at that.

“I’d rather feel the warmth of your body pressed against me,” Cal murmurs, nuzzling the side of my face like an animal seeking out the comfort of his mate. “You ground me, Bernadette. Mason was right: I am still human. But only because of you.”

“Who’s Mason?” I ask, but Cal just keeps on smiling.

“Stitches, let’s get them over with,” he whispers, his voice as hoarse and dark as it’s ever been. Whoever Mason is, I imagine he’s the one that put Callum in this state. And Cal, he isn’t used to coming up against anyone that’s at his level.

I scoot back and open the kit. I’ve never actually put a stitch in human flesh before, but I took home ec during freshman year. That counts, right? Besides, I saw Victor do it to me, that day Billie stabbed me in the bathroom, that very same bathroom where I ducked to hide from the shooter only yesterday. Poor Stacey. Poor fucking Stacey.

“Should I go get Aaron’s laptop so we can Google this?” I ask, already missing the ease of having my phone around. But Cal’s already shaking his head.

“No,” he says, leaning back into Oscar’s pillows. I wonder if ‘O’ will mind. I also wonder if ‘O’ will ever let me call him that. It’s a cute nickname, but if he wants to save it for his Cal bromance that’s fine by me. “I’ll guide you.” He nods his chin at the kit, a calm and peaceful expression settling over his features. When he first got here, he actually looked like he might kill someone—even Vic. This is better, this strange expression of contentment. “Needle driver,” he begins, pointing at one item in the kit. “Tissue forceps. Scissors, obviously. Needle and thread. We’re going to do an interrupted suture which means you’ll cut and tie off each stitch as we go.”

After cleaning his arm off with another antiseptic wipe, I do as he tells me, using the needle driver to hold the tiny, curved needle and threading it through his skin, just above the fat that I can see inside the wound. We start with the gunshot wound on his arm, this clean hole that goes straight through him. It looks too neat, too pretty to actually be real.

“I want you to go to the hospital. It isn’t like the VGTF doesn’t know about the shooting. Sara Young was looking for you.” My words come out quiet and low, almost absent-minded. In reality, all of my attention and focus is on this