Blind Warrior (The Weavers Circle #3) - Jocelynn Drake Page 0,60

He pushed down the swell of pleasure at feeling his hand move slowly across his skin. “Are you okay? Were you hit?”

“Fine. Hands sting a little from clocking that guy with the skillet.” Cort tried to ignore the new huskiness in his voice. Yeah, this so wasn’t a good time. Brainwashed killers were still running around, trying to end their lives.

“Oh, shit!” Calder jumped beside him and Cort jerked his head around. His heart nearly exploded in his chest to see what appeared to be a five-hundred-pound silverback gorilla poke its head into the kitchen from the butler’s pantry. His nearly black eyes looked over the three of them, his broad nostrils flared as he scented the air.

“What?”

“Gorilla,” Cort choked out.

“Oh, Baer,” Grey said with a sigh of relief.

“No, gorilla. Big gorilla.” It took an extra second for his brain to finally realize that Grey had been talking about the Weaver Baer, not bear the animal. He knew that. That thought wasn’t happening, though, because there was an enormous, man-killing gorilla staring at them, making these low hooting noises.

Without taking his eyes off them, the gorilla hooked his fingers into the collar of the unconscious attacker’s shirt and dragged him out of the kitchen as the gorilla disappeared into the dining room.

“Grey, how many are left?” Calder demanded, his voice a little shaky. Cort wasn’t sure if the man was simply exhausted or still recovering from staring down a gorilla. Yes, some part of their brains all knew it was Baer, but coming eye-to-eye with such a fierce creature without protective glass or cage bars separating them was terrifying.

“Two. No, one. Lucien got the last one outside.” There was some more gunfire in the house. A roar from Baer. Someone swore. And then silence. Terrifying, deafening silence. “Dead. They’re all dead.” Grey closed his eyes and sighed heavily, his head thumping back against the cabinet.

Cort shifted so that he was seated on the floor, facing Grey, carefully picking the little bits of glass, drywall chunks, and other pieces of debris from him that had fallen when the bastard sprayed the wall above Grey’s head with bullets. The simple act of caring for Grey went a long way to slowing his heart rate and clearing the haze of panic from his brain.

“Are you okay?” he asked gently.

“No,” Grey replied in a low voice.

“What hurts? Do you think you were hit with a bullet or—”

Grey was already shaking his head. “Not like that. I’m not okay with you being put in danger.” His steely blue-gray eyes flicked open and stared unfocused at him. “The whole purpose of making you stay here was to keep you safe. You could have been killed today, and there wouldn’t have been a damn thing I could have done to stop it. I should have fired you and demanded that you stay home.”

“And what would have happened if I’d stayed home? What if they came for me there without you and your family to keep me safe?”

Grey’s eyes slammed shut again and a shudder ran through him. Cort could easily guess what images were running through Grey’s head. He would have been killed in a matter of seconds. He wasn’t prepared for this kind of insanity. Yeah, he might have been in the middle of some really crazy shit, but Grey and his family had protected him.

No longer caring about where things were heading and if it was a good idea, Cort placed his hand against Grey’s cheek, loving how the man instantly leaned into his touch. He brushed his lips across Grey’s It was the faintest of kisses, but the hitch in Grey’s breathing was intoxicating.

“In case you’re wondering, that was me. Not Calder,” Cort teased.

“Don’t you bring me into your crazy moment. I’m just sitting here, trying to get my heart to stop racing,” Calder groaned.

He could feel Grey smile pressed to his lips. “But you’re okay, physically at least?”

Grey hummed, his mouth moving against Cort’s, capturing his bottom lip and giving it a little tug before releasing it. “I’m okay now, but I could be developing a new physical problem that you can help me with.”

Cort started to kiss Grey again, but a moan from Calder was accompanied by feet rushing down the stairs and through the rooms. They were about to have a whole lot more company than just Calder. Exploring this needed to come later. The first priority was making sure that everyone was safe and sound. Second was coming up with