Read Online The Beast (The Bad Boys Series) by Tabitha Levin - Free Book Online Page A

I’d heard the gunshot earlier. I didn’t know what I would find or what to expect, but something told me it wouldn’t be good. I swallowed as a rumble of motorcycle engines revved, followed by a screech of tires. Colt will have gone at least. The noise faded as they sped off into the distance. The coast should be clear now.
    I hurried further. “Nick,” I called as I ran. “Nick, can you hear me?”
    Silence.
    Please be alive.
    I picked up the pace, scanning the trees for signs of life. Why did these things always happen in the dark? It wasn’t fair. I turned on the light on my phone using that to see my way.
    “Nick!”
    A strangled groan ahead of me. I couldn’t see him yet but raced toward the sound.
    I’d found him and he wasn’t dead. Oh, thank god.
    He lay on the ground on his side, his clothes dirty with mud. Thick dark blood stained his trousers above his knee, the tear enough to see the wound where he’d been shot. Good. Leg wounds weren’t fatal unless you bled out, but if I didn’t hurry there was still a chance of that.
    “Nick.” I hurried over to him, dropping my backpack next to me. “Nick. Can you hear me?”
    His breathing was raspy. He nodded his head. Now that I was closer I could see he also had a nasty bruise on the left side of his face where someone had punched him, probably trying to knock him out.“You’ve been shot. We have to stop the bleeding and get you to hospital.”
    He grabbed my arm. “No. No hospital.” He coughed and moaned again.
    “If you don’t you’ll die.”
    He shook his head weakly, but I didn’t care. He was going.
    “I need you to try and stand because I can’t carry you. My shoulder. You’re too heavy.”
    “I can’t. They’ll find me.”
    I grabbed my knife out of the backpack and used it to cut thick strips of fabric from my old clothes. They wouldn’t make the best bandage, but it’s all I had. “You don’t have a say in this.” I folded a padded square of what used to be my t-shirt and pressed it against the wound. “I can’t see if the bullet is still inside.” I wrapped more strips of cloth around his leg to keep the bandage tight. “And it’s still too dark.” He winced as I helped him sit upright. “Not to mention unhygienic out here. Even if I could stop the bleeding, you need antiseptic.”
    “I’ll go to jail.” His breathing was ragged and he had started slurring his words as if he was drunk.
    “Very unlikely.” The bandage was on as tight as it would go. I put Nick’s arm around my shoulder, winced, and then tried to pull him up. “There isn’t anyone looking for you anymore. The restraining order has lapsed. Everyone has moved on with their lives, you need to as well.”
    He was like a lead weight. If he didn’t help me, there was no way I’d be able to take him on my own.
    I slapped him lightly on the face to get his attention, more for the sound than the touch. “Listen to me. You’re going to have to help me here. It’s tough, but you can do it.”
    “Okay.” He struggled to his feet, lifting the injured leg up and winced. He shook his head and leaned back against the tree. “You should have left me here. It’s what I deserve. I’m too much of a burden to you. Go to your son. You’re free now, go to him.”
    “Nonsense. You’ve got to stop this self pity. It’s not in the least bit attractive, you know. You will not be put away. Do you trust me?”
    “Yes.”
    “Well, that’s a start. Come on, only a bit further to go. I’ll flag down a car and get you help. It’s nearly light, someone will be along soon.”
    He nodded and used me as balance as he hopped toward the road. We weren’t that far away and it wouldn’t take long. Before we reached it, Nick stopped walking. “Belle?” I looked up at him just as he bent down, kissing me softly on the lips. His thumb grazed along my cheek. “Thank you for believing in me.”
    “Tell me that again when the bullet is out of your leg.” I urged him