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

forward, the pain in my shoulder now almost unbearable, but that would be nothing compared to the pain he was in if the bullet really was inside his leg.
    We reached the edge of the road. The first glimmer of sun was lighting the tops of the trees in a muted warm glow. I let Nick sit at the side as I looked up and down for signs of life. While there was nobody yet, usually in small towns like these, people liked to be up early and on with their business. Today, I was counting on it.
    Nick began to shiver. I took off my leather jacket and wrapped it around his shoulders.
    Finally, the rumbling of an old pickup truck made me look behind me and I almost cried out in relief as it came toward us. A man in his fifties wearing a worn baseball cap was behind the wheel. He slowed as he approached. I waved him down.
    As the truck came to a stop, the driver rolled his window down.
    I almost jumped through the window. “Please, can you help? My friend has been shot. I need to get him to the hospital.”
    “You don’t look too fresh yourself.”
    “Yeah. It’s been a long night.”
    “Get in.”
    I helped Nick into the middle seat at the front of the truck, and then climbed in beside him. As soon as the door closed, we were bounding along toward the hospital. Each bump in the road sent another jolt up my shoulder but I pushed the pain away. Nick wasn’t doing so good. He moaned, his head lolling back and his eyes closed.
    “Stay with us.” I shook his arm and his attention came back. “We’re nearly there.”
    The driver dropped us off at the emergency entrance to the hospital. I thanked him as we rushed inside. Before I’d even had a chance to get my bearings, a nurse came toward us with a wheelchair.
    “He’s been shot. Leg.” I pointed to the deepening blood soaked bandage.
    She helped him into the chair and turned him around. “We’ll look after him. You go get your shoulder looked at. Nurse Benet at the window will look after you.” She nodded to the counter behind me.
    “Wait!” I went to the front of the wheelchair and bent down in front of Nick, reaching into my backpack and pulling out his money. “Colt took it. I got it back for you. Here, all of your money.”
    He looked down at what I had and shook his head.
    “I know it’s not all there. I had to give him some to make him leave. I’ll try and get it back. I’m so sorry for all this mess.”
    He smiled weakly. “That’s not all of my money. That’s not even half of it. I have far more than the petty cash I keep at the cabin.”
    “Well, it’s not mine.”
    He placed his hand on my arm and circled his thumb gently causing tiny goose bumps to appear. “Take it. You need it more than I do.”
    “You want me to take your money? I can’t do that.”
    “Belle, I insist.” He groaned.
    The nurse tapped her foot impatiently. “You can finish this later. He needs surgery now.”
    “Right, of course.”
    She wheeled him around me and disappeared through the double doors. They swung back and forth for a few seconds before stopping at a close.
    I looked down at the money still in my hands. Nick was giving it to me. Thirty four thousand dollars and he was giving it to me. Just like that. It was everything I needed. Then why hadn’t I left yet? Why wasn’t I already running back to Owen?
    “Your turn,” said the nurse behind me. She’d walked around the counter and stood in front of me. “Come this way and we’ll look under that shoulder bandage, see what we’re dealing with.”
    “He gave me this money.”
    “What a prince. Now come with me.” She led me away into a small room.
    I placed the money into my pack. I still couldn’t believe it. No man had ever given me money like this. I’d always had to steal it. And so much of it all at once. As the nurse unraveled the bandage and began to attend to my shoulder, I struggled with what to do next. My feelings for Nick were growing against my will, and now that I knew he had money it made things