Sweet Vengeance by Cindy Stark Page A

complicated."
    "Complicated?"
    "Okay. 
It skirts on the illegal, but there are no innocent people getting hurt." 
A tired look dropped over his face.  "At least not if I can help it."
    "How
did you manage to hook up with your gang of thugs?"
    Jase
shrugged as he perched on the arm of the sofa next to her.  "I met them
here and there over the last few years.  Max introduced a few to me.  We all
have a common thread that brought us together."
    "The
Trasatti Family?"  Allie tilted her head up farther to see him better. 
She'd figure this out yet.
    Jase's
expression hardened.  "They have screwed all of us over in one way or
another.  We want to see them hang—figuratively, if not literally."
    That
was some intense stuff.  "How did you get to be the boss?"
    He
smiled then.  "I've got the money to back us."  He stood up and held
out a hand.  "Enough of this talk.  We need to change our bandages.  It'll
be easier if I do yours and you do mine."
    " We have to do it?"  She had no idea how to care for a gunshot wound. 
"Shouldn't Doc Green take care of that?"
    Jase
shook his head.  "Nah.  He's busy with his practice.  I only call him in
emergencies.  We can manage this."
    Allie
swallowed.  "I don't think I can."
    "Why?" 
    He
couldn't possibly be serious.  "I'm not trained."  Her heart started
beating faster.  "I mean I wouldn't know where to start.  It's not like
putting a band-aid on a paper cut."
    He
chuckled and helped her from the couch.  "I'll tell you everything you
need to do."
    Allie
followed him up the stairs, trying to keep her pulse calm.  Stuff like this
made her nervous.  She had no idea what to do.  What if she did it wrong? 
    He
left her in the bedroom while he retrieved the supplies.  It didn't take him
nearly long enough.  He laid out a white towel on the bed and busied himself
getting the items in order.  "I promise, this is no big deal."
    The
sharp smell of alcohol assaulted her as he rubbed sanitizing gel on his hands. 
He tossed the bottle to her.  "Clean your hands good with this."
    He
cut off long strips of gauze, folded them and laid them on the towel.  Next, he
opened several gauze pads and placed them beside the strips.  Allie watched as
he set out a roll of white tape and a tube of ointment before facing her.  He
kept his eyes trained on her as he gripped the bottom of his black T-shirt and
pulled it over his head.
    She
tried to keep her focus on his face, but she couldn't resist checking out his
well-sculpted chest.  Slowly, she looked lower, over his pecs and down each of
his defined abs.  He must do a million sit-ups to have such amazing abs.  She
ended at the top of his jeans and rested her gaze there a moment, her thoughts
taking an interesting direction.  She blinked her gaze back to Jase.  He raised
a brow, and her cheeks warmed.  She'd totally been caught checking him out.
    "I'm
not taking off my shirt," she said, trying to hide her embarrassment.
    "Didn't
ask you to."  His eyes darkened, taking on a dangerous quality that
tempted her. 
    Tension
strung between them like a taut wire, increased tenfold from their interaction
in the kitchen.  Allie stood and took a step away from the bed, afraid of how
she'd react to him if he had asked her to remove her shirt.  She was pregnant
with Joey's baby, she reminded herself.  And Jase was a dangerous man.
    She
cleared her throat and looked at the supplies.  "What do I need to
do?"
    "Maybe
we'd better do yours first, and you can watch me."  He indicated the
bottom of the bed with a jerk of his head.  "Come sit here." 
    She
did as she was asked, trying to ignore how close she was to his bare skin.  He
knelt before her, taking her left hand in his.  On the backside of her hand, he
used a small pair of scissors to snip away the layers of gauze and then turned
over her hand to examine it. 
    Her
hand looked small and fragile next to his.  He spread her fingers with a
roughened thumb, looking for damage.