The Judas Relic: An Evangeline Heart Holiday Adventure by A.K. Alexander, Jen Greyson

thought. Or maybe he had a concussion. “Clay?”
    “Ralph’s. Do it.”
    It would take me almost an hour to get there and I couldn’t let him bleed out. I watched the road for a turnoff and took the first one I could find. We were more than three miles from the castle and that gave me enough time to get him to a point we could at least travel without me having to worry about him. I’d clean and dress it when we got to Ralph’s.  
    Damn, that had been a disaster.
    I jammed the truck into park and dug through the smattering of items in the back of the van. The stone pressed into my breast as I found a box of cleaning towels and hurriedly worked on him. The bullet had carved a neat line through the curve of his shoulder. It hadn’t gone too deep, but he still needed stitches.
    “Never been shot?” I tried to distract him while I mopped up the blood.
    “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Not my thing. So, no.”
    I met his gaze and shook my head. “ That I can handle. Dresses, parties, rich jackasses, not so much. Give me people shooting at me any day.”
    “I shouldn’t have taken the job. You shouldn’t have been there.”
    Neither of us should have been there, but now was not the time to chastise him. That was the second time that I’d written off my instincts and if I wasn’t careful, we weren’t going to make it through a third. I tied off the makeshift bandage and made a sling. “Good thing I was.”
    He closed his eyes and I didn’t like the beads of sweat that covered his top lip. “Hang in there,” I whispered, brushing my fingertips across his cheek.
    He tried to make a joke, but it fell flat. His fingers brushed my thigh. “Some party.”
    I climbed into the driver’s seat and pulled us back onto the road, pushing the speed limit as much as I dared.

Lina

    With every mile, Clay grew more sullen and silent. By the time I pulled up in front of Ralph’s flat I was seriously worried about him. And considering the lengths and layers the buyer had put in place for this hit, we were in danger until Clay was dead or we eliminated the threat. Until I knew more about the buyer, I had to proceed under the assumption that he would not stop until Clay paid for what he’d done during our first heist.
    Clay opened his eyes. “Can’t park here.”
    “I have to get you inside. Shut up.”
    He shook his head and grabbed my arm. “Do it now. We can’t risk it.”
    I searched his face, rescinding my earlier glee at having a partner. This anxiety was going to kill me. I grabbed his hand and held it while I moved the van to the far end of the street and on the other side of it.
    I hurried around to his side and hoped that for anyone watching, we’d look like two drunk revelers home from our holiday fun. The cold bit through my bare feet and I helped him get the jacket around his shoulders so the sling and the blood weren’t visible. We had a couple hundred yards, and then I had to hope that Anna wouldn’t leave us standing on the stoop for too long.
    His body grew heavier as he leaned on me. “We’re almost there. You can do this.” I was terrible at encouragement and hoped that he didn’t pass out on me before we got the door and inside. The stairs kicked his ass and he gripped the stone railing as he climbed each of the steps. “Couple more feet.”
    His breathing was labored, and he’d gone from pale to green and he’d started shaking at the bottom of the stairs. I knocked rapidly on the door.
    “Do they know we’re coming?” His voice was thready and my muscles burned from holding him up.
    “Yeah, but not for another couple hours. I thought we’d have time to change, clean up, and then come over.”
    Thankfully, the door opened to Anna’s sweet grin, which quickly changed to concern. She stepped outside to help me bring Clay inside. “Take him to the living room and lay him on the sofa.”
    I struggled under the weight of him but I couldn’t quit on him now. I dug my fingers into his ribs