Unwanted Blood (Harper) novel Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Harper’s POV

We moved fast.

Colton took point. Ryder stayed behind to cover us. His gun still up until we cleared the corridor

The elevator ride down felt like it took hours. No one spoke. The only sound was the mechanical hum of the lift and Adrian’s breathing, shallow but even against Ethan’s shoulder.

Ryder’s car was idling at the service exit, engine running, headlights off. He opened the back door, and Ethan slid in first, lowering Adrian onto the seat before climbing in after him. I got in on the other side. The door shut. The car pulled away.

Outside the window, the hospital lights slid past in strips. The city blurred. I leaned my head against the glass and let the cool surface hold me up.

On the other side of the car, Ethan had shifted to give Adrian room to recline. Adrian was half- sitting, half-slouched against the door, his eyes closed, his face still pale under the dashboard glow.

Ryder met my eyes in the rearview mirror. “He needs his wounds looked at.”

I looked down.

Adrian’s left sleeve had a fresh patch of blood spreading near the cuff. I couldn’t tell if it was an old split reopening or something new Dylan’s guards had put on him in that room.

I didn’t say anything. I just took off my jacket, folded it twice, and wedged it between his arm and the door. I thought it might make him feel a little better.

His fingers twitched barely. I was not sure if he was awake.

The house was quiet when we got back.

Ethan carried Adrian inside-literally, still half on his back, and set him down on the living room sofa. Lily was already up, moving from her room with a medical kit in hand. She opened her mouth to take it-

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Chapter 76

“I’ve got it,” I said She paused Looked at me. Then at the others.

Colton and Ryder exchanged a glance. No one argued. They pulled back, leaving the living room

to us

The door to the hallway clicked shut behind them. Just the two of us now

I knelt beside the sofa and set the kit on the floor. Adrian was lying on his side, facing away from me, his left arm bent awkwardly against his chest. The sleeve was stiff with old blood and newer

wet.

I didn’t speak. I just rolled the fabric up, carefully, past the bandage.

The wound had split. The skin around it was angry-red, swollen-and the blood had dried into a dark, flaky crust. It wasn’t clean. It wasn’t going to be clean until someone properly debrided it. But I’d done this before.

I opened the kit and went through the same steps as last time. Saline wipe. Clean the edges. Antibiotic ointment. Fresh gauze. Wrap it tight enough to hold, loose enough to breathe.

Adrian didn’t look at me. His jaw was set, but he didn’t flinch.

I pulled the final strip of tape into place and tied the knot.

That’s when he spoke. “Second time.”

His voice was low. Rougher than it had been in the hospital. I paused, my hands still on the bandage, and understood.

“This one’s worse,” I said. I didn’t look up. “Did he do it? Your father.”

Adrian was quiet for a few seconds. Then, flatly. “Yeah. He found out I let you go on purpose”

My hands stopped. The room went very still suddenly.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

Adrian turned his head away from me, toward the back of the sofa. “Don’t apologise. It was my choice. Nothing to do with you.”

I pulled my hands back. The bandage was done. The knot sat neat against his forearm. He looked down at it. Studied it for a moment.

“Thank you,” he said.

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Chapter 76

I closed the medical kit Set it on the floor Stood up.

That night, we split the watch.

Ryder took the first shift by the front door. Colton took the back. Ethan cleared out the spare room and crashed. Lily went to bed around midnight.

I didn’t sleep. I sat in the chair by the window, and watched the moon move behind thin cloud

cover.

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