Animal Attraction by Paige Tyler Page A

just stared at the dark red droplets in confusion. Blood. But what would it be doing here?
    Following the trail of blood with her gaze, she was horrified to see that it led straight into the house. Even more alarming, though, were the bloody handprints smeared all over the knob and the doorjamb. Her heart in her throat, Eliza slowly walked toward the door.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 6
     
    The door was slightly ajar and Eliza cautiously pushed it open the rest of the way. “Hunter,” she called softly.
    No answer.
    Swallowing hard, she stepped into the kitchen, careful to avoid the blood on the floor. “Hunter,” she called again, a little louder this time.
    Still no answer.
    Maybe she should call the cops. But instead of pulling out her cell phone, she ventured farther into the room. Suddenly, she heard a noise coming from the direction of the downstairs bathroom. That had to be Hunter, she knew it. But why hadn’t he answered her? He must be hurt. Her heart settling into the pit of her stomach, she slowly crept across the kitchen. As she neared the bathroom, she heard the noise again, and she quickened her step.
    Terrified of what she would find, Eliza paused outside the door for a moment. Chewing nervously on her lower lip, she slowly stepped into the bathroom.
    What she saw made her gasp. Hunter stood in front of the mirror, blood dripping from his shoulder and down his bare chest. In his hand, he held a pair of pliers.
    “Oh my God!” she exclaimed, rushing into the bathroom. “Hunter, what happened?!”
    Hunter jerked his head up to look at her, clearly stunned by her presence. “Eliza,” he said, his voice hoarse. Reaching for the towel that was on the counter, he quickly pressed it to his bloody shoulder. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
    She dropped her purse on the floor and moved closer to him. “I’m not surprised. What happened?”
    He shook his head, avoiding her gaze. “Nothing. It’s a scratch.”
    “A scratch!” Eliza frowned. “Hunter, that is definitely not a scratch! What happened? Here, let me see.”
    Hunter’s hand tightened on the towel, trying to hold it in place even as she reached for it, and Eliza had to practically jerk it away from him. Now that some of the blood had been absorbed by the towel, she could see where it was coming from, and her eyes went wide at the sight of the hole in his shoulder.
    “Oh my God, you’ve been shot!” she cried. “We have to get you to the hospital!”
    “No hospital,” Hunter said.
    Eliza blinked in confusion. “What do you mean, no hospital? Of course, you have to go to the hospital! Hunter, you’ve been shot!”
    He shook his head. “I’ll be fine once I get the bullet out.”
    She stared at the long slender pliers in his hand, realization suddenly dawning on her. He couldn’t be serious! “Are you crazy?” she said. “You can’t take the bullet out yourself! I’m taking you to the hospital!”
    He must be in shock. That had to be it, because no one in their right mind would try to take a bullet out of their own shoulder with a pair of pliers! Dragging her gaze away from his shoulder, Eliza reached down for her purse, but Hunter caught her arm.
    “I can’t go to the hospital, Eliza,” he told her again, his voice firm.
    Her brow furrowed. “Why not?”
    His mouth tightened. “I can’t go into that right now. But if I don’t get this bullet out soon, the wound is going to close, and then I’ll really be in trouble. I was going to do it myself, but actually, it’d be easier if you do it.”
    Her eyes went wide. “Me? What are you talking about? I can’t take a bullet out of you! There’s no way!”
    Hunter pressed the pliers into her hand. “Yes, you can,” he said. “You have to. Besides, it doesn’t feel like it’s in very deep, so it should be easy.”
    Eliza’s mind was whirling and she felt faint from the sight of all the blood. Hunter must be delusional from the pain or something. That was the only