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“Ambulance is en route. ”
“No ambulance,” Alex growled, stepping from the closet, aware of his own bare feet, and of Janey’s.
“Mark, you and Tyrell have your ride?”
“Right outside,” Mark confirmed. “Ready to roll. ”
“Natches, you and Dawg head to my place and secure it. Rowdy, you’ll go in front of Mark’s vehicle, Tyrell will cover from the back. ”
“Dammit, Alex,” Natches protested.
“Alex, the EMTs will be here in minutes and we need your statements,” Zeke snapped.
“Then you can get them at my house,” he snarled, keeping Janey close with his good arm as he felt the blood trickling down his back. “Take a look at this fucking apartment, Zeke. She’s not safe here and someone is deadly serious about this. My house is safe. ”
Natches and Dawg were already leaving. He could hear Natches cursing as they ran down the stairs, promising to gut and castrate him, but they were going.
“Alex, that shoulder’s bad,” Rowdy told him calmly, his dark green eyes concerned. “Let Mark patch you up in my truck and Tyrell can follow us in. Zeke can wait for the investigator. After they finish going through everything, they can come to the house. ”
“Please. ” Janey whispered the word against his chest. He could feel her tears, hotter than his blood, against his flesh.
“Let’s go!” He nodded before turning to Zeke. “Cover us to the truck. Bring the investigator when you’re finished here. First blast was in the bedroom. Second was in the living room. He had time to run to the front after tossing the first device. First landed on the bed is my guess. Second landed in front of the couch. ”
Janey held on to Alex as they moved for the door. She kept her arms around him, terrified he was going to fall on her, that he had waited too long, bled too much.
But he didn’t let her go, and he wasn’t weak. Despite her efforts to help him, he practically lifted her off her feet as he rushed her down the outside steps. And he didn’t let her go. Not once did his arm relax from around her until he was pushing her into the back of Rowdy’s dual-cab pickup followed by Mark Lessing and a blurr of orange fur as Fat Cat wailed plaintively and planted himself on the other side of Janey.
Mark had a heavy bag in his hand. No sooner had the door closed behind them than Rowdy was pulling quickly out of the parking lot and Mark was pouring something over Alex’s shoulder.
“You son of a bitch!” Alex went taut, every muscle screaming in pain as the antiseptic ran over his shoulder.
A light flicked on.
“I’m putting a clotting powder on it until we’re at the house. ” The sound of a package ripping had sweat popping out on Alex’s head. “We know how much you like this, Major. ”
Bullshit.
He jerked his arm away from Janey, clenched the back of the driver’s seat and the back passenger seat.
“Hurry!” he barked.
He kept his head down as agony lit every nerve ending he possessed. A growl tore from his throat and he heard Janey choke back a sob as the cat hissed.
The clotting powder was hell. He nearly cracked his teeth holding back a furious yell as the pain lit a red haze in his mind.
“Fucker!” he bit out. “Your turn is coming. ”
“Like hell. ” Mark grunted. “Tyrell and I got out of this shit for a reason. Remember?”
He remembered. Hated it. But he remembered it.
Breathing in roughly, he lifted his head and stared back at Janey. She was paper white, her eyes dilated, but damn was she holding up. Her robe was belted tight around her; she was shivering, but watching him with sharp, assessing eyes.
Her hair was mussed around her face, tears streaked her face, but by God, she was alive. She was living and breathing, one hand on the bunched biceps curled against the seat behind her, the other pressed against his chest as her lips trembled.
“Don’t die on me,” she whispered, and another tear slipped past her eyes. “Please, Alex. ”
He forced his lips to kick up in a grin. “Can’t get rid of me that easily, can she, Mark?”
