Page 40 of Her Chosen Protector

Fuckity fuck fuck. I’m not going to scream.

What is Leland doing in there? He needs to be coming down here with ice for Suzanne.

Suzanne started to cough. Asher had moved to the door of the office when Leland had left so that he could monitor the stairs. He rushed back to Suzanne’s side when she started to cough.

He hit the button on his radio. “You done with that elevator, Raiden?” His voice was clipped.

“One more minute. What’s up?”

“Need a medic down here. Stat.”

“Nic, finish up,” Eden heard the man say. “Asher, I’ll be done to the basement in less than a minute. I’ve got my med kit.”

Thank God.

Eden looked down at her hand and was amazed it wasn’t trembling. She’d talked a good game to Kane, but the idea of having to perform a tracheotomy on Suzanne Azua scared the shit out of her.

“I’m going to direct Raiden this way,” Asher said before he ran out of the office.

Suzanne wheezed.

“Help will be right here.” Eden grabbed the one bottle of water they had and cleaned off as much blood as she could from where she judged Suzanne’s windpipe to be. Suzanne whimpered and Eden wanted to cry.

She gripped Suzanne’s hand and looked her dead in the eye. “It’s going to be okay. These guys are supermen. Don’t pay any attention to all the shit I’ve been giving them, they will save your life, do your dry cleaning, and then cook your dinner. You’ll see.”

She saw Suzanne’s eyes sparkle before her face suffused with pain.

Fucking hurry!

A door slammed.

Almost before she could turn around, a big, rough-looking man was skidding on his knees beside Eden, knife, and tubing in his hand.

“Good job on wiping the area clean,” he said as he grappled with his utility pouch. He yanked it off his tactical vest and shoved it at her. “Grab the antiseptic wipes.”

“Asher, down here. Help me get her on the floor.”

“You got it Raiden,” Asher answered.

As soon as Suzanne was lying prone, he cupped her cheek. He put his ear next to her mouth and grimaced.

“Gotta do this now.”

Eden handed him the moist towelette.

“Have gauze ready,” he commanded. Then he cleansed the area and wiped off the knife. He wasted no time in making a deep cut in her neck. As soon as he pierced her windpipe, Suzanne’s chest heaved upwards as she took in a deep breath. Raiden was inserting the surgical tubing as Eden tried to work around him and stop the flow of blood around the cut.

“Slower,” Eden told Suzanne as she brushed back her hair. “You have air now, don’t take tiny breaths, nice even breathing,” she advised. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Raiden applied tape to the surgical tubing to keep it in place.

“What now?” she asked Asher.

“Now, we get her to a hospital, just like we said in the beginning.” His smile was calm and soothing.

“Just going to walk on out the front door and put her in an ambulance, are you?”

He turned to Raiden, “Sarcasm is how she deals with stress,” he explained.

“Answer the damned question.”