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Doc winced, and it was then she noticed the scrapes on his face and arms. How had she missed those before? She roughly examined his side, her head suddenly spinning.
“I’m fine, princess,” he said, grabbing her hand and pressing it to his heart. “It’s a through and through.”
She slowly lifted her eyes to meet his. Sure enough, his gorgeous blue eyes didn’t look worried one bit. Tears threatened to spill, but she held them back. “You’re sure?”
He leaned his forehead to hers. “No, but I hope it is.”
The tears fell steadily, blurring her vision. She was safe. Doc was safe. It was all she cared about.
Isa pulled back long enough to search his face before kissing him hard. Tears mixed with blood met her tongue, and she held him closer. She couldn’t get the recent events out of her mind. One wrong move and they all could’ve died.
Doc eased back and grunted in pain. “Sorry, princess, I gotta wait to finish this until after the doctor patches me up.”
Isa looked down in horror. She’d mistakenly agitated his wound. Standing, she watched Brewer and Hawk help him upright.
“Come on, Doc,” Hawk said, walking toward the ambulance that had recently arrived on the scene. Paramedics filed out of the vehicle, and she wiped her face of the blood, sweat, and tears.
It’s over. Everything’s going to be fine.
She swallowed at the underlying realization. Her Macha protection detail would end.
Doc’s face creased when the paramedic pulled away the haphazard wound dressing. The Emerald Isle awaited her return. Her friends awaited her.
She watched Doc joke despite his injury. He was perfect.Can I leave this all behind?
Her answer scared her more than when The Twelve Brothers kidnapped her. She was safe, but her heart wasn’t.
38
Doc
“I’ll be fine.Just give me a minute,” Doc growled and pushed off the end of the ambulance. The bullet hadn’t gone straight through like he’d hoped.Damn, Viper.If he had his way, he’d patch himself up once he was home. A sudden rush of adrenaline left his mind foggy, and he cursed the bullet wound in his side.Maybe not the best idea.He should’ve let the paramedics force him in the back of the ambulance. Hell, they’d be halfway to the hospital by now, but he couldn’t leave yet. Not until he knew she was all right.
Isa stood on the other end of the parking lot, looking lost yet found at the same time. She chewed on the thumbnail of her left hand, eyes scouring the area. Macha bikers surrounded the convenience store alongside uniformed officers getting their official statements. Evidently, the horde of protectors didn’t put her at ease.
He bit his tongue when his footsteps sent new fibers of agony up his legs and into his side. He gritted his teeth and kept moving toward her.She’s worth the pain of the bullet and more.
Reaching her, he gently laid a hand on her arm. “Isa.”
She turned slowly, and the tears in her eyes sent his heart into a nosedive. For a moment, they merely stared at each other. He wouldn’t close the distance. After all she’d been through over the last twenty-four hours, he wasn’t sure how she’d react.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she finally said.
“Why?” He glanced around and shook his head at Kevlar before he got closer. They didn’t need more of an audience than they already had. Walking in front of her, he tipped up her chin.
The tears she’d desperately been trying to hold back trickled down her face. “You need to go to hospital. You’re shot.” She pointed to the dark crimson on his side.
“Just a flesh wound,” he joked, but the irony fell short. “All right, I’ll go to the hospital.”
“You will?”
He chuckled at the befuddled look on her face. “Baby, I can patch myself up really well, but even I will pass the fuck out if I try to dig this bullet from my side.”
A small smirk crossed her cheeks, and his heart lightened. “You’re an eejit.”
“Probably, but I don’t care.” He carefully pulled her into his embrace, pain be damned. His girl needed him, and he wouldn’t let her down. Not again.Not ever.
Doc nestled his face in the nape of her neck, remnants of lavender and vanilla seeping from her skin. She smelled so damned good despite recent events.
