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“Faster if we take her.”
“She’s bleeding out.” I’m beginning to lose it. I clutch Charli close to my chest.
Priest drops to his knees and takes off his belt. He tears off a piece of his shirt, wipes one leg, then the other to see the wound is on her right thigh. He loops the belt around her thigh and ties it tight.
“It’ll have to do. Let’s go!” he orders, pulling me and Charlotte up with him.
By this time, the Pride must have heard the guns going off, because several ran toward us, one of which is Saint. As soon as he sees Charlotte in my arms, he heads to the clinic, with us right behind him.
Saint begins to bark orders to Camille, his nurse and Steady’s woman. “Cammy, need a drip and blood. Get oxygen, just in case.” Saint tears through the clinic to the end of the hall and the largest room he has. I place Charlotte on the examination table, and he quickly assesses the damage.
Camille pushes past me and gets close to Saint. “It’s lodged. I’ve got to get it out, but I’m not sure how close it is to the artery.”, Saint tells her.
“Get out of my way, Wildcard. I have to get the machine in there,” she demands. I can’t move my feet, but Priest is quick to haul me out into the hall.
All I can do is watch. I’m completely useless. There’s my woman, lying on the table, pale as a ghost, and I can’t do a damn thing for her.
“Saint.” I need to know, something, anything.
“I got this, brother. I’m going to go in and get out the bullet. It’s good. Trust me,” he replies.
“I do,” I whisper harshly.
“Come on, man. We can wait in the waiting area.” Priest tries to move me, but I stand firm.
“I’m not leaving.”
Ghost comes beside me, speaking in a low murmur. “This is your time to pull yourself together. She’s gonna need you when she wakes up. Let’s go wash that blood off and take a breath. Saint and Camille will take care of your girl. Let your brothers take care of you.”
This is the first time since that day a long time ago when Guard found me that I want to cry. I can feel it building inside me. A mix of fury, guilt, and fear. I look down at my shaky hands, covered in Charli’s blood. “They were aiming for me,” I whisper.
“We don’t know that, but it’s a possibility,” Ghost answers honestly. He puts a large hand at the back of my neck and leads me away from the door. I glance over my shoulder at Charlotte, who lies unconscious on the table.
Before we head to the waiting room, Ghost makes me go wash up. When we hit the waiting room, everyone is there. I mean everyone who fits in it, while others are hanging outside. Ava and the other women are here as well. Ava’s the first to run up to me. She throws her arms around my neck and squeezes tight. I’ll take her warmth and hug her back just as hard. I want to sob in her arms like a kid, but before I know it, the rest of the women gather around, surrounding me with the same love. Vi and Willow aren’t holding back their tears and snuggle in close.
Eventually, Guard has the good sense to break us up and guides me to a chair to sit down, handing me a cup of coffee. “I could get you something stronger, but I figure you want to keep your wits about you,” he says. “Risk is already on this. He and Orion are checking out the tire imprints and tracking the car back as far as we can. Priest said you pushed him out of the way. He hit the ground, but he got a look at the shooter. We’ll get these guys.” Guard’s not fond of an attack on the Pride, and he protects us like a mother bear watching over her cubs. The bear has been riled, and this mean war.
I sip my coffee for what seems like eternity, watching the hall and waiting for Camille or Saint to come and update us. Thunder arrives with Noah. His tearstained face says it all. I stand, and he runs into my arms.
I try to console him. “She’s gonna be okay, bud. We got the best in there with her.”
“I don’t get it. Why?” Noah asks. “Was it our dad?”
Roscoe’s sitting on the other side of him and interjects, sparing me the trouble, “We’re going to find out. That’s our job, bud. Let’s get Charlotte home first, and then we’ll talk about the rest later. Sound good?”
Noah nods, taking in a shaky breath. “Yeah.”
Everyone’s gaze lifts as Saint comes over to where Noah and I are. “She’s good, brother.” I release the breath I’m holding, and Noah wipes the back of his hand over his eyes. “She’s not going to be mobile for a while. She’s got to stay off that leg. It’s going to hurt like fuck for a few days. I’ll write a prescription for pain meds. She has to be off the leg for a couple of days, then she needs to start moving around. Camille is cleaning up the minor scrapes and cuts from the fall. Other than that, she’s fine. She’s still out, which, frankly, is a blessing. Camille is keeping a close eye on her. Once she’s awake and I make sure she’s stable, you can take her home.”
I stand and stretch out my hand to have Saint take it and pull me in for a manly hug and slap on the back. “Always here for you, man.” He looks at Noah and says, “You too, kid.”
“Maybe we can take Charlotte to the compound for now,” War says. I get his reasons. The club is secure. It’s a fortress. And there’s a bunch of brothers always hanging around if I need any help.
“She’s been craving a place to call our own for months. We’re going to take that away from her…again?” Noah asks.
“No. We’re not,” I tell him. “She’ll heal better in her home.” I look at Guard. “Any chance we can—”
“Done,” Guard says. “We’ll keep watch. Two men on at a time.”
