AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What?” But she frowned down at her arm.
This time he didn’t ask. He lifted her into his arms and took her into the kitchen, calling for Mitch, who was a paramedic as well as a firefighter.
Tessa’s dark blue sweater had hidden the blood but now he could see it oozing. He set her down on the counter and started hauling open drawers to find scissors.
“I’m fine, Flynn. It’s not bad.”
Blood was dripping on the counter. She wasn’t fine.
Mitch rushed in and swore. “Gunshot?”
“I think so.”
Bella had followed Mitch in and she gasped at the sight of Tessa bleeding. Mitch turned to her. “Grab the first aid kit for me.” Then he pulled open a drawer Flynn hadn’t reached yet and grabbed scissors.
Mitch smiled at Tessa. “Nice sweater, but it’s going to be one sleeve short in a second.” Before she could protest, his friend cut along the sleeve and eased it off her arm.
Rage filled Flynn when he saw the wound. If Tessa hadn’t gripped his hand with her free one, he would have stormed into the room and ripped Kuzmetzov’s head off his body. Instead, he forced himself to take deep breaths and to focus on Tessa.
Mitch took some of the cleaning fluid from the kit Bella brought into the room. He smiled wryly at Tessa. “I hate to be a cliché, but this is going to sting. Do you want something to bite down on?”
Tessa shook her head but her hand squeezed Flynn’s. He hopped onto the counter beside her and cupped her head into his shoulder. “If you want to scream, do it. It’s been a hell of a day and I might join in.”
When Mitch applied the antiseptic, her body tensed, but she didn’t make a sound.
“It’s a through and through. Doesn’t appear to be any damage to anything important and the bleeding is almost stopped. We’ll get a doctor to check you over, but it should be fine. For now, I’m going to get it closed up and apply some gauze. Hang tight.”
Still, Tessa didn’t make a sound. He wondered if the events of the day had turned her numb and the pain would hit later.
Mitch turned to Bella. “Can you get her juice and some of that veggie-lentil dish Tansy made last night?”
“I’m fine.”
Mitch grinned at her. “You’re a hell of a lot better than fine, but this will help keep you from getting light-headed. We can’t have your badass self fainting in front of the jackasses.”
She managed a small smile at that and didn’t argue when Flynn picked her up to set her on a chair. Bella pulled up another chair and shoved Flynn into it with his own food in front of him. “You look more light-headed than Tessa. Eat.”
Tessa smiled and for that, Flynn would have eaten anything Bella put in front of him.
For a few minutes, no one spoke as they ate and Mitch finished dressing the wound and cleaned up the blood on the counter. Voices from the other room carried, but not clearly enough to hear the words.
Finally, Tessa sat back and nodded. “That helped. Thank you. What happens next?”
Flynn patted her hand and put her juice glass in front of her. “We called in a few agencies and law enforcement personnel. We’ll probably wait until everyone gets here and figure out the next steps.”
He looked up at the others. “Did anyone go help Troy bring the others in?”
Mitch nodded. “Joe, Graham, and Aisling went. The training ground’s more than halfway to the sawmill, so they’re going to head that way with the prisoners.”
“I want to see him.” Tessa’s quiet voice had them all turning toward her.
Flynn took her hand. “Are you sure?” He wanted to wrap her in his arms and hide her away from the ugliness, but it was her call.
“I am.” She stood and turned to the main room, but she didn’t let go of his hand.
Chapter20
Cops And Robbers
