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“Your hands, your nose, and your arm are full of blood.”
Katya pulls at my jacket sleeve. “Lachlan, your stitches!”
“I’ll be fine.” I fist some gauze to stop my aching nose from bleeding and then clean my hands as best I can with wipes.
The EMT smiles and shakes her head. “Tough guy, huh?”
“You have no idea.” Katya grins at me.
“Sweetie, it looks like just a nick that bled. I can take you to the hospital for a CAT scan.”
“No,” Katya whines. “I want to go home.”
I hold her. “Is there any kind of test you can do here?”
“Sweetie, look at me.” She holds up a pen light and makes Katya follow the light with her eyes, which are red and watery. “Be honest, on a scale of one to ten, tell me the level of pain?”
I know this is an unfair assessment since she endures a lot of pain, the way she punishes her body. But I keep my mouth shut. Here I stand, full of blood and busted stitches, but I just want my wife in my bed. I have Darcy on speed dial to fix me up and if Katya needs more care.
“Five. Maybe. My ears are ringing, so I think that’s making it worse.”
“The guy unloaded an assault rifle two feet from her head,” I tell the EMT. “My ears are ringing, too.”
“I can’t force you to go to the hospital, sweetie. But I think you’re fine.” The EMT removes the blood pressure cuff. “Your heart rate is a little elevated, but your BP looks normal, given the circumstance. If you feel sick to your stomach, have trouble breathing, or experience any dizziness, please go to a hospital.”
“I will.”
“Thanks, Miss,” I say to her and scoop my wife off the gurney.
“Good luck, both of you.”
A horn honks, and I look across the street to see Griffin standing there. He somehow made it out of that tunnel. Then I see the guy standing with him, and I can’t keep the smile from my face.
I carry Katya toward them. “Shane Quinlan, son of a bitch. What are you doing here?”
“I heard what happened.” He speaks with the same lilt as all of us.
“How did you know it was me?”
“You’re not tagged, but I knew it was you.” Shane shows me a video on his phone. “Not many six-six dudes with balls to wrestle New York’s Finest and then run into a building where bullets are flying.”
Anger bubbles in my veins, seeing a fucking video of me being tackled by the police. The audio picked up my screaming:My wife is in there!The sound of my voice is guttural, primal. I sound unhinged and… Wildly in love.
I guess I am.
“I need Balor to delete that,” I mumble to Griffin, who nods and gets on his phone.
“When I saw it was you, I rushed over here to check if you needed any help.” Shane rubs his chin, looking at Katya. “When did you get married?”
I figure Shane and his brothers don’t talk too much since he left the Quinlan firm to work with Siobhan at her husband’s hotel, The Sterling.
“A few weeks ago,” I answer. “Katya, this is Shane, Griffin’s brother.” I introduce them. “He works here in the city.”
“Nice to meet you.” She squirms, and I set her down. I don’t want to make her look weak.
“Same here.” Shane smirks at me.
“Getting bored at that fancy hotel, mate?” God, I can use Shane. I’ve known him forever, and I trust him. “Want some real action?”
