The candid conversation was obviously not what the blond man expected. Jacob saw the flash of aggravation ghost over his face before he smiled and fixed a neutral gaze on Tori. “Well then, we must get together while you are in town so I can make amends for your apparent belief our time wasn’t…delightful. I do so want to know what you have been up to, Victoria.”
“Her schedule is full. If you need to contact her for any reason, you will have to go through me.” The threatening growl of his voice was caged and low so only the three of them could hear it. “Oh, and she was right by the way.”
“Excuse me?” The doctor’s quizzical look bounced from Victoria to Jacob.
“What she does is none of your business. You should leave now—before management needs to call an ambulance for you.”
Carter’s eyebrows lifted and his face colored. “Well then…yes, alright. Victoria our mutual acquaintances will be delighted to know you’re back. Believe me, I’ll be sure to let them know. They may even contact you again.”
Jacob and Tori stood together and watched him leave. “Are you alright?”
Tori nodded and whispered. “He just brought back a portion of the nightmare I would rather forget.”
Jacob led her through the crowd to the front exit. He stopped at the hostess podium and with a whispered comment ensured Amiri would never find a reservation in any of the King’s restaurants again.
Jacob turned to say good night to one of the waiters he recognized when the other side of the double door he held open for Tori closed, jarring his shoulder. Pain sliced through his chest and the accompanying muscle spasm earned a muffled string of profanity as they walked out of the restaurant.
Chapter Five
Son of a Bitch! Her hands shook from her unexpected confrontation, but she couldn’t focus on that now. Something was wrong with Jacob. The ashen pallor of his face and his short panting breaths, coupled with the string of foul words that he let loose when the door hit his shoulder, provided all the evidence she needed.
“Where are you parked, or did you have the valet park your car?”
Tight-lipped, Jacob nodded towards the back of the building. Tori walked with him around the corner and stopped. This so wasn’t the way she wanted this night to go.
Taking a deep breath, she swallowed the anger, confusion, and distress of seeing her alleged ‘doctor’ again and focused on her immediate concern. “Alright, give them to me.”
Jacob looked back towards the restaurant and then down at her with evident confusion. “Give what to you?”
“The car keys. You’re not driving. I can tell you’re in pain, and if I had not been there to hold you up you might have passed out from the slaps on the back your brother gave you.”
Jacob took a deep breath and flinched against the pain. “That’s an exaggeration don’t you think? Besides, you won’t be able to drive it. It’s a standard shift.”
Tori chuckled. “Yeah, okay, Mr. Billy Bad Ass. I am Small Town, U.S.A. Remember? You put wheels on it and I’ll drive it. Give me the flipping keys or I’ll pop you on the back, make you pass out, and drag you to the damn car.”
“You were the one with the traumatic run in just now. Did you ever think maybe you shouldn’t be driving?” His gaze challenged her. She put both hands on her hips, cocked her head, and gave him her best ‘do you really want to go there’ look. “Feisty little thing, aren’t you? Black Hummer, first row, reserved parking.”
“I’ve never been called little by anyone. Feisty—you bet your last dollar—but little? Never. Now give me the keys or you will see a whole new side of feisty, mister.” She waited for him to surrender the ring of keys and put his arm around her again before they walked slowly to the vehicle.
The Hummer was not one of the civilian clones. It was the original military configuration retrofitted, modified, and it indeed boasted a standard H shift. The modification was atypical for a military grade High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvee, because most were manufactured as automatics. He held the door for her and closed her in the driver’s side. Tori waited until Jacob got in the passenger seat. His injury slowed his movements and his grimace came with a low groan or maybe a growl when he got in the vehicle.
“How in the hell did you get here? You had to shift. What did you do, steer with your knee?” Jacob chuckled in the dark. She couldn’t help it; the need to scold him came from deep within her. “Really! You were trying to get yourself killed before our date? So good to know!”
Tori flipped the switch to warm the glow plugs and the light of the dashboard illuminated the cab. She could tell he watched carefully as she expertly started the complicated vehicle. Tori reached down, pulled off her heels, and threw them into the back seat.
She moved the seat forward giving in to the sudden joy of the simple act. She knew she giggled like a child. A look to her right and a wink preceded her explanation. “I’ve never had to move the seat up before…that was new!” Her bare foot pushed in the clutch in she shifted the machine into reverse. “Okay Jacob, you’re the navigator…navigate.”
Twenty-five minutes later, Tori pulled the Hummer in front of his Georgetown mansion. A red brick, two-story colonial with the prerequisite white columns. Situated at the end of a cul-de-sac, the house dominated the neighboring homes. The house was old, restored to perfection and without a doubt magnificent.
Tori put her shoes on and jumped down from the vehicle. Conversation between them had all but ceased during the ride to his home. Jacob didn’t open the passenger side door until she reached it. She let him lean on her as they went up the stairs. It was then she felt the warm sticky wetness on his back. Tori opened the front door with his key and walked with him into the living room after Jacob turned off the alarm system.
“Alright soldier, sit down here. Where is the bathroom and are there medical supplies in there?”
Jacob almost fell into the couch and nodded towards the hall. “There is a medical kit in my bedroom. Last door at the end of the hall. Under the bed. Small black pack.” His tight, clipped responses confirmed her fears. At a minimum, he was in pain. With his slowed movements and reactions, her guess was Jacob was in trouble.
By the time she made it back to the grand living room, Jacob had removed his sling, jacket, tie and weapon. Tori knelt in front of him and unbuttoned his shirt. His eyes locked with hers as she smiled. Careful not to jolt his arm, she unfastened the gold cufflinks at his wrists and peeled off the shirt, revealing the thick, corded muscles of his chest and shoulders. A six-inch square bandage covered his pectoral just under his collarbone. Fresh blood saturated the bandage, but the amount of dried blood told more of the story. His wound had opened up, not once, but twice, tonight. The adhesive tape on a blood-soaked stack of gauze, hung limp, glistening with fresh blood that seeped from the visible bullet holes. She cleaned around the wounds and placed a new dressing on his back.
Tori pushed him gently backward and stroked his cheek as she knelt in front of him. “The wounds have opened up again. There’s been significant blood loss. You need help, more help than I can give you. Do you want to go to the hospital or is your doctor friend back in the States with you?”
Jacob pulled her up and she straddled his lap facing him. In a tender gesture, his hand pushed her hair from her face. His pupils were blown, almost all the blue gone but his voice was strong as it rumbled deep and sexy, “The last thing I want right now is to go back to the hospital or have another man in my home.”
“Jacob, you have lost a lot of blood and the bleeding isn’t stopping. Either we call your teammate or I’ll call an ambulance when you pass out. It’s simple for me either way.” She bent over his shoulder and looked at the new wound dressing that was now soaked through with fresh blood. She stacked another layer of prepared gauze over the top of the old pad. It did little to staunch the flow.
Tori reached for Jacob’s jacket and pulled out his phone. At her request, he rattled off the numbers to unlock the phone. Still astride his lap, she scrolled through the contacts until she reached the number for someone named Doc. She pushed the contact number when Jacob leaned back and relaxed into the couch. His hands caressed her upper thighs under her dress. She smiled and raised an eyebrow at him and wiggled onto his cock. He groaned and attempted a grab at her hips.
The phone was answered on the first ring. “What’s up, Skipper?”
Tori cleared her throat. “Doc, I’m not sure if you remember me, but you and your skipper helped me out of a sticky situation about a year ago.”
There was silence on the other line. “Yeah, I remember, shoulder, leg, and feet.”
“And a lot of dirt.”
Doc chuckled, “Yeah a lot of dirt. Why are you calling from the Skipper’s phone?”
Tori looked at Jacob, his face was relaxed and his breathing was regular but shallow. “His wounds have opened up and I cannot get the bleeding to stop. The blood flow has soaked his shirt and two standard wound dressings in less than three minutes. He needs more help than I can give him. I think he just passed out.”