Outlaw's Vow: Grizzlies MC Romance(183)

“He's gonna be okay. He took a hit in the shoulder, lost a lot of blood. We've got the crew patching him up, disinfecting his shit. Tank's here from the Devils too, and he's got his girl on the line. She's a nurse. He's learned a thing or two about dealing with this kinda shit, or so he says.”

“Girl, wait!” Missy called after me, tried to stop me from spinning around, but I wasn't having it.

I stroked Caleb's head and moved forward, heading for the back, looking for the spare room the club used as a makeshift infirmary before these bloody battles. My heart threatened to give out, drop me to the floor with every step I took.

The door was cracked. Men yelled inside, and so was a woman, cutting through the static. I shoved it open with my foot.

My jaw practically hit the floor. Roman was slumped in the bed, looking ghost white, a tube running into his arm from a blood bag suspended overhead. A shallow metal bowl sat next to him, a rusty looking bullet in the center. The big man in the Devils cut had his phone propped up on the small nightstand next to him.

He looked down at Roman's bloody shoulder, a needle balanced in one hand, thread dangling all over the place. “Say it again, babe,” he growled toward the phone.

“You've got to pull the skin tight, Tank. Stitch by stitch. Hurry, before it's left open too long! There's germs in the air, all over the place, really. That disinfectant only works so long!” the woman barked over the phone.

The prospect on the opposite side of Roman saw me, looked up, and waved his arm. He pointed to a chair in the corner. “Get the fuck in, or don't.”

Holding Caleb tight, I stepped forward. I stuffed back tears, watching in horrid fascination, wishing for nothing more than being able to walk up and grab his hand while they worked on him.

Tank's thick hands moved fast. They seemed to do the job, but he also moved like he wasn't sure, and that made me nervous as hell.

“Don't fucking know about this, Em,” he whispered into the phone. “This shit's a lot bigger than the ones you taught me how to patch at home. He's still bleeding, slower and darker.”

“It's clotting, Tank. Keep going. Seal him up quick. He's plenty disinfected by now.”

Tank sighed, working his hands, swearing when he stubbed his finger on the needle. Roman's eyes twitched, and he kicked his legs slowly.

“Hold him the fuck down,” Tank told the prospect. “This is gonna be ten times harder if he starts flopping like a goddamned fish. Guess we should've given him more of that ether shit after all...”

The prospect made a face, and walked to the end of the bed, flattening Roman's feet. I stood up, saw my in, and took it.

“Let me. He knows my touch. Here, hold the baby for a second.” I didn't wait, pushing Caleb into the bewildered prospect's arms.

Tank gave me a sharp look, but he didn't order me away. Roman's movements beneath my hands were so weak, so fevered. His chest rose erratically, somewhere in between sleep and pain and rage.

“Rest up, baby,” I whispered to him. “He's trying to help you. Just let him patch you up. Caleb's here. So am I. You're going to be fine.”

Up here, I had a scary view of the wound. Whatever tore through his shoulder, it wasn't small. It looked almost like a dog bite, if dogs had teeth more like sharks.

“Last one, babe,” Tank said sternly into the phone.

“Now do the seal. Just like I taught you. Wrap it up, clean and neat.”

My stomach did a sickly flip as I watched Roman's torn flesh mesh together. Tank formed what looked like a knot before he shifted the clamps on Roman's shoulder, holding the skin together. He didn't stop until he cut the last thread with the small silvery scissors.

The tools slammed down on the nightstand, and he grabbed the phone. His hands were a bloody mess.

“It's done. I gotta hang up so I can talk to their Prez. I think he's gonna live, hopefully without any fucked up complications.”

“Make sure somebody's with him for the next twenty-four hours. Don't let him sleep alone. You need to tell them to refresh the fluids too. Don't just assume they're going to know –“

“Babe, I've got this. Believe me, some of these boys'll put my ass on the line if he dies. I'm doing everything by the book as fast as I can so I'll be coming home soon. Love you, Em, I gotta go.”

He hung up. We shared a brief, tense look, and he nodded to me.

“Shit. Looks like we do have the same tastes after all...”

“Huh?” I didn't understand what he was getting at.

“Nothing. Stay with him. I'll fill you in later on what to do. I gotta find Brass or Blackjack.” Tank stepped quickly out of the room, opening up the narrow space on the chair next to the bed.

I pulled it close and gripped Roman's hand. He was cold, freakishly heavy between my hands.