Primal Heat
Page 18
“No, wait!” Beau snapped, raising his hands in surrender.
“Just pull the fucking knife out, man,” Tuck screamed.
“No!” I warned.
“Why wait?” Jordy asked.
“Because that knife looks like it’s dangerously close to an artery and he could lose his leg, or worse, bleed to death if we take that knife out,” Beau said. “I know a doctor. She can come right now and fix Tuck’s leg. No questions asked.”
Well, this just got interesting.
“Call her,” Jordy demanded.
* * *
Shiloh
I had just finished my fourth twelve-hour shift in a row, climbing into my car almost on autopilot and starting the engine. I had the next three days off and I planned to sleep. I was about to back out of my parking space when my phone rang. It was my brother. I sighed, rubbing my hand over my forehead. If he was calling me at two a.m., it wasn’t because he was calling to say hi.
“Beau, I’ve had a long day—”
“I need you to come to Blurr,” he said, sounding frantic. “Now. Bring your kit.”
“What’s going on?” I demanded. “Are you hurt?”
“No, not me. Tuck.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“He got knifed in the leg.”
“I am a neonatal nurse, Beau, how the hell am I going to help Tuck who has a knife wound?”
“Well, if you don’t figure it out, my body will be dumped in the river.”
“Oh my god, what have you done?” I squeaked, already pulling onto the freeway in the direction of Blurr.
“It’s not really important,” he hedged.
“I swear to god, Beau Theodore Abernathy, I will kill you myself if you don’t start talking.”
“I can’t,” he said. “Will you just get here, please? Pull around the back and a bouncer will meet you.”
“Fine,” I hissed out.
“Thanks, sis.”
I hung up, then did a mental inventory of my ‘kit.’ My brother was lucky I had just restocked a few common emergency type things, but it’s not like I had a surgical suite. Or a degree for that matter. I was an RN, a gifted one according to the doctors I worked with, but I was not a surgeon, so I was limited.
Pulling around the back of the nightclub, I popped my trunk and climbed out of my car just as a very large, very scary man walked up to me. “You the doctor?”
I didn’t want to lie, so I lifted my bag. “Are you going to take me to the patient?”
“Yeah, follow me.”
I grabbed my bag and we walked through a back door and down two flights of stairs. I swear, I felt like I was being dragged into the pits of hell. It didn’t help that we walked into a hallway lit with a red lightbulb. Lord, this was seriously terrifying.
The bouncer entered numbers on a keypad and a wall that was really a door slid open to reveal a huge room that looked much like a Vegas casino.
“Shy!” Beau called. “Over here.”
I scowled at my big brother and headed that way. Standing sentry was one of the biggest and best-looking men I’d ever seen. Good god, he was like a modern-day Norse god. His dark-caramel hair was swept back to reveal green eyes that I could melt in, and he had a beard that I would be happy to spend a few hours running my fingers through. His shirt strained against his ridiculously muscled arms, as he held onto a man who I assumed was the one who’d caused the injury.
I set my bag on the table next to Tuck and surveyed the damage. I’d met Tuck a sum total of twice. He was kind of a douche, as were most of my brother’s ‘friends,’ so I didn’t tend to hang around them much.
“Okay, let’s have a look,” I said, pulling gloves on. “This is going to hurt, but I need to see what was hit.” I studied Tuck who was sobbing. “I need you not to move. Okay?”
Tuck squeezed his eyes closed and nodded.
“You ready?”
He nodded again and I gently felt around the knife. “This isn’t something I’m equipped to deal with.” I sighed. “You’re going to need surgery, Tuck. We need to get you to a hospital.”
“No hospitals,” the older man standing next to the Viking growled.
“Sir, he could have permanent damage if he doesn’t see a surgeon. Not to mention, this could have nicked the femoral artery and could bleed out.”
“They will ask questions,” he countered. “I am paid for discretion.”
“I know a place,” the Viking said. “But just me, Tuck, and the doc go.”
“My sister isn’t going anywhere with you alone,” Beau demanded.
“Yeah, well, you’re not goin’ anywhere until Tuck’s delivered back here whole,” the older man said. “So, you go and deal with this, and I’ll make sure Beau here stays comfortable.”
I shivered, glaring at my brother.
He gave me a pleading look.
“I’m deleting your number from my phone,” I hissed.
“Pull the knife out!” Tuck squealed.
“No!” I snapped. “Don’t. You could bleed out. I’m going to wrap the knife with sterile gauze to stabilize it so we can move you.”
The Viking nodded to the bouncer who’d led me inside and he took over watching the perpetrator of the crime. My Norse god smiled gently at me. “I’m Otter,” he said for my ears only.
I nodded. “Shiloh.”
“I’ll hold him while you do your thing.”
“Okay.” I grabbed gauze from my bag and did my best to pad the wound, then we worked together to secure it.
Otter lifted the man as easily and carefully as he would a child and moved to leave the room, nodding for me to follow. I rushed to keep up, following the sounds of Tuck’s squeals.
“We’ll have to take your car,” he said. “I rode tonight.”
“Rode?”
“Harley.”
“Oh,” I said on a breath. He owned a Harley? Shit, I was in trouble. “Okay.”
I moved in front of him, leading him to my car where he gently lay Tuck in the back, sitting beside him so he could keep his leg steady, while I climbed into the front seat.
“Okay, Otter, where am I going?” I asked.
He gave me the address to punch into my GPS and I frowned. “That’s in the middle of nowhere. Wasn’t that an old tobacco plantation at one point?”
“Yeah, it’s my club.”
“Your club?”
“Motorcycle club. I ride with the Dogs of Fire.”
“Oh!” I said. “Is that Dr. Brooks?”
“Yeah, you know him?”
“I was the nurse on-call when Olivia went into labor,” I said as I drove. “I helped deliver the twins.”
“Fuck, so you’re not a doctor?” he deduced.
I grimaced. “No, sorry. My brother tends to overstate my degrees when it suits him.”
“That could have gone a lot fuckin’ worse,” he hissed. “Jesus, what kinda man puts a woman in a situation like that? Let alone his sister? Asshole.”
I agreed whole heartedly, but he was still my brother, so I said, “Hey, that’s my brother you’re talking about.”
“Doesn’t make him any less of an asshole.”
I wasn’t about to get in an argument with a giant, so I pressed my lips into a thin line to keep from sticking my foot in my mouth and drove to the address I’d been given. I pulled my car up to mile high gates, and they slowly opened as I waited.
“Drive through,” Otter directed. “They’re waiting for us.”
I nodded and continued down the road, pulling up to a large barn just as a half a dozen bikers surrounded my car. Otter pushed open his door and slid out. I followed.
“What the fuck, Otter?”
“I’ll explain later,” he said, and nodded to me. “You remember Shiloh?”
Dr. Tristan Brooks turned and shook his head. “Shit, Shy, how the fuck did you get roped into this.”
“It’s a long story.”
“You up to assisting me with this?” he aske
d.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been in trauma surgery,” I admitted. “But I can try.”
“Follow me,” Dr. Brooks said, and led me inside.
Otter
I paced the great room waiting for Doc to finish up with Tuck. More accurately, to finish up with Shiloh. Jesus, she was beautiful. Blonde, petit, curvy. I couldn’t believe her dickhead of a brother put her in danger like that. Once I dealt with this issue, he was next on my list.
“We’ll wait for him to wake up and go from there.”
Hearing Doc’s voice, I made my way toward it.
“We need to get him back to Blurr,” Shiloh said.
“Doc and I’ll take care of that,” I said. “You’re stayin’ here for the moment.”
“I’ve just worked four twelves and I’m surviving on very little sleep,” she countered. “Exactly how long am I expected to stay here?”
“Until I know it’s safe,” I said. “You can bunk down in my room. The door locks.”
“I have nothing with me. I also have a cat that needs to be fed.”
“I’ve got scrubs,” Doc offered. “Liv’ll be here in the morning with the kids, so you’re welcome to stay as long as you need.”
“I’ll go feed your cat after I deal with Tuck,” I offered.
She crossed her arms and her hip popped out as she challenged me with her eyes. “Or, I can go home and feed my own cat. I can’t imagine anyone’s going to bother me.”
“Your brother’s an asshole who dragged you into a situation that could have gotten you killed. Considerin’ the fact he did that, I can’t guarantee he didn’t let loose your address—”
“He would never do that,” she said with a frustrated sigh.
I closed the distance between us, leaning down to get eye-to-eye with her. “Did you think he’d drag you to an underground gambling ring where a patron got stabbed and you were expected to fix it?”
Her button nose scrunched up and it took every ounce of my willpower not to kiss it. “You might have a point,” she grumbled.
“So, you’re gonna give me your keys and I’m gonna feed your cat. Hear me?”
She narrowed her eyes but didn’t move away. “Well, you’re a super bossy britches, aren’t you?”
“You have no idea.”
I didn’t miss her shiver, but again, she didn’t move away. “Is there a reason I can’t go with you to feed the cat?”
“Yes. Your place might be being watched.”
“Which means I should go home and protect Sneasles McMeasles.”
“What the fuck is a Sneasles McMeasles?”
“My cat. Keep up,” she sassed, still nose-to-nose with me.
Jesus, I wanted that sassy mouth wrapped around my dick.
“Right. Your cat,” I said, forcing myself to focus back on the subject at hand instead of her mouth. “I will bring your cat back here.”
“You won’t live to do that.”
“What the fuck?”
She licked her lips. So much for not focusing on her mouth.
“That cat will kill you then eat your corpse. He doesn’t like strangers.”
I closed my eyes and sighed, standing back up. “I’ll figure it out.”
She shrugged. “It’s your funeral.”
* * *
If you liked the sneak peek of Calling the Biker’s Bluff, you can order it HERE!
Welcome to the Family
Davenport Family Band
The Guardians Series
Witness
Justice
Spotlight
Dogs of Fire MC Series
Road to Desire
Road to Redemption
Road to Absolution
Road to Passion
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Road to Forever
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Road to Freedom
Dogs of Fire Spin-Off Stories
Ryder
Reese
Hatch
Kissing the Biker’s Boo-Boo
(Children’s Book)
Dogs of Fire MC: Savannah Chapter
Saving the Preacher's Daughter
Stealing the Biker's Heart
Redeeming the Biker's Past
Quieting the Biker’s Rage
Keeping the Biker’s Oath
Hacking the Biker’s Code
Calling the Biker’s Bluff
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Primal Howl
Primal Need
Primal Heat
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Connecting Books
Witness
Justice
Road to Desire
Road to Redemption
Road to Absolution
Road to Passion
Road to Victory
Road to Peace
Spotlight
Ryder
Road to Forever
Reese
Saving the Preacher's Daughter
Road to Hope
Stealing the Biker's Heart
*Bound by Sight
Road to Grace
Hatch
Road to Freedom
Redeeming the Biker's Past
Quieting the Biker’s Rage
Keeping the Biker’s Oath
Primal Howl
Primal Need
Hacking the Biker’s Code
Primal Heat
Calling the Biker’s Bluff
*Dalton’s book Bound by Sight can be read after Stealing the Biker’s Heart, but I recommend reading Bound by Blood first.
Piper Davenport is the alter-ego of New York Times Bestselling Author, Tracey Jane Jackson. She writes from a place of passion and intrigue, combining elements of romance and suspense with strong modern-day heroes and heroines.
She currently resides in the Pacific Northwest with her author husband and two kids.
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