Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
T his couldn’t be happening.
“No, no, no.” Saint shook his head, unaware of the shouting around him as everyone scrambled into action. He pulled Leo into his arms, his hand covered in blood as he pressed it against Leo’s side and the bullet wound. Leo cried out and grabbed hold of Saint’s wrist.
“It’s not your fault,” Leo told Saint.
“Don’t—” Saint shook his head. Fuck, why? Why hadn’t it been him? This can’t be happening . The words repeated in his head.
“Saint, lay him down!”
At Red’s order, Saint snapped out of it and quickly did as Red asked. His vision blurred from his tears as Red took hold of Leo’s T-shirt and ripped it open to keep it away from the wound. He slid his hand underneath Leo and cursed under his breath.
“The bullet is still in there.”
Fuck. Things had just gone from bad to worse.
Ace handed Red the first aid kit from Val’s office, and Red quickly got to work while they waited for the paramedics to arrive, but there wasn’t much he could do. Unlike in the movies, Red couldn’t just go digging around for the bullet.
“Leo, stay with me, buddy,” Red said gently. “Come on.”
Fitz kneeled beside Leo and gently lifted his head to place his folded-up sweater underneath. Then he took hold of Leo’s hand and laced their fingers together, smiling through his tears.
“You’re going to be okay, sweetheart.”
Leo’s lips trembled, but he smiled anyway. “In about seven to ten minutes, I’ll most likely bleed out and go into shock.”
“Why do you have to be so smart?” Fitz asked, running his free hand over Leo’s head.
“Why do you have to be so pretty?”
Fitz sniffed and laughed. “That’s why you’re my favorite.”
Time seemed to slow as they waited for the ambulance.
What had felt like hours had only been minutes, but every second counted.
The ambulance finally arrived, with the police close behind.
Paramedics ran in, and Red explained in his medical jargon what had happened and the extent of Leo’s injuries.
Officers rushed inside, several seeming to recognize Mason as they headed straight for him and began talking to him.
Saint stood, barely aware of Val wiping the blood off his hand. He watched with his heart in his throat as they placed Leo on a gurney, an IV in his arm. Leo was terrifyingly pale, his lips a purplish color. Saint shook his head as he paced and ran a hand through his hair.
Fuck. This couldn’t be happening. Saint had grabbed Leo and dropped to the floor the second he heard the pop . So had the rest of them. They were all too familiar with the sound of gunfire, so there’d been no hesitation. But Saint hadn’t been fast enough.
“How?” Saint asked softly, not really addressing anyone. “I used my body to shield him.”
“Sweetheart,” Val said, cupping Saint’s face and rubbing away the wetness. “The bullet missed you by millimeters.”
“What?” Saint frowned, then followed Val’s gaze as he lowered it to Saint’s T-shirt. There was a hole in it. He lifted his T-shirt, revealing a very thin red line. The bullet had grazed him.
“We’ll meet at the hospital,” Ace said as the paramedics loaded Leo into the back of the ambulance.
“The question now is, who’s going to tell King?” Colton asked worriedly.
“I should do it,” Saint said, removing his phone from his pocket only to have it snatched away by Ace.
“The fuck you are. He has to hear this from me. No one else.”
Saint had never seen Ace look so deadly serious. He quickly nodded as Ace shoved his phone back at him and then ran out. Everyone hurried out, and Val handed the tavern keys to Mason. He took hold of Saint’s elbow and led him to his SUV.
“Come on.”
As Saint sat in the passenger seat of Val’s SUV, he felt numb. None of this felt real. He glanced over at Val, whose jaw was clenched so tight he might break something.
“What am I supposed to tell King?” Saint asked, his voice coming out as an unsteady whisper.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Val said as he sped through a yellow light. “You heard the shot, your instincts kicked in, and you protected Leo.”
“Protected him? Did you see him? What if he’d bled out?”
“That never would have happened. The second we realized Leo had been hit, Lucky ran out to grab Ace’s fancy, fast-as-fuck sports car. If the ambulance hadn’t arrived when it did, you bet your ass Ace would have broken the damn sound barrier getting Leo to the hospital.”
“What if—”
“No.” Val shook his head. “No what-ifs.” He grabbed Saint’s hand and squeezed his fingers.
The ride to the hospital was a blur, and Saint tried his hardest not to think of worst-case scenarios. He knew better. Normally, he would lean on his experience, on his training, but all he could think was… it’s Leo .
With the exception of Mason, who’d stayed behind with the police, the rest of the guys were there in the emergency room waiting area when Saint and Val arrived.
He could tell that the Kings, Jack and Joker, were keeping it together for the sake of their partners.
Laz leaned against Red, his dazed stare on the floor.
Colton was speaking with the nurses at the front desk, no doubt doing what he could to ensure Leo got the best care possible, no matter the cost.
Ryden stood leaning against the wall at the other end of the room, his gaze fixed on nothing in particular. Jack sat comforting Fitz, who was in tears. When he saw Saint, he jumped to his feet and hurried over, pulling him into a fierce hug. When he pulled back, he looked determined.
“It’s not your fault, you know that.”
“Fitz….”
“I know you. You’re like them. Always trying to shoulder the weight of the world on your own. You risked your life to save him.”
“But he was still hurt.”
“Again, not your fault.”
Ryden appeared beside Saint and squeezed his shoulder. “Listen to him.”
Val’s phone rang, and he quickly removed it from his pocket.
He held it up to Saint. “It’s Mason.” Excusing himself, he walked away to take the call.
Over Fitz’s shoulder, Saint spotted Ace.
He was talking to Colton, shaking his head about something, and Colton nodded.
With a visible sigh, Colton walked over.
“Saint, you should go home,” Colton said gently.
“What?” The words were like a lead pipe to the stomach. He was being kicked out? “I can’t go home. I…I need to stay here. I need—”
Fitz cupped Saint’s face. “Sweetheart, you can’t be here.”
“Why?”
Colton sighed again, his expression sympathetic. “King is on his way.”
Saint’s blood turned cold. Fuck.
King.
With everything going on, Saint hadn’t even thought about how King might react when he got here. He was probably beside himself.
“But it wasn’t his fault,” Val said, joining them again.
“We all know that,” Colton replied. “Saint saved Leo. If he hadn’t shielded Leo when he did….” He shook his head. “All King knows is that Leo was rushed to the hospital with a gunshot wound. We don’t know how he’ll react. Ace is worried, and if Ace is worried….”
“I can’t be here,” Saint conceded. The last thing he wanted to do was make a shit situation even worse. “I understand. If anyone needs anything, please let me know.” He turned to Ryden. “Please let me know how he’s doing.”
Ryden nodded. “You got it.”
“What did Mason say?” Saint asked Val as they turned toward the exit.
“They’re going to have a squad car parked outside the house for a few nights while the investigation gets underway, just in case.”
The doors to the emergency room slid open, and a lump formed in Saint’s throat. Everyone got to their feet, and a room filled with former military personnel and badass bodyguards looked on in panic because the one man who never lost it was about to go nuclear.
Saint was so fucked.
King thundered through the double doors like a hurricane ready to level everything in its path. His blue eyes were like ice, the pain and rage in them squeezing Saint’s heart until he couldn’t breathe.
“King, wait!” Ace darted in front of King and put his hands up to stop him.
“Stay the fuck out of my way, Anston,” King snarled, shoving his friend to one side.
“Damn it, King. Please.”
Saint shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I should have—”
“You son of a bitch!” King lunged forward, and the other Kings appeared out of nowhere, throwing themselves at their brother.
Saint flinched and stepped back as King shouted and struggled against them. When it looked like Red, Lucky, and Ace wouldn’t be able to hold him, Jack, Joker, and Ryden joined the fray. Saint had never seen anything like it.
It took five former Green Berets and a Marine to stop Ward Kingston from getting his hands on Saint.
“You’re done,” King roared, his skin flushed red. “Do you hear me? You’re fucking finished! Get the fuck out of my sight!”
“King,” Ace pleaded when King grabbed a fistful of Ace’s shirt and practically lifted him off his feet.
“You get him the fuck away from me,” King ground out through his teeth, “Or I promise you I will beat the living shit out of him and put him in one of those fucking rooms!”
“And you think that’s what Leo would want?” Ace asked quietly, wrapping his hand around King’s wrist, his gaze never wavering.
King gritted his teeth and shook his head, tears in his eyes. “Don’t you fucking dare.”
“Am I wrong?”
King inhaled deep through his nose and released Ace.
He rolled his shoulders and shrugged his brothers off him, a tear that he seemed unaware of rolled down his cheek.
Meeting Saint’s gaze, he thrust a finger at him.
“So help me, if he….” Pressing his lips together, King shook his head and stormed out, leaving a heavy silence in his wake.
Saint looked down at his hands, only just then realizing they were shaking. He dropped onto the closest chair, leaned his elbows on his knees, and dropped his head into his hands. What the fuck had he done?
“Hey.”
The soft word made Saint jump, and he lifted his head to find Ace kneeling in front of him.
“Give him time.”