Chapter 43 #2
“Why?” I ask, my attention shifting from Ash to Roxie as she strips away the remains of the makeshift tourniquet Griffin made from Rowan’s jacket.
“Fixing a bullet wound is... intense to watch,” he says.
I start to get nauseous as I see a peek of Rowan’s bloodied flesh. I instantly bury my face in Griffin’s neck.
“How’s your pain tolerance, Rowan?” Roxie asks.
“Pretty good, but I’ve never been shot before.”
“Okay. Try to keep the screaming down. Wouldn’t want the cops called on us.”
Whatever medicine she gave him doesn’t seem to dull the pain very much, considering the intensity of his muffled screams a second later.
“Help me hold him down,” She says, directing Ash. “He needs to stay as still as possible here or I can’t work.”
“Fuck, are you sticking your finger in him?” Ash says, his voice strained.
Oh my god. Griffin is definitely right. I don’t think I can watch this.
“Yeah, I’ve gotta clean it and then pack the wound. If it heals from the outside in, it could trap nasty bacteria in there, that means he goes septic and dies,” Roxie says.
Rowan lets out another strangled cry as Roxie continues to work. The sound is gut-wrenching. I feel like I’m going to throw up.
When I find the courage to peek past Griffin’s shoulder, I see Rowan’s pale face staring at me. His eyes are glazed over from the pain and he’s biting into one of the spare hand towels to muffle his screams.
And then he lifts his hand. It’s a tiny movement, considering everything going on. But he reaches for me.
And I go.
I keep my eyes locked onto his face as I push myself off Griffin’s lap and stumble to my feet.
I barely make it a step before I trip over myself, but Rage’s massive arms wrap around me, keeping me from falling.
He wordlessly lifts me up into his arms before carrying me over to Rowan’s bed.
“Thank you,” I say, flashing Rage a watery smile before I crawl into the bed next to Rowan.
I ignore the sting in my shoulder whenever I move my bad arm. It’s nothing compared to what Rowan is going through, so the least I can do is be there for him.
His face is scrunched up in pain, and a tear leaks from one of his eyes.
“Hi,” I whisper, reaching out and squeezing his hand. “You’re—you’re doing a good job.”
He grips my hand in a death grip as another muffled scream leaves his lips.
My lips purse together as I fight to breathe. I don’t dare look down at what Roxie is doing. Not even when she has Ash and Griffin flip him over so she can work on the other side of the gunshot wound. Apparently, the bullet went clean through.
“This’ll be over soon,” I whisper, brushing some of Rowan’s shaggy hair from his face. His skin feels cold and clammy.
His eyes blink open as he stares at me, his head turned to the side, and his cheek pressed against the pillow. His hazel eyes are dull and it breaks my heart, but I fight to keep my emotions in check.
The last thing he needs is for my scent to go all over the place.
“Alright, Rowan, all done,” Roxie says, peeling off her gloves. She tosses them into the trash bag she has at her feet, along with all the bloody gauze she used to clean him up.
“Will he be okay?” I ask, finally looking at her.
She nods. “He’s lucky. Bullet missed all the important parts. Healing is gonna be a bitch, and the packing’s gotta be changed pretty frequently, but he’ll live unless he gets an infection.”
“Fucking finally,” Rowan croaks out, his tense shoulders relaxing into the bed. “Thanks.”
“’Course,” Roxie says, her brows drawing down in concern as she looks at Rowan. She turns the same concerned gaze to me, her eyes drawing down to my shoulder. “You know, you never told me what the hell happened to you guys, Griffin.”
“That really important for you to know?” Griffin asks, standing from his seat and crossing his arms over his chest.
Roxie’s jaw works as she eyes Griffin warily.
“No,” She says slowly.
“Good,” Griffin shrugs, like it’s the end of the conversation.
The lines around Roxie’s eyes tighten as she straightens her posture. There’s a sort of hardness in her expression I never would’ve expected to see in any omega.
“No, it’s not good. They’re the same age as my kids. You’ve got a kid who’s shot and that poor girl’s in nothing but lingerie.”
I blink as I look down at myself. The robe I’m wearing hangs open, falling off my bloody shoulder. It’s ruined. I hope Rowan won’t be mad at me when he feels better, I know how important this Robe was to him.
“You better shut your mouth if you’re trying to say that we were the ones to fuck them up,” Ash growls, his voice low.
“Don’t talk to her like that,” I say, my eyes narrowing.
Ash’s silver gaze sparks with something that sends a shiver down my spine, like he’s surprised I challenged him on anything. Like he’s excited.
I glance away from him, my cheeks warming at the intensity of everything.
“Thanks, Sweetie,” Roxie says. She stands from the bed and extends her hand out to me. “Let me take a look at your shoulder in the bathroom. That way we can clean things properly.”
“Oh, okay!” I nod.
I barely swing my legs over the side of the bed before Rage is there, lifting me up into his arms.
“Whoa! I can walk,” I say, flashing him a tired smile.
He gives me a single shake of his head.
Roxie eyes us as she stands in the doorway to the bathroom with another one of her plastic bags of supplies.
“You can put her down now, I got it from here,” she says firmly to Rage.
He stiffens, a low growl leaving his chest at the thought of letting me go.
“I’ll be fine, Rage, it’s okay, she’s going to help me like she helped Rowan,” I say.
Only after my words of reassurance does he slowly set me down.
I step into the bathroom and Roxie tugs the bathroom door shut behind us. My eyes instantly fly to her when she clicks the lock into place.
What is she doing? Why would she close and lock the door?
She immediately starts turning on the faucet to the sink and tub, filling the small room with noise.
“I don’t know how long they’re gonna let me be in here with you with the door closed, so we’ve gotta talk fast,” she says, her voice pitched so low I have to lean in to hear her. “Are you safe?”
I pull back and blink at her in confusion.
“I’ll be serious with you, Sweetie, I’m not the most well-connected, but if they’re keeping you in a situation that’s not safe for you then I can try and help you get out,” she continues.
“The guys?”
“Yeah, the alphas.”
I shake my head. “No, no, they’re not the ones who were keeping me in a situation that’s not safe. They saved me!”
“Saved you from what, Sweetie?” She asks, reaching out and squeezing my hands. There are calluses on her palms, and her fingers are strong. Not delicate and soft like the other girls’ hands from the facility.
“It’s a long story,” I say, letting out a soft huff of laughter.
She stands there, holding my hand as she listens to me recount everything that’s happened to me over the past few months. The facility. Being sold. The Mercer Family Farm and all that entailed.
But for some reason, she looks... sad as I continue speaking. I thought she’d feel as excited as I do, now that we’re free. Now that I’m free.
“You poor thing,” she says, her voice strained as I finish. She tugs me into her arms, her sweet maple syrup scent washing over me. “You shouldn’t have had to go through that.”
The raw emotion in her voice confuses me.
“It’s okay! Things will be better now that we’re free.”
“So you want to stay with them?” She asks, pulling away from the hug and wiping at her cheeks.
“Of course,” I nod, shaking my head in confusion. Where else would I go? “They’re mine.”
“Okay, Sweetie. Let’s take a look at that shoulder.”