Chapter 4 Ruby
FOUR
RUBY
“Scissors,” I said as I held out my hand.
But when the scissors didn’t land in my hand like they would have if Notch had been around, I growled at Bronx in front of me.
“Beside you, lug nut. Scissors. I need to get his shirt completely off his body.”
Stone chuckled. “What? You like the way his—”
I glared at him over my shoulder. “If you even finish that sentence, I’m plunging these scissors into your chest after I’m done.”
Bronx snorted and tossed me the scissors. “I wouldn’t mess with her if I were you.”
But once I got his shirt completely off his bleeding body, Stone cussed beneath his breath.
“Ugh, what is it now?” I asked as I rolled the groaning man around to remove the blood-stained cotton from around his back.
“That,” he said as he pointed to the man’s back. “Is that what I think it is, Bronx?”
I looked up at the man. “What? You guys hate tattoos now? Because that means most of you guys are shit out of—”
“Fucking hell,” Bronx murmured.
I furrowed my brow. “Someone wanna fill me in on what I’m missing?”
Stone sighed. “Just hurry the fuck up and then kick this man out.”
I balked. “I’m going as fast as I fucking can, thank you very much. But if someone could get Notch back here, that would really fucking help!”
Stone looked up at Bronx. “Where the hell is Notch?”
Bronx shrugged. “I don’t know, man. Ask Puck.”
“Puck!” Stone shouted, right next to my ear.
“He went to help Texas and Ella,” I said through clenched teeth. Like saving this guy with limited resources and a filthy operating room wasn’t challenge enough; I had to rein in the three stooges, too. “Keva fell off the swings.”
My twin stomped over. “What?”
Stone stood to his feet. “Tell Notch we need him back down here at the bar. Ruby’s about to damn near kill some—”
“Out!” I shrieked.
All of the stooges fell silent before I shoved some gauze into the man’s wound and stood to my feet.
“I said, get the fuck out! All of you! Leave us alone so I can think in peace!”
The guys all looked around at one another before they held up their hands and left.
They filed out of the bar, leaving boot tracks marred with blood for me to clean up once I got this man on the cot in the back room.
I sighed as I got back to working as quickly and as swiftly as I could to stop the bleeding and patch him up.
Then I dragged his ass into the back room and pulled him onto the cot.
“There we go,” I groaned, “this’ll work for now.”
I picked up his feet and rounded them to rest against the cot, then I found a blanket and took it out back to work the dust off it.
Even though I kept this entire bar clean and pristine, there was always something that made me so sick to my stomach that I almost couldn’t function.
After beating the blanket three times only to watch layers of dust cough itself into the wind, I knew I couldn’t put that on this man.
He’d end up dead, or worse, in the hospital.
And I figured with how he showed up here, he sure as hell didn’t want to go to the hospital.
I shoved the blanket into the dumpster in the alleyway and marched back inside.
I turned all of the back rooms inside out before I found a blanket that didn’t look like it had been hiding in an attic for the last four hundred years.
I fluffed it up and placed it over the sleeping man, and I stayed up all night to check his wound every hour on the hour.
Until finally, around four in the morning, his eyes fluttered open.
“Holy…shit,” he croaked.
I scrambled up from the corner and rushed into his field of vision. “Hi there. Can you hear me?”
He furrowed his brow. “You’re not Notch.”
I giggled softly. “No. I’m not.”
He sputtered and coughed. “Who—who are you? Where am I?”
I brushed some hair away from his forehead. “My name is Ruby. I’m the one that patched you up. Do you remember stumbling into the bar at all?”
His eyes widened. “I got shot. I got shot in the back shou—”
“Shh, shh, shh, shh,” I said softly as I tucked him back in, “save your strength. You lost a good deal of blood and you’re still at risk for infection. You need to sleep.”
He sighed and closed his eyes. “Thank you for saving my life.”
I smiled. “Well, you’re very welcome. Though, you left a pretty decent mess for me to disinfect last night.”
He chuckled before he coughed. “Sounds like I got some making up to do.”
I winked down at him. “You just focus on getting better. Then, I can tease a nice dinner out of you. I’ve really been craving some steak and shrimp lately.”
When the man smiled up at me, it was like someone had turned on a light.
He had the brightest smile of anyone I’d ever met in my life, and it only seemed brighter in contrast to his tanned skin.
His muscles were lean and strong, and his brooding brown eyes almost looked black.
His smile lit up his entire face, giving him a slightly boyish look beneath the rugged muscles and pin-straight, disheveled black hair.
He was a beautiful man, even if he had a risqué tattoo on his chest.
“So,” Diego said as his gravelly voice became stronger, “what does a man have to do to get a—”
A knock came at the door before it inched open, and I knew exactly who it was. Notch was the only guy in the crew who never barged into rooms and generally accepted the idea of ‘privacy.’ I drew in a deep breath as the man’s eyes gravitated over my shoulder and recognition washed over his face.
And before I knew it, Notch himself had crouched beside me.
“The hell did you get yourself into, Diego?” he asked.
I stood and gave the men space as I inched back toward the door.
“What? Didn’t you hear? I’m taking this fine lady out for steak, that’s what I’m getting myself into,” Diego said.
Notch peered over his shoulder at me. “You patched him up?”
I nodded as I leaned against the doorframe. “I did my best and used just about everything you’ve taught me.”
Diego coughed before he caught his breath. “Ah, no wonder I was in good hands, then.”
Notch pulled back the blanket. “Mind if I take a look?”
I thumbed over my shoulder. “I’ll just give you guys some—”
Diego reached out for me and winced in pain. “No, wait.”
I peered down at Notch, and he nodded his head, so I walked back over and took Diego’s hand.
He squeezed it, hanging on tightly as Notch poked, prodded, and checked the tension of my stitches.
I inched down a bit and ran my free hand through his hair, working out the bloody knots that had hardened against his scalp overnight.
And when Notch was finished, he covered Diego up. “If you’re up for some questions later, me and the guys have a lot of them.”
I sighed. “You really think that’s smart so soon after being shot?”
But Diego nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine. I figured you would. Just let me sleep a few more hours. Can you give me that?”
Notch nodded as he stood to his feet. “That’s just fine. I’ll have some breakfast ready for you when you wake up.”
And after Notch eyed me carefully, he beckoned for me to leave the room with him.
Which told me there was a hell of a lot more to this situation than even I realized.