Chapter 25 Puck
TWENTY-FIVE
PUCK
“Ruby!” Notch exclaimed as he rushed down the hallway. “What do we got?”
My sister shook her head. “We got two black eyes, a bruised rib, and blood coming from his throat on Clancy, and then over here we’ve got a broken nose dripping blood down Rowan’s throat, contusions against his abdomen, and a possible dislocated shoulder.”
“And Kieran’s been shot!” Brigid shrieked.
My head whipped in her direction, and I saw tears streaking her face. Her hands trembled ferociously, and my heart broke for her. I rushed toward her, wanting to scoop her into my arms and take her back to her bedroom so she didn’t need to see any of this.
But the second I approached her, she looked up at me with wild eyes.
As if I had just cursed her entire existence.
“What can I do?” I asked.
She scoffed. “Go find Kieran!”
The second she said something, another crash came through the front door.
I watched as Liam and Shea carried Kieran’s limp body into the living room and Notch rushed after him.
While my sister tended to the patriarch of the family as well as his prized son, Notch took his surgical case and rushed after the man bleeding from his shoulder.
And the entire time, Brigid kept curling into herself.
“Please, they have to be okay. Please help them. Save them. They’re all I’ve got,” she choked out.
Ruby looked up at her. “No one’s dying today, all right? Trust me.”
“She’s right,” I said. “Notch and Ruby will make sure no one goes under.”
“What can I do?” Brigid asked. “I have to do something. I can’t just—”
Notch called out to her. “I need pressure on this man’s wound. Get over here!”
She moved as quick as lightning and obeyed Notch’s commands. I watched her put all of her weight on Kieran’s gunshot to the shoulder as tears dripped down her face. And in that moment, despite everything that had happened, her strength overwhelmed me.
I love this woman.
The thought came so effortlessly and so quickly that it stole my breath away. And for a moment, everything in front of me paused. The chaos stopped and all that was left was me and Brigid.
I don’t want to let her go.
“Puck!” Notch roared.
His voice pulled me from my trance. “What do you need?”
He pointed. “Get me a scalpel out of my bag. We have to cut him open and get this damn bullet!”
“Help me get him onto the table. It’ll be easier that way,” Brigid said.
Notch nodded. “Good thinking. On my count. Can someone clear off the fucking table?!”
Stone raked his hands along the circular top, plates of food crashing to the floor. I felt useless, and I hated the feeling. So, I rushed over and supported underneath Kieran’s back as they hoisted him onto the kitchen table.
Brigid’s fearful eyes met my own, then Clancy’s voice bellowed over our heads.
“We’re going to need blood. He’s lost too much of it!”
Notch nodded. “He’s right. Kieran? Can you hear me?”
The man coughed up blood. “Y-yeah.”
“Do you know your blood type?”
Kieran shook his head and I watched Notch deflate. He looked around the room at his family members, but they all shrugged and shook their heads. He cursed beneath his breath as he pointed to his bag and I leapt toward it before tossing it in his general direction.
And after doing a quick swab-and-shake test, he had his answer.
“B-negative. Is anyone—”
Mom lifted her hand. “I’m B-negative.”
Ruby nodded. “So am I.”
I cleared my throat. “I am, too. So, if you need blood, hook me up first. I’ll be able to give more than they will.”
Notch sighed with relief. “Great. That’s absolutely fantastic.”
How did my mother remember our fucking blood types?
“What the absolute hell happened out there?” Stone roared over the commotion.
Clancy leaned against the wall and talked through his panting. “We were meeting with Asher and his crew’s V.P. in a small restaurant.”
“Where?” I asked.
His eyes met mine. “Encinitas. And before we even got our damn appetizer, cars skidded by kicking up burnt rubber, and bullets started flying. I didn’t even have a chance to unholster my damned weapon before they drove off, and they peppered enough bullets in that place to down at least half of the people dining there. ”
“Fucking hell,” I growled.
Stone walked over to the patriarch. “Is anyone dead? Any civilians?”
Clancy’s face sunk. “Unfortunately, yeah. There are a few dead back in that restaurant.”
“God damn it!” Stone exclaimed.
He grabbed one of the kitchen chairs and threw it so hard that it crashed into the furthest wall of the living room. Notch and Ruby worked quickly to stop everyone’s bleeding and fix Kieran, but I knew what Stone was thinking.
“The police will be involved now if there are civilian deaths,” I said.
I looked over at West and he nodded. “I’m on it. I’ll dredge up what I can.”
“I appreciate it. When you’ve got some information, bring it to both me and Stone. And any way I can help, let me know.”
West brushed past me. “Can do, my man.”
Liam cleared his throat. “You guys got police scanners? I’m good with listening in on them.”
West crooked his finger. “Come with me, I’ve got a few of them.”
Then, Stone finally found his voice again. “Is Asher all right? Where is he?”
Clancy shook his head. “Not sure, honestly. As soon as my sons were hit, we rushed out the back, leapt into the SUV, and got back here as quickly as we could.”
Texas pulled out his cell. “I’ll call him until he picks up.”
I pointed to him. “Call him five times. If he doesn’t pick up, go find him.”
Texas looked over at Stone and our president nodded, so Texas followed my orders. I hated that they did that, as if the newer guys in the crew weren’t capable of making good decisions in times like these. But Texas didn’t even have to call twice before Asher picked up.
And when he hung up the phone, a grin crossed his face. “Asher and his V.P. are okay. They’re on their way here now. They were looking for Clancy and his boys, actually.”
Clancy groaned. “Fuck. I’m so sorry. My boys, they just—”
“Daddy, don’t beat yourself up,” Brigid said. “Any of us could’ve lost our concentration if we saw one of our family members go down.”
I nodded. “She’s right. You’re a father first, so don’t hold that instinct against yourself. Not even when conducting business.”
The two of us stared at one another for a very long time before Clancy nodded his head. And while I didn’t have any time to interpret the relief that washed its way through my veins, Notch snapped in front of my face to get my attention.
“Whenever you’re ready, I need that arm of yours,” he said.
I shrugged off my coat. “Ready when you are.”
They hooked me up to Kieran before they continued to find the source of the bleed from his shoulder.
I watched as my own sister pulled out the bullet, but then he started bleeding even more.
Brigid freaked out as her father barked for answers.
As Notch tried his best to tune everything out, I watched my own blood pour into this man’s son.
Whose sister I loved more with every passing second I was around her.
Suddenly, I started feeling woozy. “Uh, guys?”
Notch didn’t even look up at me. “Just one more pint. Stay with me, Puck.”
“Jared?” Mom asked. “What’s wrong?”
And when Ruby looked up at me, my knees grew weak.
“He’s gonna pass—”
Then, the entire world went black.
“He should have woken up already. Why the hell is he not waking up?”
I heard Mom’s voice before Brigid chimed in.
“Lori, you have to trust them. If Notch says there’s nothing to worry about, then there’s—”
“My son isn’t up yet!” she shrieked. “I want to know why!”
Notch sighed. “Miss Lori, it’s just a vasovagal reaction. Many people pass out when giving blood, and that’s all that happened.”
“Where is he?” Clancy asked. “Is he awake yet?”
Brigid sniffled. “No, Daddy. He’s not awake yet.”
Their voices slowly came into focus and my body felt heavier than lead. The mattress beneath my back cushioned me as I willed my fingers and toes to move.
But they simply couldn’t.
“It’s okay, princess, he’s going to be all right,” Clancy said softly.
I heard Brigid softly crying and it shattered my soul. “He helped save Kieran. He has to wake up.”
“Trust me,” Clancy said softly, “he will.”
“Why don’t we give him some time to rest,” Notch murmured as his voice grew further away. “Even if he didn’t fully pass out, he’d still need to rest.”
“I don’t want to leave him,” Brigid whispered.
I felt someone take my hand before Clancy spoke. “I’ll make sure to have Rowan check up on him every so often. Okay, a leanbh?”
She drew in a broken breath. “Oh-oh-okay.”
Then, the person holding my hand squeezed it before my mother’s whispered voice sounded in my ear.
“Rest easy, sweet boy. I’ll be back soon.”
And with her soothing voice against the shell of my ear, I slipped off back to sleep.