Chapter Seventeen
Caymen
In the harsh clinic lights, she looked like a ghost.
The low light in the woods and car had done a lot to camouflage how bad off she was.
Her arm was covered in blood. It stained her tank and her shorts as well. Her ankle had ballooned to twice its size. Her feet were filthy and bloodied.
And her face was splotchy, her eyelids swollen, her eyes red.
How long had she been crying without me noticing?
I knew I couldn’t have done anything about it, not when we were running for our lives. But I hated that she’d been suffering in silence without so much as a hand squeeze to silently tell her everything was going to be okay, that I would make sure of it.
“First room,” Ama called, still pulling up her hair, then pausing to sanitize her hands before she followed us in. “So, you’re Noa. I wish I could say this is the first time I’ve met a new club girl this way. But, well…”
Noa didn’t correct her.
I didn’t either.
But I had no idea if she just didn’t know what to say, or if she was thinking along the same lines as I was. That this wasn’t just a fun safe house fling. That there was something between us. New, yes, but different. Important.
Whatever it was, it wasn’t the time to talk about it.
“I’m Ama. And I am going to get you all cleaned and fixed up.”
“Hey, Ama. I get the feeling that he isn’t going to say anything, so I’m going to: Caymen’s feet probably look exactly like mine. If not worse.”
“They’re fine.”
“I’m sure they’re not,” Ama said, tone dry. “But I’ll get to him after I’ve fixed you up. A couple questions: any allergies, when was your last tetanus, and are you going to faint on me when I bring out a needle?”
“No allergies. About three years ago. And no, I’m fine with needles, stitches, blood, no issues.”
“Good. That makes this easier.”
“Caymen,” Huck called from the doorway.
“Go ahead,” Noa said. “You can’t do anything here.”
Sure I could.
I could sit with her, hold her hand, rub her back.
But I had to talk to the club.
“I’ll be right back.”
“She’s in good hands,” Ama assured me.
“I know she is. Don’t be a hero. Take whatever drugs she wants to toss at you.”
With that, I made my way out of the room.
“What’s up with your feet?” Huck said.
“Barefoot running. It’s fine. I want Noa taken care of first.”
“Sit, at least, then,” he said, grabbing the rolling stool from the nurse’s station and pushing it over to me.
I wasn’t going to fight him on that.
I dropped my ass down, feeling the way my soles immediately started to pulse.
I’d never admit it to her, but my feet were fucking killing me. The run had been bad, then the scratch of the pedal against the cuts had only made things worse.
“Seeley took the car. He took the gun too. I’ll give you a clean one. Just don’t want to take any chances if this asshole tries to go to the cops or something.”
“Good. I don’t think she’s got any attachment to it.”
“Tell me you saw this fuck,” Huck said.
“I wish. It was dark as fuck out there.”
Which I’d loved when chasing Noa through the woods. It’d added to the fun—not being able to see her, just having to rely on my instincts.
The second mad dash through the woods had been a lot less fun. Especially after hearing her cry out in pain.
“Maybe I should have turned around and taken the bastard down.”
“There’s no point in would’ve-could’ves right now. The blown window is a good lead.”
“Yeah. That was a smart move on her part. She tried for the tires, but I was going too fast.”
“It probably wouldn’t have helped. The safe house is too far away. By the time we got out there, he’d have been gone on foot.”
That was true.
“Did you leave anything important in the safe house?”
“I think Noa’s bag is still there. But he already knows who she is, so there’s not really anything he can do with that.”
“Your wallet?”
“I have it. I put it on the nightstand before bed.”
“One less thing to worry about.”
“Has Arty found anything?”
“Yes and no. He did find what we think is the camper on a traffic camera. But there was a blind spot and they disappeared into it. That said, he checked all the other roads around there and didn’t see it leaving.
So we think it’s there somewhere, parked.
We just need to give him another hour or two. ”
“Good. Because we need him on the car angle now too. I don’t think this was one of the stoners. He was too controlled.”
“Pro?”
“Maybe.”
“Which puts us in the position of trying to figure out if it is a pro linked to the missing guns, or if it’s someone from a previous job Noa did that didn’t go well.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, exhaling hard. “Hopefully, Arty can find the camper. Then we can confront the guys about the guns, about who might be involved, or even just know about it. It gives us somewhere to look.”
“And until then, we need Noa somewhere safe.”
“She’s not gonna want to go to the clubhouse. She’d be worried about your kids and Che’s kids next door. Too much risk.”
“Can’t say I disagree with her. There’s Teddy’s. He has a doorman. Or if she’s not into that, a hotel would be safer than any standalone kind of building.”
“Or there’s Zayn’s yacht,” Dixon said. “What?” he asked when everyone turned to look at him. “It’s an option. If it’s around here. If not, he also has a boat.”
“I’ll have to ask her which she’s most comfortable with. She might be a little anxious about being around Zayn right now. Have you guys been in touch?”
“We’re keeping him updated. He’s glad to see there’s some progress.”
“Okay. Anything else I missed?”
“No, that about covers it.”
“Is Arty talking about what happened to him yet?”
“No. Stubborn ass.”
“Well, when this is done, I’m down to ride if someone needs to know they can’t put their hands on him.”
“Think your ass is gonna need a break after this,” Huck said. “Now, go check on your woman.”
It was the second time I deliberately chose not to correct someone when they made that comment.
Because, fuck, I think she was.
Mine.
I hadn’t been expecting that.
I figured I had another few years of partying at the club before I even thought about settling down.
After a lifetime of responsibility, I thought I wanted fun and maybe a little adventure.
Somehow, though, since Noa came into the picture, everything around me dulled. She was the focal point. She was the only thing I wanted.
Crazy?
Probably.
But it wasn’t like that shit was new around this club. It seemed like every season, some woman was coming out of nowhere and knocking one of the club members on their ass.
Maybe it was just my turn.
“What are you doing?” I grumbled when Dixon grabbed the back of the chair and started pushing.
“Keeping you off your feet.”
“I don’t need to be pushed.”
“Shut up,” Dixon demanded, the eye roll clear in his voice. “Knock, knock. Everyone decent?” he called before reaching for the doorknob of the exam room.
“Come on in,” Ama called.
Noa was still on the bed, but her arm was cleaned of blood, and there was a bandage attached to her shoulder.
“How was it?” I asked.
“I’ve seen worse. If it’s kept clean, she should be healed up in a few weeks.”
“And her ankle?”
“Her ankle is going to need a scan. I’m just finishing up on these feet. Then I will get her into the X-ray machine. The swelling is dramatic, but there’s still a chance it’s not broken.”
“It better not be,” Noa grumbled.
“How you feeling?”
She exhaled hard.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Huck wants us somewhere safe after this. With the three options being a hotel, Teddy’s condo, or—”
“My friends,” Zayn’s voice filled the room, making Ama jump and Noa stiffen.
I swiveled in the chair, finding him standing there with a big bouquet of flowers, despite there being no way a florist was open at this time of night. Or, morning, I guess, now.
“I am sorry to hear you are injured,” he said. “I brought flowers.”
“If I smell those, am I going to pass out and wake up on some mountain being hunted by billionaires for sport?”
Zayn’s lips quirked at that.
“I’m afraid they are just normal flowers. But I can acquire any drugs you wish.”
“I didn’t hear that,” Ama said, shaking her head. “Okay. Just going to wrap these up, then we can get you to X-ray.”
Zayn walked in to place the flowers on the counter.
He couldn’t have been getting much more sleep than the rest of us, but he looked fully awake, his black suit crisp, his slight beard carefully shaped.
“How the fuck do you look so put together?” I asked, unable to help myself.
“Money,” he said with a shrug and a wicked glint in his eye.
“Okay. I’m going to take Noa to X-Ray. Why don’t you hop up on the table so I can do your feet when I get back?” she suggested before going to grab a wheelchair and helping Noa onto it. “We’ll be right back.”
I did as I was told, then kicked off my shoes, feeling better without the pressure on the cuts.
“Run through the woods?”
“Yeah.”
“You know it’s better to wear shoes when you do that,” Zayn said, dropping down onto the rolling chair I’d vacated.
“Next time I’m not being chased by an armed man, I’ll keep that in mind. The fuck are you doing?” I asked when he scooted over, grabbed gloves, then rolled toward me.
“Fixing your feet.”
“The fuck you are.” But he was already reaching for the wash basin and bottle of saline.
“You know, it would be difficult to engage in all that primal play of yours when you lose your feet to infection,” he said.
“You’re not a doctor.”
“Am I not?”
“Wait… are you?”
I mean… none of us knew shit about Zayn. Whoever he was before he became an international arms dealer had been completely scrubbed. He basically didn’t exist until he showed up in scuttlebutt about the arms trade.
“I worked as a medic,” he clarified as he reached for a tweezer and yanked something that felt like a fucking tree branch out of one of the cuts.
“Noa got a local,” I said as I tried to take deep breaths as he dug around in the cuts with the tweezer.
“I’ve dug bullets out of boys younger than your brother over there without any drugs,” he said, tone emptier than usual. “You can handle a few leaves and thorns being pulled out.”
He wasn’t wrong.
So I just shut up and let him work.
“Anything I need to keep an eye on?” I asked when he finished applying the gauze, then rolled vet tape around my feet and ankles.
“There’s one cut in your arch that is deep. Make sure it doesn’t get red or puffy. Here,” he said, finding a pair of slipper socks in the drawer, and tossing them at me.
“Um, what the hell is this?” Ama asked when she came back in, pushing a pale-looking Noa.
“Zayn is a medic, apparently,” Dixon said, looking as confused as Ama did.
“Wait… really?”
“I’m a man of many mysteries,” Zayn said, back to his usual fun, light, playboy demeanor.
But I’d seen the man underneath that and under the careful, calculated arms dealer.
There was someone else beneath all that.
Someone with scars. With stories. I couldn’t help but wonder if we would ever learn them.
“Then why did you make me clean up that cut on your hand last month when you can take care of it yourself?” Ama asked.
“And deny you the pleasure of my company? I could never be so cruel.”
Ama let out an airy laugh.
“Okay. Well. One less thing for me to do, I guess. So, Noa’s ankle.”
“Is it broken?”
“There’s a small hairline fracture. Nothing I’m too worried about. We’ll get her a boot so she can walk, but I’m going to urge you to walk as little as possible while you heal. No running,” she added with a pointed look at me.
Yeah.
I guess my little preference was known to everyone.
“I have an idea,” Zayn said. “Why don’t you heal on one of my boats?
“One of?” Ama asked, shaking her head.
“I fear the yacht is taking this little… inconvenience as an opportunity to get some repairs. But my trawler and sailboats are both anchored in Miami. It would eliminate the possibility of doing much walking. And you can anchor offshore for safety.”
I glanced at Noa, seeing the same look of interest on her face that I felt. Because that did seem a lot safer than another building somewhere. No one could walk up on us. And the boat could be piloted away in case of an emergency.
“I think we might take you up on that,” Noa said.
“Splendid. I will go make sure it is filled with everything you two might need.”
With that, he was out the door.
“Medic?” Ama asked, brows pinched.
“I know, right? The man is an onion,” Dixon said.
“You sure he did a good job on your feet?”
“Aside from his bedside manner and lack of a numbing agent, yeah, I think he knows what he’s doing.”
“And you got a tetanus booster last year, so you’re all set. I just have to grab a boot and a brace—for when you’re not wearing the boot—for you, and you guys can head out. Not to be rude, but you two look like death warmed up.”
“I can imagine,” Noa said, grimacing. “I think a day or two on a boat might do us wonders.”
A day or two alone with her? Without someone trying to murder us? Yeah, I couldn’t think of anything better.
Of course, that wasn’t exactly how things happened, though.