Page 83 of Shadow Redemption
In the stairwell, Trace and Nico took the lead while Joe and Sam brought up the rear. They made their way to the bottom floor where Nico led them toward the back entrance of the hotel.
Smoke hung heavy in the air. Shouted orders to evacuate and fear-filled voices of guests heading outside added to the cacophony. Several guests abandoned their attempt to leave the hotel from the front entrance and pushed in front of the Fortress group with more falling in behind Joe and Sam. The hallway quickly filled with people determined to leave the premises as fast as possible.
Ben tightened his grip on Ruth’s hand, uneasiness twisting his gut into a knot. So many things could go wrong. Was this a trap?
At that moment, the lights went out and the corridor leading to the exit plunged into darkness. Panic swept through the crowd surrounding the Fortress group. Women screamed and men shouted, many shoving past Joe and Sam to make a fevered plunge toward the exit.
Acting on instinct, Ben wrapped his arm around Ruth’s waist and thrust her on the right side of his body where he served as a buffer between her and the panicked crowd. People jostled him as they shoved aside anyone in their path.
After one hard shove, a streak of fire raced down Ben’s side. He hissed as pain exploded from his ribcage down to his lower back.
“Ben?” Ruth’s hand clamped over his. “What is it?”
“Later.” He gritted his teeth as hot liquid spilled down his side and slid under the waistband of his cargo pants. Grim realization struck. Ben needed to get Ruth to safety before blood loss made him ineffective. One of the people in the hallway had cut him with a knife.
Finally, Nico and Trace plunged into the night, forming a protective barrier as Ben hurried Ruth into the alley behind the hotel. Sam and Joe rushed out behind them.
“Go,” Ben said, tightening his hold on Ruth. He scanned the people nearby. No one seemed interested in the Fortress group. Whoever cut him could be any one of the people milling around in the confusion.
Nico led the group away from the hotel through a series of winding alleys and back streets until he reached a wooded greenway.
Ben stumbled to a halt, blinking to clear the fuzziness of his vision. Not good. Although he fought to stay on his feet, he sank to his knees and collapsed on his uninjured side.
“Ben!”
The darkness closed in.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Ruth dropped to her knees beside Ben. She gripped his side and frowned. Why was her hand wet? She held it up to the light as Sam crouched beside the fallen operative. She gasped. “He’s bleeding, Sam.” How had he gotten hurt? He’d been beside her from the moment they left the hotel suite.
The medic slid her bag off her shoulder and turned on a small flashlight. The beam illuminated Ben’s back and side to reveal a shirt soaked with blood and a long slice in the material.
Sam covered her hands with thin rubber gloves and ripped the material of Ben’s shirt to expose the wound. “Someone cut him. He’s losing a lot of blood.”
Ruth’s stomach knotted. “In the hotel hallway, Ben made a noise like he was in pain. When I asked about it, he said he’d explain later.” Who would do this and why?
Nico crouched beside her. “Can you handle his injury, Sam, or do we take him to the hospital?”
“I can handle it, but I need a safe place to work and time to do the job right.”
“Trace, get one of the SUVs. I’ll find a place to hide out for a few hours. Patch him up for now, Sam.”
“Yes, sir.”
Patch him up? Ruth stared at Nico in disbelief as she gripped Ben’s hand. Although Sam was the best medic according to Ben and would know if an injury was life threatening, Ruth’s first instinct was to take the man she loved to the nearest emergency room. Shadow, however, had utmost confidence in the medic’s ability to treat wounds. She’d have to accept their word.
Nico squeezed Ruth’s shoulder briefly and moved a short distance away to make a call while Trace sprinted back toward the hotel.
“What can I do?” Ruth asked Sam.
“You squeamish?”
“Under normal circumstances, yes. But I’ll do whatever I have to do for Ben. If I need to barf, I’ll do it later.”
A quick smile from the medic. “Joe will keep the enemy off our backs while we work.” Sam opened her bag and pulled out several white packets and another pair of gloves. “Put these on. Hold the flashlight and open the bandage packets for me. We’ll close the wound with butterfly bandages and hope they hold when one of the guys carts Ben out of here.”
Ruth frowned. “Butterfly bandages aren’t meant for a wound like this.” Her stomach churned at the sight of the gaping wound down Ben’s side and back. How had he stayed on his feet as long as he did?