Page 1 of Fighting Dirty
~ Tiffany ~
Hearing a gunshot, Tiffany ran to her vehicle and grabbed her medical bag from the back. Racing back in the direction the sound originated from, she was intercepted by one of the brothers and hustled into the MC clubhouse instead. Clutching her soft-sided first-aid bag, she came to a staggering stop inside the back room.
The sight unfolding in front of her was nothing short of alarming. Ace was lying on his back across a pool table, and Ryder was standing over him, plugging a hole in his thigh with a pool stick. The table was covered with copious amounts of blood, and if that wasn’t bad enough, black bats and Halloween streamers hung down around the arguing pair, like a not-so-funny comic backdrop.
Stumbling over a hay bale, she ignored the pumpkin that went rolling off to the side and slid to a stop beside the pool table. “This is not proper compression procedures for a wound, babe,” she chided Ryder.
Jerking open her bag, Tiffany snapped on a pair of rubber gloves before shooting the love of her life another disapproving glare. “Why in the hell did you take the first-aid class, if you weren’t going to take it seriously?”
Jerking back, Ryder stared at her indignantly. “Don’t look at me like that, doll. I tried to push on it with both hands, but the blood wouldn’t stop gushing out all over the damn place. The stupid fucker’s got abnormal goblin blood or some shit. I swear, it was fightin’ to get out of his body. What the hell am I supposed to do with that? Pluggin’ the damn hole up is the only thing that worked.”
Tiffany shook her head and mumbled, “Yeah, you’re a freaking hero, babe.”
Quickly pulling out a sterile pad and some clamps, she climbed onto the table to have a look for herself. Pulling slightly at the skin around the pool stick caused blood to pool again, and Ace groaned in pain.
“It sounds like the bullet may have nicked a secondary artery. You’re simply compressing the artery at the injury site. Plug it with your finger next time.”
“No fuckin’ way.”
Unsure exactly what was up with the stubborn set of Ryder’s jaw, Tiffany insisted again, “I’m serious. It’s less likely to damage the artery and soft tissue.”
His face contorted into an expression of absolute disgust. Jesus, what was his problem?
“You gotta be kidding me, doll. I ain’t about to stick my finger in some dude I don’t even like.” Her big, beautiful biker was looking at her as if she was ten kinds of crazy.
Ace’s furious voice filled the air as his hands white-knuckled the sides of the pool table. “Fuck you, man. I don’t even think of you as a brother.”
Ryder smacked him roughly on the side of the head and bent down to look him in the eye. “Of course you don’t. You ain’t a brother until you earn your bottom rocker. Till then, you’re just a snot-nosed prospect.”
“I’m the only snot-nosed prospect around here who’s done a dime, so fuck off.”
Climbing up to get a better look, Tiffany scolded the squabbling men. “Knock it off, both of you.” Cutting her eyes up to Ryder, she gentled her voice. “Ease up on the pool stick, baby. I’m going to try and clamp off the artery. This is so far beyond my ability, I don’t even have words...”
The moment he pulled back, a tiny arc of blood squirted from the wound. Using forceps, Tiffany quickly clamped off the artery and got to work stabilizing him for transport to the local emergency room. Her time as an ER nurse came in handy hanging around with this wild bunch of bikers.
Glancing up at Ace’s handsome face, she saw he had three dots tattooed beside one eye and a tiny teardrop inked on his cheek. She vaguely remembered Ryder saying that meant he’d killed someone in prison and led a crazy life. Then again, that statement could pretty much describe every man in the club, including her beloved Ryder.
She frowned as she continued to work on his wound. “I thought you two were finished shooting each other up.”
Ace darted a quick glance from Ryder back to her. Licking his lips, he admitted softly. “I…uh…kind of shot myself.”
Tiffany noticed the little drops of sweat beading up on Ace’s forehead and the tightness around his mouth when he spoke. His gaze slid away she tried to catch his eye.
“Let me guess. You were cleaning your gun, and it accidentally went off.” That was always the story when someone got shot, and nobody wanted to give up the details.
Ace’s eyes jerked back up to hers. “Hell no. I pulled the trigger, and there was a delayed discharge. I thought it was a misfire. When I brought the gun down to open it up, a bullet came out and hit me in the leg.”
“I see.” Tiffany could almost imagine that in her mind’s eye. Since there was a ring of truth to his tone, she let it go and continued cleaning and packing the wound.
“It burns like a bitch.”
Ace’s exasperated words tugged at her heartstrings. Since they’d do a drug screen when he hit the emergency room, however, it would not be in his best interest to have illegal pain killers in his system. That meant all she had to offer was empathy and fast transport to a doctor.
“There can be particles of burning and unburned powder embedded in your skin. Gunpowder residue can feel like burning. Because the gun was so close to your body when it discharged, you caught a little more of it than usual this time.”
“Are you gonna stitch me up?”
“Your artery is damaged beyond my ability to repair. You really do need a good surgeon.”