Page 93 of Ruthless Salvation
“How’s Oran?” I felt a little bad that I hadn’t stuck around to check on my cousin, but I wasn’t too worried about him.
“Bruised but fine. Kevlar took care of it.” Every one of us who were out in the open had been outfitted with vests.
“Good. I’ve called an ambulance. Stormy was shot.”
“The fuck?”
“Exactly. I’ll call you later.” I hung up and dropped to my knees next to Stormy. “Jesus, baby. That’s a lot of blood.” I took over holding Jolly’s shirt over the wound for compression, my heart pounding like the relentless bass of club dance music.
“It’s okay, really.” She smiled through the pain.
How fuckin’ sweet was this girl that she was reassuring me whenshewas the one who’d been shot?
“Jolly was supposed to protect you. Not the other way around,” I chided her gently.
“Yeah, but it’s Jolly. He’s like family to you.”
Fuck if I wasn’t insanely, maddeningly in love with this woman.
I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Thank you, baby. That’s crazy sweet of you, but if you ever do something like that again, I’ll spank your ass raw.”
Storm started to laugh, then winced. “Is he dead?” she asked, pain lancing through her words.
“Not dead but secure.”
“Promise me you’ll end it, Tor. I want this to be over.” She lay her hand over mine and looked at me with such desperate yearning, it ripped me in two. I hated the thought of Damyon not suffering for what he’d done to her. He deserved to endure the same months of torment he’d inflicted upon her. But hell if I could tell her no, and I wasn’t about to lie to her. Not when she’d already given me so much of her trust.
“Fine,” I said through teeth clenched so tight, my jaw ached.
Her whole body visibly relaxed. “Is Shae okay? I was worried sick about her.”
“Crazy woman was fighting back laughter before unveiling herself. I think she had a little too much fun disarming him.”
Stormy smiled, but her eyes were drooping. The blood loss was getting to her. I was five seconds from calling 911 again to bitch out someone—anyone—when the elevator doors pinged open, and two men with a stretcher stepped out. They took a look at the fireman, then Storm, then back at the fireman, unsure what to think.
“He’s not actually a fireman,” I called to them. “And he’s beyond fixing. Now get over here and help her.”
After a moment’s pause, they followed my instructions. They were good at their jobs, getting her stabilized and loaded up in a matter of minutes. I rode with her to the hospital, my hand clasping hers the entire way.
* * *
The ER doctorupdated me not long after we arrived. He said Storm wasn’t in any danger, but he needed to perform surgery to remove the bullet and clean the wound. I didn’t care how much he reassured me. I wasn’t going to breathe easy until I saw Storm alive and well with my own eyes.
Keir and Rowan soon joined me in the waiting room along with Jolly, Micky, and that asshole who came by the club for Storm. I didn’t even have time to kick the guy out before four people joined him, all twittering about Storm like they knew her. Then Shae appeared with Pippa, Bishop’s woman, and Conner’s wife, Noemi. The three women had grown close in recent months. In five minutes’ time, the waiting room was a fucking circus.
I would have been annoyed, except I knew Storm would be beside herself when she saw all the people who had rallied around her.
Just as the doctor had said, Stormy was taken to recovery two hours later. She’d done well in surgery, and the baby’s heartbeat was steady and strong. As I waited to be called back to see her, I tried to wrap my head around it all. Stormy. The baby. Damyon’s capture. It had been one hell of a week.
“Family of Stormy Lawson?” A man in scrubs stood at a set of double doors.
The entire room stood up.
“Here,” I said, making my way to him. “I’m her husband.”
Someone behind me began to cough and choke. I ignored them.
“Storm is awake now. We can only let family back, and only one at a time.” He peered over my shoulder, brows raised. “They’re not all family, right?”