Page 95 of Mouse Trapped

“Let me do it again,” I suggest.

“No, Brother,” Drummer says firmly. “You need to look after yourself as well. Not going to be any good to anyone if you collapse.”

I feel so useless. Marvel appears with a bar of chocolate; I stuff it down without tasting it. The plane drones on, time seems to move slowly.

Devil appears from the front of the plane. “I’ve arranged for an ambulance to meet us.”

My shoulders slump. “Devil, she’s a deported immigrant. They find out…”

“Mouse. Do you trust me?”

After thinking for a moment, I decide he’s never appeared untrustworthy. Fighting by our sides on a couple of occasions. He’d got us into Colombia and back out. “I trust you.”

“She’ll go in under a fake name. I’m British, yeah, we’ve got our own problems with immigration, who hasn’t? But I’m not going to be dobbing her in.” I take it he means reporting her. “Carter’s doing what he can. She needs surgery to get the artery patched or grafted, and a doctor needs to check how much damage the bullet might have done. Apart from giving her more transfusions.”

“I’m staying with her.”

“We all will,” Drummer interrupts. “My brother’s ol’ lady’s coming home with him, Devil. Not having any different outcome.”

“I’ll sort it.” Devil’s face is full of promise as he moves out of the way. “I told you. Trust me.”

“Hold this, Mouse.” Kleinman’s now moved away, his face paler than before he started. Carter’s passing me a bag. “It’s saline,” he explains. “Out of all other options now.”

The plane flies on, the engine constantly droning. Carter uses his second, and last bag of the fluids I hope will keep her alive until we land.

By the time we touch down, the most I can say for Mariana is that she’s still breathing. She hasn’t come around. The ambulance is waiting, the medics come on board and have herhooked up to another drip before she’s moved. Devil goes in the ambulance with her, I had to agree he was best to get her checked in.

The six of us get our bikes out of the hangar and are right behind it.

It’s a small hospital, thank God; one I haven’t been to before. They’re expecting her and rush her straight in to surgery as Devil deals with the bureaucracy. Drummer gets me a coffee. For the first time in my life I wish I wasn’t a teetotaller, longing for the oblivion to wipe this worry from my mind.

“I can’t lose her,” I suddenly announce to no one in particular.

“You won’t,” Drummer replies from beside me. “She’s a fighter. She’s strong.”

“You saw the conditions she was kept in…”

“But not for too long, Mouse. Hold on to the positives.”

Standing, I start to pace. “What’s taking so fuckin’ long?”

“It’s only been half an hour, Mouse.”

I glare at Viper, then cease walking, stopping and leaning my forehead against the wall. The smell of the disinfectant reminds me of the month we waited for Heart to come around, and the time we thought we were going to lose Slick and Beef. We’re men, we’re bikers. We signed up for this shit. An untimely end is likely for any one of us. Mariana’s only twenty, she’s got her whole life ahead of her.

“Should I tell Drew?”

Drummer closes his eyes and thinks about it. “Wait until we know more, Mouse. Don’t want to worry the kid. He can do nothing to help. When we know what the prognosis is, you can prepare yourself to tell him.”

“I haven’t had a chance to get to know her,” I complain out loud.

“You’ll get your chance,” Blade growls as he comes over. “Think positively.”

Don’t borrow trouble.Was it really only this morning I was saying that to Mariana? It seems so long ago. Why hadn’t I said more to her? Why hadn’t I told her how I felt?Because my intensity would have scared her.

Devil comes in and joins us. When I glance at him he raises his chin. I take it everything’s sorted. My nightmare would be for her to come around only to be confronted with ICE.

Two hours pass, and a doctor comes in. “Family of Jane Smith?” he asks.

---