Page 104 of Jagger's Remorse
When I finally get to her, she's on her knees, one hand pressed to her shoulder, the other still holding her knife.
"Hey," she slurs, looking up at me with glassy eyes. "Ruined the party."
"You didn't ruin anything." I drop beside her, hands already assessing damage.
"The paperwork," she insists, swaying slightly. "The Nevada contracts. Are they safe?"
Of course, that's what she's worried about.
Not the bullet hole, not the chaos around us—the fucking contracts.
"They're fine. Stop talking."
"Bossy." She tries to smile but winces. "Always so bossy."
Raven appears at my shoulder, pressing a bar towel to Scarlett's shoulder.
Her hands shake slightly, and there's blood in her gray hair—not hers. "The crazy bitch saved my life," she says, voice shaking. "Took a bullet meant for me."
"Just returning the favor," Scarlett mumbles, listing sideways. "You gave me a dress."
"That's not the same thing, you psycho."
"Sure it is. Do you know how hard it is to find—" Her eyes roll back.
"Scarlett!"
"Move!" Doc pushes through, medical kit in hand. "Get her on the table."
I lift her, trying not to jostle the wounds.
She's too light, too pale.
Her blood runs between my fingers, hot and slick.
Around us, the fighting continues, but our brothers are rallying.
The surprise is wearing off, and I hear Poncho's roar, Hammer's war cry.
"Jagger!" Squirrel appears, blood splattered across his face, some his, most of it isn’t. "Three prospects are missing. The ones who were acting squirrely."
Rocket. Wharton. Quill.
The pieces click with sickening clarity.
"They let the fuckers in."
"Has to be. Disabled the alarms, probably opened the back entrance." His face is granite. "When I find them?—"
The promise in my voice makes him step back. "You won't. I will."
"Already on it. Joker and Mouse are tracking. Focus on your woman."
Doc works on Scarlett, hands steady despite everything going on around us.
I've seen him dig bullets out of brothers while under fire, but never seen him move this fast.
"Bullet went through clean," he reports. "But she's lost a lot of blood. The knife wound's deep, too. Nicked something important."
