Page 71 of Mann Hunt
“Problem?”
“I gotta get into work.”
“Okay.”
Declan got out of bed and searched for his pants when his cell phone rang. He picked it up. “Hello?”
“Dec, it’s Mickey. Look, you’d better get over to the bar, ASAP. I’ve got Charlie here. He’s been in a fight. He was beat up pretty bad before he got hit by a car.”
“What the fuck! Is he okay?”
“I checked him over. He’s banged up, but I think he’ll be fine.”
“I’ll be right there.” Declan disconnected.
“What’s happening?” Luke asked.
“Someone’s about to regret meeting Charlie.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Charlie woke in a strange, drab room. He was lying on a small cot. There was a grey metal desk at his feet and a filing cabinet to his right. The room was dimly lit. Had he caught him—the massive man who’d thrown him against the side of the van?
“You’re safe now,” a familiar voice said. “No one’s going to hurt you here.”
Charlie sat up slowly. His side ached like a son-of-a-bitch. He looked around. Mickey was sitting on a chair.
“You’re in my office. At the bar.”
The door of the office burst open. “Where is he?” Declan asked.
“He’s right there,” Mickey said, pointing to the cot in the corner.
Declan hurried to the cot and dropped to his knees. He placed a hand lightly on Charlie’s chest.
“Are you okay?” he inquired. Without waiting for a response, he asked Mickey, “Is he all right?”
“I checked him over, and he’ll be fine. Bruised as hell, but fine. I’ve got him on ice packs. It should help reduce the swelling.
“What are the odds? There I was, driving along, minding my own business when I spot Charlie in a fight with two guys. You should have seen him. He was brilliant. First he spun out of the way of this big guy’s fist. The guy was built like a fuckin’ brick wall. Then he ran into the street right in front of my car. I slammed on the brakes and just at the right second Charlie vaulted up onto my hood and slid right across, landing on his feet, and then he fainted. The little thug who was watching let out a scream—sounded like a five-year-old.” Turning to Charlie, he said, “You should take up parkour, Charlie. You’re a natural.”
“And he’ll be okay?” Declan asked again.
“Just fine. Bruised ribs and a scuff to the forehead from when the big guy threw him up against the truck—”
“Big as a brick wall, huh?”
“But other than that, he’ll be right as rain.”
Charlie was confused. “Are you, like, a doctor?”
“Better than that,” Declan answered. “He’s a trained Armed Forces medic. He’s fixed me up more times than I can count. Now,” he said, lowering his face close to Charlie’s, “how are you doing?”
Charlie met Declan’s gaze. He was determined to be strong…but the relief and fear finally caught up to him and he began to cry. His body shook with sobs.
“I’ll be in the bar if you need me for anything,” Mickey said, nodding to Declan before leaving the room.
Declan held Charlie in his arms. “Hey, there, it’s okay,” Declan said. “I’m here and I promise, I won’t letanything else happen to you. I want you to know you probably went up against the same guy that kicked the crap out of me last week, and from the sound of it, you handled yourself a lot better than I did.”
