Page 36 of Unbreakable
Jake
"What the fuck!" I curse rushing over to my lifelong friend. "Emerson, I need you over here now!" I shout, but it wasn't necessary because she is by my side and in front of Bennett in seconds. "What the fuck happened, brother?" I ask a bloodied and battered Bennett as I reach out to him. Unable to move any further, he lays on his back sprawled out on the clubhouse floor. It's then I hear the gurgled sounds of his voice as he tries to speak.
"Motherfucker got my old lady, Jake. They have my wife. Ambushed us about two miles down the road. Rammed into us from behind and we ended up in a ditch. Next thing I know is the window is being smashed in, and some motherfucker knocks my woman out and pulls her out the passenger window. I got one shot off, hitting the guy before a couple of shots were fired into my window. I'm pretty sure the guy I hit is still there. Fuckers left him behind." He spits out passed the blood in his mouth.
Jerking my head up, I look at Logan and Gabriel. "You two go see what's left behind. If that son of a bitch Bennett popped is still alive, bring his ass in. You know what to do."
Looking at the rest of the room, I see the children and family members have cleared out. Thank fuck, because I don't want anyone, especially children, to have to witness this shit. I turn my attention back to Emerson who has ripped open Bennett's button-down shirt exposing a bubbly bloody hole in his left rib cage.
"Goddammit! He's been shot," she shouts. "He has a collapsed lung. He's going to need to go to the hospital now. I can't fix this here."
"In my room," Bennett grinds out through his pain. "The duffel bag in my closet."
"Already on it!" Reid rushes in the room dropping a large bag by Emerson's side.
"He needs surgery to remove the bullet. I can't do this here, Jake," she says with fear and slight uncertainty in her voice.
"No time doc. You gotta do it, yeah? I need ya to save my brother." I watch as Emerson closes her eyes briefly and when she opens them a second later they are filled with fire and determination. Without missing a beat, she reaches over and unzips the bag Reid brought; she goes to work pulling out a package and ripping it open. "This is going to hurt like a bitch without any pain medicine," she warns and then proceeds to take a bottle of rubbing alcohol and splashes it across Bennett's ribs and chest. She then takes a pair of forceps and inserts them into the hole in his chest. A roar and a string of curses come from my brother's mouth the same time Emerson pulls the forceps from his body along with the bullet. Next, she takes a scalpel and cuts an incision between two of his ribs before she uses a pair of small scissors and slides them through the cut she just made. The clubhouse is eerily quiet aside from Bennett's labored breathing as Emerson rips open another package, this one containing a tube. She then takes the scissors out of Bennett's ribs and replaces it with the tube. Once it's in place a gush of blood passes through it and onto the clubhouse floor, and instantly Bennett's breathing gets better.
Now that the most urgent care is over with, Emerson moves on to the other visible injury. My brother's right ear has been nearly severed from the side of his head.
"Bullet," Emerson mutters to me as she uses some gauze and tape to hold it in place. "I can sew it back on just as soon as we get him off this floor and moved somewhere more comfortable. I also need to get him something for the pain before going any further."
"I don't want to get more comfortable. I want you to finish patchin' me up, so I can go find my wife." Bennett bites out as he begins to scramble on the floor like he is trying to get up.
"Lay your ass back down, brother. You're not going anywhere with a tube stickin' out of your damn chest. We're going to find Lisa. I promise you that."
Bennett tries to sit up in protest once again. And I can't blame him. Lisa is his world and right now he feels as though his world has come crashing down. But no way is he in any condition to fight. "Bennett, you know I love ya, and you're my brother, but right now I'm talkin' to ya as your President. You stay put and let Emerson fix you up." I don't miss the flash of anger on his face as he takes in my words. He's not happy with my call, but he'll respect and abide by it.
"Prospect!" I bark out.
"Prez?" Grey says walking up to me.
"I want you to help Blake and Emerson get Bennett moved to his room, so she can finish fixing him up."
"You got it, Prez."
Once they make their way out of the room, I turn to Reid. "See what you can find out on Lisa's cell. Maybe we'll get lucky, and she still has it on her. Not likely but it's worth a shot." Nodding his head, he turns on his heal on a mission. Standing in the middle of the empty clubhouse room, I look down at the floor to where my best friend's blood is, and then I tip my head back and suck in a deep breath. Lisa is the matriarch of this club. She is essential and irreplaceable. I love the woman like a sister, and I vow to bring her home safely. Right after I kill any man, who would dare think they can fuck with my family.
"Jake, my friend. Can my men or I be of some service?" Demetri asks coming up behind me. Turning to face him, I peer over his shoulder to see Victor and another one of his men standing at the entrance of the room.
"I need eyes on the town. Can you have your men drive around, see what they can find? You all have been in Polson long enough to know a local from a newcomer. Leave no stone unturned. If your men can handle that, I'd like for you to join me in church when Logan and Gabriel return."
"I can do that." He says inclining his head and making his way back across the room to his men to dish out instructions. At this point, we don't have shit to go on. Having eyes on the town looking for anything suspicious is better than not doing shit at all. I hope to God Reid comes back with a lead. And as much as I want the fucker that Bennett shot to be burnin' in hell right about now; I'm hoping he's still got some life in him, just enough for us to get some intel out of him. Once I get what I need from him, I'll gladly assist him on meetin' his maker. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Raine walking into the room with a bucket of water and a mop. She strolls right up to the bloody fuckin' mess on the floor and begins cleaning. Striding up to her, I gently palm her face and kiss the top of her head. Raine and Ember have been a godsend to the club. The old ladies have taken a shinin' to the girls too. Probably because they both are respectful. They stay away from the taken men, and they never have to be told what to do. Like now, for example. In the past the club girls we had made it hard to respect them. We don't treat any woman who walks through these doors like they don't matter. Whether you’re an old lady or a club girl, you are respected. The problem with Cassie and Liz was they fucked up too many times to count and lost that respect. "Thanks, sweetheart. Don't know what this club would do without ya."
"I could say the same thing about you all." She replies with a weak smile. "You guys have been amazing to Ember and me. And the women don't look down their noses at us. I can't speak for Ember, but I don't know where I'd be right now without the club." I give her shoulders a light squeeze. "Where is Ember?"
"She's helping the women with the kids. They were pretty shaken up by what went down a little bit ago, and she knew they would need some help keeping them distracted. Especially Grace. I think you should go check on her." She adds.
"Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. Do me a favor. When Logan and Gabriel get back, will you tell them I said meet me in church?"
"Sure, Jake. I'll tell them."
Making my way to the back of the clubhouse, I walk into the entertainment room we had built last year for all the kids. The children look to me none the wiser as to what's going on, aside from Remi. I can tell by the terrified look on her face she knows this all has to do with her father. And the devastated look of guilt on my Little Bird's face says she knows too. Walking over to the couch where she and Remi are huddled together, I drop down to my knees in front of Grace, and she throws her body into mine and sobs into my neck.
"I'm so sorry, Jake. This is all my fault. If it weren't for me none of this would be happening to you all. Bennett was nearly killed, and Lisa is gone."
Sensing we need a minute, Bella comes up behind me. "Hey Remi, we're headed to the kitchen to fix the kids some ice cream. Why don't you come with us?" When Remi cuts her weary eyes over to me, I give her some encouragement.
