Page 5 of Thor
I shook my head.“Nah.He brought it.I just turned it back on him.”
Joker nodded.“Self-defense.”
I nodded.“Fuck yeah.He got in the first strike.”I grimaced, trying to take shallower breaths.As the adrenaline rush of the fight receded, the pain set in.Good chance I had a broken rib under that slash.
I spared a look at the remaining attacker.“How bad is he?”
Joker shook his head.“Dead.”
I looked over at the crumpled form.“Seriously?”
“Yup.Knife went straight in, sliced the main artery and took out one lung.He bled out.Probably before he hit the ground.”
“Crap.”
Joker pulled out his phone.“I’ll get Daryl on it before the cops show up.”
Daryl was the club attorney.Yeah, we had a lawyer on speed dial.Yet another ex-SEAL, but one who’d made the transition back to civilian life better than the rest of us.Used the GI bill to get an education and pass the bar.If anyone could spin things in my favor, it was Daryl.When one of us got into legal type trouble, Daryl was there to fix it.
We got into trouble more than we liked to admit.
The door swung open again, and Janet stepped outside.She looked gorgeous as always.I tried to smile past the pain that was quickly ramping up.
“I might want to take a raincheck on that burger, Cupcake.”
Chapter Two
Janet
When we got back from the ladies’ room and found both Thor and Joker missing, my first reaction was annoyance.I did not take well to being ignored, and I somehow assumed they were outside looking at a shiny new bike or something equally asinine.
I didn’t expect to see Thor on the ground covered in blood, and Joker with a worried frown on his face.The other guy wasn’t moving, but I didn’t care about him.
Rushing to Thor, I dropped to my knees beside him and smoothed the hair back from his face.“How bad is it?”I looked to Joker for the answer.I knew Thor wouldn’t admit to being hurt unless he’d been dead for at least twenty-four hours.
“Bad.”Joker had taken off his shirt and was applying pressure to Thor’s side, but I could see a steady stream of blood leaking out from under the makeshift bandage.“He needs stitches, and possibly a transfusion.”
I nodded.I’d interned at the local hospital while I was in college, then when I graduated, I’d accepted a position as a medical receptionist in their emergency room.That had given me lots of experience at dealing with these kinds of situations.I pulled out my phone and hit speed dial to the ER.
“What’s up?”Sarah, my co-worker answered with her usual cheerful voice.“You miss me already?”
“Emergency.Thor’s hurt.Bad.Knife wound.Get me an ambulance to the alley behind the Settlers Pub.FAST!”
“On it.”She dropped into professional mode.“He need a transfusion?”
“Probably.He’s type O positive.”He’d come to the blood donor clinic with me a few weeks back, and we’d laughed that we had the same blood type.
“Hang on while I notify dispatch.”The wait music came on, but not for long.“Okay, I’m back.They have a crew a few blocks from you.Should be there any minute.”
“Thanks.”I dropped the phone back into my pocket and took Thor’s hand.Staring into his ice-blue eyes, I realized just how much he meant to me.
“Help’s on the way.You’re going to be all right.”
A faint smile curved his lips, and his voice sounded strained.“Of course I am, now that you’re here.”His eyes fluttered closed.
I knew that look.He was in shock.Loss of blood could do that.He needed help.Right now.
The sound of an ambulance siren broke the silence, and I ran to the entrance of the alley to flag them down.They pulled in and a paramedic jumped out.I recognized him from multiple visits to the ER.His head swiveled between the two forms laying prone on the ground.
