Page 8 of Thor
The knife wound burned like fire.I fucking hoped the asshole had cleaned the damn knife recently.Dying of an infected knife wound was not how I wanted to end my life.Hell, I hadn’t been patched into Riptide all that long.I wanted to enjoy bossing some of the prospects around for a while before I bit the dust.
Janet dragged the plastic chair closer to the bed without letting go of my hand.“What happened?I went to the bathroom and when I came out you and Joker were both outside.”
I took a deep breath.“I saw a couple guys drag a girl out the back door.Thought she needed help, so I followed.Turned out to be an ambush.”I gave her the lighter version of the story.She was already skittish about settling down with a biker.I didn’t want to give her any more reasons to hesitate.I was already picturing cute little girl babies with her smile and my stubborn streak.
She frowned.“Do you know who those guys were?”
“Fuck, no.Never seen them before today.I haven’t led the life of a saint, but I don’t think anyone personally wants me dead.Maybe someone has a grudge against Riptide or ex-SEALs and I was just a handy target.I’ll get Shadow to look into it once I get out of here.”
A strange look crossed her face, but she gave my hand a squeeze just as two uniformed cops shouldered their way in.She changed from concerned girlfriend to woman in charge in less than two seconds.Jumping to her feet, she faced them with her hands on hips, barring them from approaching any closer.
“This patient is not up to being questioned yet.Who let you in here?”
The young receptionist rushed in behind the intruders.“No one.I told them they had to wait, but they pushed right past me.”
“Well, you can push your way back to the waiting room.”Janet raised her arm and pointed the way back to the lobby.“The doctor will let you know when this man is available to talk.”
The first cop started to speak.“But there’s been a --”
“Go!Now!”Janet stomped her foot, gesturing toward the exit.
I had to swallow a shit-faced grin.My woman was magnificent when she was mad.
The cops backed up slowly.They were not happy.“You know we can get a subpoena?”growled the taller of the two.
Janet took a step forward, forcing the man to back up further.“Have at it.I’m sure the judge will be thrilled to be pulled away from his family on a Saturday evening to issue a subpoena to talk to a victim in need of urgent medical care.”
“Biker bitch.”The cop mumbled the insult under his breath.
Janet’s eyes opened wide.“Excuse me?”
The receptionist chuckled and whipped out her phone to snap a picture.
“What’s that for?”the second cop demanded.
“Just something to remember you by.In case you come back some day.Plus, I need some content for the staff newsletter.I thought I’d title itThe Dragon And Her Victims.”
He opened his mouth to reply, but his partner grabbed his sleeve and pulled him toward the exit.“Let’s go.”
With a final glare that took in all three of us, the cops stomped off in the direction of the waiting room.Janet turned and came back to stand beside me.“You, okay?”
I nodded.“Other than the knife wound and a few bruises?Yeah.”I reached up to twine my fingers in her hair, tugging suggestively.“Wanna have some fun?”
The receptionist cleared her throat.“I’ll just get back to my station.You two behave yourselves now.I’m pretty sure there’s a rule against fraternizing with a patient.”
“He’s not my patient.”Janet didn’t take her eyes off me.“He’s my boyfriend.”
The receptionist raised one brow and eyed me up.“I’m not sure ‘boy’ is a fitting description, but okay.”She sauntered out the door.
I started to laugh and winced as a shaft of white-hot pain lanced through my side.
Janet’s face turned to a mask of concern just as a doctor bustled into the room, clipboard in hand.He hesitated a moment when he saw Janet, then turned his attention to me.“Mr.Stennson?”
“Call me Thor.”
Janet straightened up, backing away from the bed to give the doctor some room to work.I missed her warm touch.
“Tell me what happened.”The doctor put the clipboard down and started to examine me.I gave him the short version, leaving out the part where I thought it was an ambush.
