Page 67 of Deadly Aloha
Lu’s nostrils flared and her jaw ticked as she looked at me. Then she turned to Tommy and said, “Do what you have to do, but make it hurt.”
Tommy chuckled. “Want to help?”
Intrigue crossed her face. “How?”
“Here, put these on,” he handed her a pair of gloves too. “As soon as I pull the shard out, I need you to pack the wound. He’s not bleeding excessively, which is good, but we can’t risk him losing any more blood, especially with everything we have to do on his back.”
Lu let go of my hand and reached for the gloves. I’d let her have her moment, even if it was at my expense. I sure as fuck wished for another dose of that sedative when Tommy finally pulled the shard from my side. Other than the initial jolt, though, I was able to hold myself stiff as white hot flames burst from my side.
I felt Lu immediately start to pack the wound as Tommy had instructed. However, when my ears registered a gagging sound, my eyes shot open to look at her. She was applying pressure to my side with her head turned away from me and clearly trying not to throw up.
“Tommy,” I snapped, seconds away from moving regardless of his instructions.
“Lu, sweetheart.” He moved to replace her hands on my side with his. “I’ve got this. Why don’t you go check on Pua?”
Lu, though, shook her head. “No, I—” She gagged. “I’m fine. I can help.”
“You’re not going to help me at all if you throw up on or near me,” I told her. “Because I will get off of this couch to comfort you.” When she met my eyes, I saw tears lining hers. “I’m good,” I assured her, my voice softer this time. “I promise. You’re not going to lose me.”
She nodded stiffly. Taking off the bloody gloves, she dropped them to the floor by the first aid duffel. “I know I said to make it hurt,” she said to Tommy, “but not too much, okay?”
Tommy chuckled. “I’ll do my best. Promise.” As Lu walked away towards where Tangaloa and Pua were by the bottom ofthe stairs, Tommy turned back to me. “Got yourself a hell of a woman there, Prez.”
My smile was smug. “I know.”
Tommy just shook his head at my audacity and then went back to work. I held as still as I could as he worked to remove the glass and wood splinters from my back before stitching me up. He also hooked me up to an IV line to help keep me hydrated and to flush the sedative out of my system.
At some point, the twins and Spirit came back downstairs. I also noticed others had arrived. I didn’t know who had called them, because it wasn’t me. Neo was going to bitch at me for destroying yet another phone. I was in enough pain that I was not looking forward to it. Normally their bitching amused me.
Lu came back over several times to check on me, but did not stay to help again. I still would have preferred eating her out as a way to distract her. Unfortunately, she was holding firm about her opinion of that. Something about me bleeding turning her off, which I found a ridiculous sentiment. I never let her period bother me.
She claimed it wasn’t the same thing, though.
As Tommy was finishing, Holly came downstairs with Bacon. She was carrying a cup of something green that smelled… I crinkled my nose. Well, it smelled like roadkill, to be honest.
“Here, Paniolo.” She plunked a straw in it and put it next to my face where I was still lying on the couch. “I made you a smoothie.”
I lifted an eyebrow. My eyes went to Bacon over her head, and the man’s face warned me we would have a problem if I refused his little owl’s offer.
Lu came over, Pua now in her arms. Tangaloa was no longer in the basement, I noticed. She was sniffing the air like a bloodhound. “Oh, what is that? It’s smells delicious.”
Holly’s cheeks reddened. “I made it for Paniolo to help him rebuild his iron levels after losing so much blood. I didn’t think about you being hungry too. I’m sorry. I can go make another?—”
“No!” Lu and I said together. Holly blinked in surprise, glancing between us. “If she’s hungry, she can have it,” I offered, trying not to sound too eager. The look Bacon gave me said I failed. “She’s pregnant,” I justified to him. “I’m not going to take food away from her.”
“We can split it,” Lu told me. “Tommy’s done. I can sit next to you and?—”
“It’s fine,” I assured her. “I don’t want Pua over here right now.” To Holly, I said, “Thank you, Holly. Really. But I can’t take food from Lu. Please give it to her.”
Lu gave me a guilty look before accepting the smoothie of death from Holly. “Thank you. I’m starving and Tangaloa says all our food is destroyed upstairs.”
Everythingwas destroyed upstairs, but I didn’t know how much she knew. She hadn’t left the basement yet, which I was grateful for. I didn’t want her to see our home without me.
Holly turned back at me. “I checked the dart that you were injected with. It’s methohexital. It’s a rapid sedative that wears off in about ten to fifteen minutes when administered intramuscular. It can take forty-five to sixty minutes if done as a rectal suppository, so be grateful they hadn’t done that.”
I blinked at her, not entirely sure how to process that. Bacon’s reverent look as he stared at Holly as she spoke to me turned dark when he realized I hadn’t responded. I cleared my throat. “Um, thank you. For checking. Any side effects from the drug?”
I literally had no idea what else to say.
