Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Sirens sounded in the distance. “We need to go.” I draped my arm over Serenity’s shoulders and limped toward her car. “Don’t tell them I was here.”
“I won’t. I know what to do.”
“Oh… and find my gun before they get here. It’s in the rubble somewhere.”
Razor started in that direction, and Serenity opened the passenger door. I slipped inside, hissing at the sharp pain. She hurried around to the driver’s side and drove out of the lot. “Where am I going?”
“There’s an all-night urgent care on Third West and Main. I’ll call Dix, and he’ll meet us there.”
“Okay.”
I found my phone and put the call through. Dix picked up right away and said he’d be there in about fifteen minutes. Whatever Vanetti paid him was totally worth it. I let out a sigh and disconnected, grateful Vanetti had a doctor on call.
Closing my eyes, I laid my head back. “How did he know? No one knew we were going to be there except Vanetti and Razor.”
“Maybe there’s a bug in Razor’s office? Cash could have hidden it. We’ve been there enough times that Johnny would know what was going on. And you’ve called Razor while he was in his office, too. That has to be how he found out.”
I shook my head. “I should have checked.”
“Hey. You didn’t know. Besides, I think you may have hit him with your shot. He jerked to the side, so he’s probably wounded. That should slow him down.”
“Yeah. But it wasn’t enough to stop him from throwing that grenade.”
“Is that what it was? Where would you get something like that?”
I shifted in my seat and grimaced. “I know a few places. Maybe we can get a lead on him from them.”
Serenity nodded. “There’s the urgent care.”
“Good. Pull around to the back, and we’ll wait for the doc.”
“Okay.”
We were only there for a few minutes before Dix pulled in. He used his key and opened the back entrance. After slipping inside, he held the door open for us. Leading us to a curtained area, he stopped beside an exam table. “What have we got?”
“There’s shrapnel in my leg from a grenade.”
Dix’s brows rose. “Okay. Let’s get the bandages off.” He glanced at Serenity while he went to work. “How’s the head?”
Her eyes widened. “Good. I forgot all about it.”
He chuffed. “I’ll bet.” He motioned to me. “You’re going to have to drop your pants and get on the table. There’s a drape you can cover yourself with. I’ll be back in a minute with what I need.” He left, and Serenity took his place.
“Here, let me help.” She unlaced my boots and helped me slip them off. I took off my jacket and handed it to her. Unbuckling my belt, I carefully lowered my pants over my wounds. I wasn’t a novice when it came to shrapnel, but I’d forgotten how painful it could be.
Serenity helped me finish taking them off, and her face went pale. She took a deep breath and frowned. “That looks like it hurts.”
I slipped onto the table to lay on my stomach, and Serenity put the drape over my ass.
“You’re not wrong.”
Dix came back in, took a long look at my leg, and shook his head. “I don’t know how you do it, but you’re one lucky son-of-a-bitch. Only a couple places that need stitches, and I can pluck out the rest.”
He glanced at Serenity. “I’ll be done in about half an hour. You can sit over there if you want, or wait in the waiting room.”
She swallowed, and I remembered how much she hated the sight of blood. I fully expected her to leave, but she stepped over to the chair and took out her phone. “I’ll stay.”
The doc got to work numbing each wound. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he enjoyed stabbing me with that needle. At least I couldn’t feel it when he started digging out the shrapnel.
He was right. Considering how close that grenade had come, I was lucky to have found cover in time. Lucky Stone… and I didn’t even have that rock in my pocket.
Shit! So much for my plan to draw Johnny out. I had a feeling that I knew him from somewhere, but I couldn’t put it together, and it had been too dark to see his face.
Good thing Serenity had scared him off. Too bad her shot hadn’t hit him, but I’d take what I could get. She thought I’d hit his arm, so it wasn’t a total loss; still, it frustrated me to no end that he’d nearly succeeded… again. What the hell? Was I losing my touch? Without Serenity, I’d be dead.
So far, nothing had worked. Even his tattoos had been a dead end. If things didn’t change soon, my luck just might run out. But that wasn’t the worst of it. Just like my days in the army, people around me tended to die. Razor had gotten lucky because of Serenity. But now I had to worry that, because of me, she could be next.