Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 31165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
5
NORA
Inever thought I’d agree to treat a bullet wound that couldn’t be reported to the police, but I hadn’t hesitated to grant Eli’s favor. Not when one of his club brother’s lives was at stake.
I didn’t really think about what I was about to do until I was back downstairs twenty minutes later, headed toward the door with my first-aid kit in one hand and my cell in the other.
“You just got home from work. Where are you going?” my mother asked.
I shifted my position, hoping it would make it more difficult to see the kit. “Eli is picking me up earlier than planned.”
Her nose wrinkled as her gaze darted down my body. “You’re wearing that for your date?”
Hearing the rumble of what I was hoping was his motorcycle, I replied, “Yup,” and slipped out the door.
Unfortunately, my mother wasn’t going to let me get away that easily. She followed me outside, where her wide smile of greeting quickly slipped from her face when she saw Eli. Straddling his bike in black boots, jeans, a black T-shirt, and his leather vest, he looked nothing like the lawyer she’d been expecting.
“Nora Elizabeth Stoll, you get back here right this instant,” she demanded.
“Sorry, Mom. No can do,” I called back as I handed Eli the first-aid kit to tuck into his saddlebag. Then I popped the helmet he shoved at me onto my head and climbed onto the motorcycle behind him.
I’d never been on one before, but being wrapped around his muscular body made me an instant fan. I also appreciated how quickly we drove off because my mom hadn’t stopped yelling since she realized I was actually leaving with him. I wasn’t looking forward to dealing with her, but I had a bigger problem to deal with first—treating a bullet wound.
With my upbringing, I wasn’t very familiar with motorcycle clubs, but I knew enough that I wasn’t surprised the Hounds of Hellfire didn’t want the cops notified about a bullet hole in one of their members. The situation when I met Eli was different because the woman who shot him was the head of some con ring who had targeted him, judging from what the media said about the whole thing afterward. How that woman had thought Eli would be an easy mark baffled me, but I didn’t expect to ever learn what truly happened.
Either way, that must not have been the type of business that could get Eli’s club into trouble. If he called me for help, this must be. I wasn’t exactly the best choice, considering I was an EMT who was studying to be a paramedic and had limited experience with things like bullet wounds, other than stopping the bleeding and getting the patient to a hospital.
Luckily, Mark had been a combat medic. He’d taught me all kinds of stuff typical paramedic training wouldn’t go anywhere near. My biggest concern was if the bullet was still in the guy…I’d have to insist they go to a hospital because they needed a surgeon to dig it out.
However, despite my internal struggle, I didn’t want Eli to think he couldn’t count on me. So I squared my shoulders and put a confident expression on my face.
“I’m guessing it’s safe to assume that you’re not going to be able to answer any of my questions even though my medical training has gotten me pulled into club business?” I asked after he parked his motorcycle in front of the clubhouse.
He flashed me an apologetic smile and shook his head. “Sorry, baby girl. There’s always gonna be stuff I can’t share with you, including the rare times when you have the right to be curious about what’s going on.”
Climbing off the bike, I heaved a deep sigh. “That’s what I figured you’d say.”
He waited until he grabbed my first-aid kit from the saddlebag to ask, “You gonna be able to live with that?”
“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think I could handle it.”
Some of the tension eased from his shoulders at my answer, but any concern that either of us had about how club business might impact our relationship was shoved on the back burner while I followed him inside.
“Where’s my patient?” I asked the first guy I saw.
He jerked his chin toward the hallway on the far-left side of the large room and answered, “In the medical clinic.”
”Medical clinic?“ I echoed once we were out of earshot of his club brothers.
Eli interlaced our fingers while he led me past several doors. “Two of the guys are doctors, Razor and Flint. They made sure that we were equipped to handle any kind of medical emergency.”
“And yet, here I am about to take care of a freaking bullet wound for you,” I muttered, wondering why I was surprised that their ranks included a couple of doctors when Eli was a lawyer.