Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 41825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 209(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 209(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Nitro raised an eyebrow at me, that familiar dark amusement flashing across his face as I joined him. “Done marking your territory, Cage?”
“Fuck off,” I growled under my breath, following him through the kitchen and toward the back corridor leading directly into the internal entrance of the clinic.
Nitro chuckled, shaking his head. “No judgment here, brother. Hadley looks good on you.”
“You’ve got your own woman,” I muttered, pushing through the door, my body and mind already shifting firmly into the controlled focus of a doctor. “Don’t worry about mine.”
Tyre was sitting on an exam table, grimacing and clutching a blood-soaked towel against his shoulder, while Kane stood nearby, his arms folded and jaw set in grim displeasure.
Tyre grunted in pain when he twisted toward me as I approached, his gaze lifting to meet mine. He was tough, but the sweat dotting his brow and the tight line of his mouth told me he was hurting more than he’d ever admit.
“Relax, asshole,” I muttered, snapping on gloves and moving to inspect the damage. “Let’s see how much of a mess you made.”
“Fuckin’ mierda,” he hissed as I eased the towel away, revealing a jagged wound that had thankfully missed anything major. Unfortunately, the bullet was still lodged in his flesh, though not deep. I’d need to pluck it out before I cleaned and stitched up the injury.
When I looked up at him, he read it in my expression and grimaced, cursing again.
I moved around, gathering what I needed. When I returned to his side, he looked a little paler than before.
“Gonna need me to knock you out?” I asked dryly.
It was complete bullshit. The man was built from pure steel, even with a fresh bullet hole.
Tyre glared. “Unless you want a matching hole in your ass, shut the fuck up and get me the hell outta here.”
“What happened?” I muttered.
With his jaw clenched, he gave me a summary of what had gone down as I worked quickly, irrigating and sterilizing the wound. “Bastard shot like a fucking amateur.”
“Be glad he did, brother,” I murmured as I picked up an instrument. “It’s practically a flesh wound.”
I didn’t wait for him to respond before getting to work on removing the ammunition from his shoulder. He let out a string of rapid curses under his breath, but he never flinched away. It didn’t take long for me to finish, then I went about taking care of the bleeding before cleaning the wound again and preparing to sew it up.
Nitro leaned against the doorway, his gaze flicking to me with a dark smirk. “Funny, ain’t it, Doc? A bullet wound barely makes you blink, but one look from a certain pretty little blonde, and you’re all shook up. Losing sleep and everything.”
Kane’s lips curved in a knowing grin. “Seems like our club doctor’s finally been laid low. Maybe we should call Hadley every time he gets ornery and watch the good doctor melt into a pussycat.”
I glared up at them, not bothering to hide my irritation. “Fuck off.”
Tyre chuckled, wincing slightly as I placed the first stitch. “Damn, Cage. Never thought I’d see you so pussy-whipped. What happened to our fearless doc who didn’t bat an eye at anything?”
“You wanna talk shit while I’m holding the needle?” I asked, finishing another stitch.
Tyre grinned, his eyes dimmed with pain, but clearly amused. “Point taken.”
Nitro chuckled again from the doorway. “Can’t blame him, Tyre. We’ve all been there. Women make fools of us all.”
Tyre snorted. “You have. Don’t expect me to be falling all over myself for a woman.”
Kane’s perpetual scowl eased slightly as he shared a look with Nitro. “Didn’t you say the same thing before you met Jana?”
Nitro smirked and nodded. “Pretty sure something like that came outta Cage’s mouth not too long ago.”
I didn’t take the bait, and the conversation shifted naturally into compound upgrades while I continued working, tension slowly ebbing as our familiar rhythm fell into place. Tyre gritted his teeth through the final stitches, but his voice was steady when he spoke up.
“Talked to the contractor this morning.” He was visibly relieved as I began wrapping the wound. “Sent the deposit for them to get started. Playground install will be done next weekend. Pool’s up after that.”
Kane grunted. “Good. Might even be able to get Cecily out here to start lessons with the babies before it gets too cold. Pool will be heated, but still.”
“Cecily?” Tyre queried.
Nitro nodded. “Local swim instructor. She’s done an amazing job with the infant swim lessons for Kylan and Mylo. We just started her with Nella.”
Kane’s arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. “She’s an Olympic hopeful in artistic swimming. Doesn’t have a permanent spot, so we’ve had to go wherever she could find a place to teach. Now we’ll be able to have her come here once the pool’s ready.”