Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 133975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 670(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 670(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
Czar stepped around him and the others followed suit, moving quickly to follow the now-visible trail. Blood marred the green grass, a lot of it. A dead man lay crumpled a few feet away from what was an obvious crack in the mountain.
“Keys?” Czar raised his voice. “Got Steele with me. Don’t shoot anyone.”
Keys emerged from that crack. His face and clothing were streaked with dirt and blood. He looked exhausted. But he was alive. Steele grinned at him. “You wreaked a little havoc up here, Keys.”
“Didn’t leave us any fun,” Savage groused.
Keys shrugged. Swayed just a little. “Nothing much to do up here, so decided to play with the bad boys.”
“They didn’t fare too well. Looks like you took a headshot,” Czar said. “Let Steele take a look at you.”
“Need him to look at Lyric. I’m worried about her. She’s been sleeping on and off. Coherent when she talks to me but has a vicious headache we can’t seem to stop. She saved my life a couple of times. Wouldn’t make me happy if she died.”
“I’ll look at her,” Steele volunteered immediately. “Storm and Ice are bringing in the helicopters. We’ll get you two ready to travel and take you home the easy way.” There was no way Keys would allow him to look at his head before he took care of the woman, so he wasn’t going to bother arguing.
Keys turned and led the way inside. The little cave couldn’t even be called a cave, but Keys had done a good job of making it warm and bringing in the supplies they needed. Steele glanced at the wall of dirt at the back and jerked his head in that direction, alerting Czar to the numerous bullets embedded there.
“Had a bit of a firefight,” Czar observed, his voice casual.
“Yeah, tell you later. Lyric disposed of him, and that doesn’t sit so well with her, so best not to discuss it right now.”
Steele followed his gaze down to what looked like a pile of blankets, and a pretty slim one at that. He didn’t know what he expected, but it wasn’t this girl. She looked like a little kid who’d had the crap beat out of her. Master was married to a short little thing, but this one rivaled the one the entire club called a fairy princess. She wasn’t Keys’ type at all.
Keys crouched down beside the woman, gently rolling her until the light spilled across her face. She really did look young. Her skin was pale with a dusting of freckles. She had bruises and swelling around her eyes and mouth. Surprisingly, her nose was untouched. But Steele could see the congealed blood in her ruby-red hair. Keys had tried to clean the wound, but it was a mess.
“Lyric.” Keys spoke in a voice Steele had never heard him use. Soft. Gentle. Nothing like his usual demands. “I told you about my brother Steele. He’s going to examine you. It’s important, Wildfire. Just stay still.”
Her hand moved, reaching for his, and Steele shot a glance to Czar when Keys took it without hesitation. Their eyes met. That was the last thing Steele or Czar or any of them thought Keys would do. He didn’t comfort women. He despised tears and clinging. He let others do that part if it was necessary. They usually covered for him because it bothered him to be touched when he didn’t want it.
Steele knelt beside the woman. Keys sank completely to the floor. “Do you want me to lift her up? She can sit on my lap if that would be easier.”
“I’m just going to pass my hands over her body and then take a long look at the wound in her head. You said she’s been sleeping a lot.”
“She has a difficult time standing, and she’s had a pretty vicious headache,” Keys reported. “She seems to have gotten worse, not better.”
Steele didn’t waste any time. The woman didn’t open her eyes, not that he blamed her. Her face had taken a beating. When he moved his palms over her, visualizing her internal organs, he found several deep bruises on her chest and ribs. Her stomach. The wound in her thigh needed attention. Her arm was scraped. But her head…She needed immediate care. He wasn’t going to wait until they got them home. He was going to work right there.
“This is going to take some time,” Steele announced. His gaze met Keys’ over the woman’s head. The raw pain in Keys’ eyes told him Lyric meant something to him. It didn’t make sense, but then it didn’t have to.
“What is it?”
“Small hematoma. I need to drain off the fluid and repair the blood vessel. Fortunately, it is very small, or we’d be in trouble just from the passage of time. These things usually require immediate surgery to prevent permanent damage.” Steele shrugged out of his jacket, preparing to get down to work. He glanced up at Savage. “My med bag is in the chopper. I’ll need to knock her out.”