Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 38962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Instead, I wait, clenching my jaw so hard my teeth fucking ache. I’ll be surprised if I haven’t ground them to nubs.
“Check her fucking pulse.” The sirens are becoming louder and louder with each breath I take. “Fletch, man, please tell me she’s okay.” Leonard is officially on my shit list. This son of a bitch hesitates because of a little bit of blood. My irrational side is bubbling over, about to lose it on him. I get they have a protocol, but this is Maeve Oliver we’re talking about. She’s the sweetest, kindest soul, innocent in this fucked-up world, and while my woman has a mouth on her when she’s pissed, it’s for a good damn reason when she decides to unleash that tongue of hers.
“Leonard, go take care of JW.” Smith is on his stomach, hands behind his back, a similar position to the one he put me in. He deserves a fuck of a lot worse than where he’s at right now. Hell, metal bars and concrete walls are too good for him after the hell he’s put Maeve and every other woman through.
“Hurry the hell up,” I snap out, watching as Fletch finds a towel and presses it along Mae’s neck.
Leonard keeps his mouth closed, grabs the universal key for the handcuffs, and unlocks one and then the other. Clayton tried to have me sit on my ass, but one look at me after he secured the cuffs to the pole had him rethinking things. My height and weight compared to his didn’t make him feel like such a wise guy without a knife on Maeve’s neck. He scurried away, making sure to take his knife with him. The second the cuffs loosen, I’m away from Leonard, sprinting toward Maeve and dropping to my knees.
“She’s good, bud. Her pulse is strong. The bleeding has slowed, but she’s not waking up. Could be trauma, could be her head hitting the ground, or could be something else. Either way, the minute the ambulance gets here, you both need to be seen to,” Fletch says, giving me an update before heading back to Clayton.
He stands him up. The asshole is yelling obscenities, further implicating himself with his nonsense. Keep at it, motherfucker. I make a mental note to have Maeve give Fletch the security feed later.
“Maeve, baby girl. I need you to open your eyes.” My hand cups her cheek. I dip my forehead to hers. She doesn’t respond and it makes my gut sink to my feet.
“The patient is on the ground over here. Maeve Oliver is her name. The male beside her also needs to be seen to, JW Johnson.” Fletcher is rattling on about the wounds she’s received as well as my wrists. “They can ride in the ambulance together. He doesn’t need a stretcher, but she will. I’d suggest not trying to separate them. JW’s a big fucker, and I’m not getting between him and Mae.”
“Got it.” I don’t leave her side until Logan, a firefighter and paramedic all in one, comes to Maeve's other side. He doesn’t say dick as I stay where I am. It doesn’t take long for him to assess she’s able to be loaded onto a stretcher as he talks to his partner Mercy. They take her pulse, oxygen, and blood pressure. Through it all, Maeve doesn’t wake up. She’s still, and if I didn’t hear it for myself that her levels are normal, I’d demand answers.
“Alright, we’re going to load her up. I’ll take a look at your wrists when we’re in the ambulance,” Mercy says.
“I’m good. She’s more important.” We stop talking when they load Mae up onto the stretcher, and only then am I forced to back away.
“JW, I’ll lock this place up after we’re done and meet you at the hospital. I’ll also let the family know, both families.” Fletcher’s taking care of us yet again. We’re all going to owe him an arm and a leg, and we’ll return the favor time and time again for all he’s done.
“Thanks, brother.”
“Anytime. Look after your girl.” He tips his head, I return it, and then I’m off to the hospital with my woman.
TWENTY-THREE
MAEVE
I lift my head off the pillow and blink open my eyes, praying everything we just went through was all a dream. I take that back. I hope it was all a nightmare but judging from the crinkle of the bed beneath my body, the blaring lights, and a beeping noise, I’m guessing it’s all reality. One date with the turd-eating dumbass fuckface Clayton, and this is what I get. The dude isn’t even that good-looking. All I wanted to do was fill a void, and obviously, I abandoned ship when I got the major ick from him. He tried to wreck my whole world, JW’s world, our family’s world, and now it’s over.