Her arms don’t look nearly as bad as her legs, stomach, and face, but her wrists are the worst. Deep black bruises litter herwrists from where the chains held her up. I softly run my hands over them in utter shock. Brooke doesn’t weigh a lot, but all that force against her wrists did some damage.
We use that technique on some rival MCs, and their wrists normally break from all the pressure, but they are also much larger and heavier than she is. Brooke is a small person, and I didn’t think it would bruise this badly already.
I lift her wrists to my mouth and kiss them gently. I wish I could take all of this away. I would have taken her place in a heartbeat. It breaks me to see her hurt like this.
After I am done cleaning her arms, I move to her face. Both of her eyes are swollen shut, and her nose is crooked. Bruises cover her face, but mostly around her jaw. It looks like he hit her everywhere, but he favored her jaw.
I let out a deep growl at that thought. Why would anyone want to do this to an innocent girl? She is so sweet and did not deserve this.
I wish I had gone with her into the gas station. I could have prevented this. She would have never gotten hurt.
“Bear! Stop thinking that way! It’s in the past, and you can’t take her place. I need your help. Her heart rate is dropping, and we are close to the compound,” Razor says, bringing me out of my thoughts.
I look in his direction, and he has an oxygen mask on Brooke. I worry as he starts to hook an IV into Brooke. I look outside the window and realize we are pulling up to the compound, and people are waiting outside.
“Bear! Help me get her on the gurney!” Razor yells.
I gently pick up Brooke’s shoulders as Razor does the same with her legs, and we place her on the gurney.
“Once we get parked in the compound, I am going to need your help getting this out of the van,” Razor says, looking in my eyes.
I nod and walk to the end of the bed, near the doors.
“I’ll walk you through everything. You are going to pull the bed when the door is open, and the legs will fold out under. I’ll be on the other side while the other legs come out. We then have to walk fast, but we need to make sure we don’t jostle her a lot,” he instructs, getting into position. “Do you understand?”
“I understand,” I say.
Just as the prospect parks the van, I open the door, but before I can do anything, Razor shouts at me as machines start bleeping.
“I need to do CPR!” he yells.
I watch in horror as Razor straddles her body and begins to do chest compressions on Brooke.
21
BROOKE
Everything is dark. My body feels stiff and cold, like I haven’t moved in weeks. My eyes feel like they are glued shut, and I can’t open them.
I try to move my fingers, but they are stiff. Anxiety rises in my chest as I fight not to panic. I could be paralyzed, in an unfamiliar place, or I could be dead.
I try to relax. I have always heard that in unfamiliar places, you need to stay calm. The more I relax, the more I begin to focus on things around me. I can feel myself breathing, which means I’m not dead. It feels like someone is holding my hand.
I focus on trying to open my eyes. I can move them, but I haven’t been able to open them yet. It is equally frustrating and distressing not to be able to see my surroundings.
When I open my eyes, I am blinded by the light, so I shut them quickly. This time, I slowly blink to adjust.
Once my eyes are used to the light, I look around. I’m in a small room that looks like a medical bay. When I look down, Bear is asleep with his head on my bed, his big hand wrapped gently around mine.
I smile at the sight. He has been so kind and caring, and he even stayed with me as I recovered. It melts my heart that he is here with me.
I try to sit up, but groan in pain and lie back down. I take my hand out of his grip, moving it to his hair, and he stirs at the contact.
“Bear?” I whisper, but nothing.
After a minute of running my hands through his hair, he snaps his head up and looks at me.
“Leo,” I whisper, smiling.
