“Venom, make sure he’s dead,” Scorpion called over the railing.
A gunshot echoed through the room. “He ain’t coming back from that shit,” Venom called back.
I reached up and placed a hand on the back of my head, glaring at Spider. “What the fuck?!”
He snarled back at me and yelled, “Falcon, get your ass up here now. Prez is hurt.”
I looked down at Spider’s hands where they pressed against my leg. Blood seeped between his fingers.
“Shit!” Falcon cursed, pulling his belt from his waist. Spider helped him lift my leg and he tightened the belt around my thigh.
“FUCK!” I bellowed, narrowing my eyes at Falcon. “That fucking hurts.”
“Good, it’s means you aren’t fucking dead,” Falcon snapped back.
“How do we get him home?” Scorpion asked as the sound of stomping boots roared inside my skull.
“I can ride.” I winced as Falcon dug into my leg to fish out the bullet.
“You can’t ride like this,” Ambush hissed.
“I’ve ridden with worse. Just get me on the bike.”
“Get him outside,” Falcon said. “I’ve got a med kit in my bike.”
“Are you a fucking doctor?” I asked, hesitant to let him touch me after the pain he’d just put me through.
“You don’t serve in the military without learning how to patch up bullet holes.”
Venom and Cobra grabbed me by my arms to help me stand. Then Venom threw me over his shoulder like a goddamn firefighter and carried me down the stairs and outside with Cobra right behind him.
They laid me on the ground, and I looked up at the dark sky. The sun set early in December. Benton wasn’t as populated as Little Rock, and I could see the stars beginning to twinkle in the sky. It wasn’t the same as Nebraska, but it would do.
“Take his pants off,” Falcon ordered, and Venom reached for my belt.
I slapped his hands away and growled, “What the fuck?!”
Falcon blew out a breath, trying to hold back his temper. “I need to be able to wrap it up after I stitch it. Either take the fucking jeans off, or I’ll tear them all the way down the side and the fabric will be blowing in the wind on the ride home. It’ll get caught up in the chain and you’ll end up dead on the highway. Then I’ll be fucking pissed for doing all this work for nothing.”
I stared back at Falcon, knowing he was right, but it didn’t mean I’d tell him that. I undid my belt and pants, while Venom and Cobra pulled off my boots. Then they helped me pull my jeans down. I could barely move without wincing, but it was still nothing compared to the burns.
“Fuck,” Ambush cursed when the guys got a look at my left leg. None of them had seen the scars that covered half my body.
“Jesus Christ, Prez. How the fuck did you survive that?” Dutch asked, his hands on the top of his head as he looked down at me.
“It wasn’t easy,” I muttered, not wanting to talk about it.
Falcon glanced at the scars and then looked into my eyes and nodded. Silently, he cleaned the wound and stitched me up. Wrapping my leg in gauze.
Venom and Cobra helped me dress and put my boots back on. Then they helped me onto my bike without argument, and I started her up.
“Prez, it’s an hour ride back,” Falcon whined.
“I said I can fucking ride.”
“Asshole.” Falcon stormed off and mounted his bike.
“What do we do with the mess?”
