Page 137 of Death Wish

He raised his gaze to her face. “I need to raise your shirt enough to see your wound.”

She nodded.

Jesse pushed the bottom of Simone’s shirt halfway up her ribs and examined her gunshot wound. She was right. Her wound had reopened.

Sawyer poked his head around the doorjamb. “Need a hand?”

“Get my mike bag.”

“You got it.” He left only to return seconds later with the medical kit. “What do you need?”

“Alcohol wipes and two pressure bandages. I can control the bleeding for now but Simone needs to go to the hospital to have her stitches replaced.”

She moaned. “Hate hospitals.”

“Don’t we all?” Sawyer said cheerfully. “You did good, kid.”

“I couldn’t stop Trevor from beating me. How is that good?” she groused.

“You survived. Haven’t you heard any landing you walk away from is a good one?”

Simone rolled her eyes. “If you say so. Being on the receiving end of Trevor’s fists doesn’t feel like a good thing to me.”

While Sawyer kept Simone distracted Jesse cleaned blood from her stomach and side and applied a pressure bandage to the entrance wound. When he finished, he said, “I need to roll you to your side, sweetheart. It’s going to hurt. I’m sorry.”

“Can’t hurt worse than I already do.”

“Let us do all the work.”

Together, he and Sawyer rolled Simone to her side.

She moaned. “Oh, man.”

“I’ll work fast.” He cleaned the blood from her back, frowning when more blood immediately flowed from the exit wound. Another swipe with the alcohol wipe and he applied the pressure bandage.

He nodded at Sawyer, and they gently rolled Simone to her back. “Grab my mike bag.”

“Jesse, you have your own gunshot wound to worry about. Let me carry her to the vehicle.”

Simone’s hand covered Jesse’s. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t.” No one was going to carry her but him. He’d almost lost her. Jesse could handle a short trek. Probably. “Sawyer, get the SUV and bring it to the front of the cabin. I’ll carry her to the vehicle when you arrive.”

Sawyer grabbed the mike bag and took off at a dead run.

When Jesse heard Sawyer drive up to the cabin, he scooped Simone into his arms and carried her from the cabin to the idling SUV.

Sawyer hopped out and opened the back door for them. “Mike bag’s in the floor behind the driver’s seat.”

“Thanks.” Once Jesse placed Simone on the seat and followed her inside, Sawyer closed the door and climbed behind the wheel.

“Cops will be here soon. They won’t be happy that you and Simone left the scene.”

“Don’t care. Nothing matters but Simone’s health. Brody can tell them where I’ll be. I’m not leaving Simone’s side.”

“I hear you. Just a warning that we’ll soon have ticked off law enforcement officers swarming the emergency room.”

“I’ll handle them.”

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