Page 131 of Vengeful Vows

Jimmy’s sobbing at this point, no longer screaming, and I’m proud of Paige when she crouches next to him and takes his hand.

“You’re okay,” she croaks. “We’re both okay.”

Doc wipes his brow when he’s finished, leaving a trail of blood across his forehead.

“He should be all right, but he’s lost a lot of blood. Might be touch-and-go for a bit. I’m going to give him some saline, but I don’t have any O neg blood lying around.”

Gray sets his jaw. “I’m O negative. Can I help?”

Soon enough, Doc sets Gray up in some kind of ex-army medic contraption with a needle in his vein and his blood going into a bag.

When the bag is over half full, Doc disconnects Gray, shakes the bag a couple of times before hooking it to Jimmy, and brings Gray a cookie afterward, like it’s a real blood donation.

Gray still looks pale, but otherwise none the worse for wear.

“Leave him here for tonight. Call his family,” Doc says. “Just in case.”

Fuck.

It must be worse than he let on.

I nod. “I’ll call his sister.”

She answers on the first ring because I call from my personal phone.

“Jesus, what happened?”

I close my eyes, hating this part of the job.

“Jimmy’s been shot. Upper thigh. He’s lost a lot of blood.”

She’s quiet for a moment before she sobs. “Where is he?”

“Doc’s. He says he’ll probably pull through but... just in case.”

Doc takes the phone from me. “I’m giving him a transfusion now, but he’s out. He’ll want a familiar face when he wakes up, yeah?”

Elena responds, her voice sounding tinny to me, and Doc hangs up, handing me the phone back.

Gray looks at me and then at Paige, and then back at me. “We should go home.”

I hate leaving Jimmy like this. He’s been a loyal member of the Burke clan for all his life, but Paige needs to come home with us tonight and be surrounded by the whole family.

I take Paige’s arm and look at Doc. “Call me if anything changes. Anything.”

He nods solemnly, and I lead Paige back out to the car.

She climbs in the backseat while Gray gets in the passenger seat and the ride home is silent and uncomfortable.

When we arrive back at the mansion, I help Paige out of the car, and she’s still trembling.

“I’m okay,” she mumbles. “I’m okay.”

“You’re okay, a’stor,” I promise her. “And I’ll make sure you stay that way.”

Lara meets us at the door, her brow furrowed, and I know the second she notices Paige’s black eye.

“What the hell happened?”

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