Page 88 of Ours to Keep

“Mason will fill you in. Now go. Get her and your man to the hospital.”

He moves ahead and checks the surroundings before waving us forward.

“Go, Gabe is right there,”he says, pointing to the waiting SUV, the headlights blaring.

Jax nods. “Thank you,”he says as he crosses the gangplank, closely followed by Mason and me as we carry Elliot.

Gabriel already has the doors open, ready for us as we all pile inside. Jax takes the front passenger seat, Mia still in his arms, and Mason and I manage to get Elliot in between us in the back.

“We’ll be at the hospital within ten minutes. We have someone waiting for us,”Gabriel says, looking in the rearview mirror. “There’s a medkit behind my seat. And blankets on the parcel shelf.”

Mason leans forward and pulls it into his lap, riffling through it for some more gauze as I grab the blankets, passing one over to Jax for Mia and then using the other to cover Elliot. The full moon lights up the backseat of the car, allowing me to see his face clearly as I wipe his hair off his brow, his skin pale and cold to the touch.

“Elliot, can you hear me?”I say, as Mason leans over to pack the wound.

He groans, his eyes moving beneath his lids, but he doesn’t open them, and I wish for anything to see his warm brown irises staring back at me.

“Keep pressure there,”Mason says, moving my hand to Elliot’s shoulder.

“Come on, El, stay with me.”

With my free hand, I reach for his, and I swear I feel his fingers twitch beneath mine.

Jax starts speaking to Mason, but I completely tune them out, my ears still ringing from the rapid gunfire and how quickly that whole scenario escalated.

The bullet was meant for me, and I’d have taken it too.

Fucking Elliot. Who’s the one with the fucking saviour complex now?

The car quickly fills with the distinctive metallic copper scent that can only be associated with blood. The urge to open the window is strong, but I can’t risk it with the blood loss and his body temperature dropping.

Pulling my gaze away from Elliot, I glance up to see Jax looking over his shoulder.

“Fuck man, I should have been there,”he says, his guilt palpable, his jaw tight.

I shake my head and nod to Mia, tucked against his chest. “No, man, you were right where you were meant to be.”

It feels like an eternity before we pull up under a small carport.

“This is a private hospital and secure wing,”Gabriel says before climbing out.

Everything else happens so quickly as doors open, revealing a waiting trolley. We lift Elliot from the car, and as soon as he’s on the trolley, he’s quickly wheeled away. We all follow. I don’t even have time to assess my surroundings.

Someone says something to me in French, but Ijustshake my head.

Gabriel reaches out, grips my shoulder, and translates. “They need to take him through to tend to him, you need to wait here. But I promise he’s in good hands.”

A doctor and a nurse appear, and when they see Mia in Jax’s arms, they signal for him to follow them into an empty room. Knowing there’s nothing else I can do for Elliot, I go with them as they take us into a private room.

The doctor speaks broken English, but it’s enough for them to explain that they need to examine Mia. They only speak French when addressing Gabriel, but he translates, which we’re grateful for. A curtain is pulled over to give them privacy as they assessher,however we refuse to leave the room.

I sink into the chair and let my chin fall to my chest before running my hand through my hair.

When the curtains are drawn back, Mia is lying with an IV coming from her hand.

The doctorspeaks quicklyto Gabriel, who relays the information to us.

“She seems to be fine. They have her on some fluids, and they want to monitor her until she wakes up. They’ve taken some blood work to screen for toxins. But other than some bruising, she seems otherwise uninjured.”

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