Page 18 of Ash

First, I assessed his airway, breathing, and circulation while applying pressure to the wound in his thigh, which already had a square of gauze covering it. Once I confirmed his ABCs were good, I murmured, “Your pulse and blood pressure are a little high, but that’s to be expected when you’ve been shot.”

“Hurts like a motherfucker,” he admitted.

“I’m sure.” Turning to Eli, I asked, “Can you apply pressure to the wound while I perform a brief neurological assessment?”

“Sure,” he quickly agreed, gently placing his palm over mine and giving Ink a giant smile.

When I slid my hand away from Ink’s thigh, he pressed down. Ink groaned in pain. “Shit, man. Do you have to push down so fucking hard?”

“Yes, he does,” I replied, retrieving my penlight from my bag to stimulate his pupils.

Ink shot a dubious look at Eli but didn’t protest again.

The direct and consensual responses were good, so I quickly swung the light back and forth between his eyes to check his pupillary responses. “There doesn’t seem to be any issues with the optic nerve, and your pupils are equal in size without being abnormally dilated or constricted.”

“That good?” Ink asked.

“Yup,” I confirmed with a nod, tucking the penlight back into my bag. “Just need to check your temperature, and then I can get to work on that gunshot.”

After I confirmed he didn’t have a fever, I gestured for Eli to lift his hand. Peeling the gauze away from Ink’s skin, I peeredat the entry wound. “The good news is that you were shot in the lateral aspect of the thigh.”

“Why’s that good?” Ink asked.

“The muscle mass is thick enough to allow a bullet to pass through without hitting major blood vessels or bone,” I explained as I prodded at the edges to test how much blood seeped out. I was relieved to see that the bleeding was controlled. “But it depends on the bullet’s trajectory, so I’m gonna need to take a look at the other side of your leg to make sure there’s an exit wound and see where it is.”

“That makes sense, but I gotta admit that getting up here wasn’t as easy as I made it look.”

At Ink’s confession, Eli and Echo moved to either side of the exam table and helped him roll onto his side. I nudged the hem of his athletic shorts up a little to get a better look at the exit wound. “Looks as though your muscle tissue provided a path for the bullet to travel without coming out this side too quickly.”

“I woulda thought the faster, the better,” Echo muttered.

I continued to prod at Ink’s wound while I explained, “It seems counterintuitive, but the faster the bullet goes through your body, the more damage it does along the way. The higher kinetic energy creates larger tissue displacement.”

Ink hissed in pain at my delicate exploration of the hole where the bullet exited his body. “I’m just glad I have an exit wound, unlike when Ash got shot. I’d hate for you to be stuck digging the bullet out like Razor did for him.”

My head jerked up, and I glared at Eli. “I knew you were trying to hide that there wasn’t an exit wound that day, you big lummox.”

Shrugging, he didn’t look the least bit embarrassed to have been caught. “Sure was.”

“I know you have two club brothers who are doctors, and it’s been weeks since you were shot, but I’m going to want to take alook at your shoulder to see for myself that you’re okay since you didn’t let me do my job properly in the first place.”

“No need to get sassy, baby girl.” He winked at me. “Just say the word, and I’ll strip down for you whenever you want.”

“Quit flirting with the girl and let her fix me up,” Ink growled.

Eli glared at him, and I muttered, “Sorry.”

I gathered the supplies I needed to clean and pack the wound. Once that was done, I announced, “You’re going to need stitches, but not until the initial swelling goes down. If one of the club doctors can’t do it for you, you’ll be forced to go to the hospital. My training only gets us so far.”

“Thanks, but I’m sure Razor or Flint will handle it,” Ink assured me as I strode over to the sink.

After pulling off my gloves, I washed my hands again while Echo and Eli helped Ink off the exam table. Then Echo guided Ink out of the room, leaving Eli and me alone.

He brushed his lips against my cheek and murmured, “Thank you.”

“I think you can show me your gratitude better than that.”

I was aiming for a kiss because I couldn’t get the one he’d given me after our date out of my head, but I got more than I was bargaining for.

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