Page 105 of Axton

Chapter Thirty-Three

Axton

Iopened and shut the little blue box as the doctor spoke to me about my injury. “You were very lucky the bullet didn’t hit your femoral artery or your hip bone. That area is one of the few that has that much fatty material. It was in the fat tissue, but it came less than an inch from your hip bone. I was told the bullet traveled quite the ways and had to travel through the door of the helicopter which slowed it down.”

I didn’t really care about anything he said while Magnus was still fighting for his life. Sniper was doing the same and from what I saw in that helicopter he was worse off than Magnus who took a belly shot. I hadn’t gotten any updates on Sniper yet, but Magnus lost some of his intestines. We lost three good men trying to save those women and there I was looking down at the ring I bought Belle. I needed her, but I couldn’t get to her anytime soon. If all went well, Magnus could have been transferred to Creed’s Lake on Monday, but we were still waiting to make sure he didn’t have any complications.

Irons and I could have hopped on a jet to go home, but there was no way in hell we were going to leave Magnus and Sniper. Dammit, Sniper took a bullet for me without hesitation.I couldn’t imagine how Belle would have taken the news if Sniper wouldn’t have done what he did. When we had some downtime yesterday, I made a quick run with Granger into Chicago and visited Tiffany’s. It didn’t take me long to spot the perfect ring for Belle. It was a three carat emerald cut diamond on a platinum band. I couldn’t believe it when I found myself shopping for an engagement ring. I was so excited to go home and take Belle out to the Gazebo by the lake and ask her to marry me. Now, I’ve lost three operatives and three of us Originals were injured. That excitement was clouded over by death. Instead of being excited, I felt numb. Twenty-four hours earlier, I had all the hope in the world. I was going to marry Belle, put Natalie to rest, and save Belle’s family and community.

“I’d say the stitches could come out in about ten days.” The doctor kept explaining.

“Thank you.” I didn’t have much else to say. I lost three good men and the last thing on my mind was my hip. I couldn’t feel it, I was numb from the local anesthesia. I lost a lot of blood, but it wasn’t enough to need any intervention. It was because the bullet hit a network of veins, but close enough to the femoral neck that it could have been worse.

I shook his hand and made my way to the waiting room to sit with Jennings and Bolton. “Have either of you talked with Belle?”

“No, it was hectic, I only saw the ones in the Command center. I think Creed has them held in the apartments. I couldn’t get through to Heidi.” Jennings said.

“She was with Kayla the last I heard. Wrenly got called out on a run, so she was going to stay the night with your sister.” Bolton was staring down at the floor as she spoke. Obviously, upset with the events that led Magnus to intensive care.

“That’s good, she should be okay with my sister.”

I felt guilty for thinking about Belle while Magnus was in such bad shape, but from the angle that freak of a shooter came at me he could have had a clear head shot and the last thing to cross my mind was memories of Belle. Dammit, Sniper didn’t just distract the man who was pointing the gun straight at me, he took the fucking bullet. I had a hell of a debt to pay that man. He was going to come back to Creed’s Lake if Creed liked it or not. Hell, give him an operative job if his injury was too severe for the SWAT team. No matter what, I had to make sure he was taken care of from that point on.

“Do you think Creed is taking any calls?” I asked.

“He has to be trying to get some rest by now. He was already exhausted from staying up with the twins. Then he was up all night dealing with everything else that happened. Last I heard Baros was taking over for him, and he was going back on paternity leave.” Bolton answered.

“Okay, I’ll wait to call him. What about Wrenly? Is she still in with Irons?” We all needed to get some rest.

“Yeah, she’s curled up in his bed and they’re both asleep.” Jennings said.

Several Devil’s Rejects walked into the waiting room. I looked up at Tank. “Any word on Sniper?” I hadn’t gotten an update since he went into surgery. I knew it was a chest wound, but didn’t know how bad. From what I saw, he was in bad shape.

He took a seat on the sofa and his huge body almost took the entire thing up. “He’s stable, lucky bastard. The bullet missed everything vital, and it went clear through. He lost a lot of blood, and they have him in a medical sleep for now. He should be able to be transported closer to home by Monday as long as he doesn’t have complications.”

“Same with Magnus. I’ll make arrangements for medical air transport and get them both to Creed's Lake Medical Center.” I offered.

“That’ll be good. I presume he talked to you about his plans?” He asked.

“Yes, but I haven’t had the opportunity to speak to the rest of the Originals yet.” I presumed since Sniper said he brought his most trustworthy it was alright to have the conversation.

“What plans?” Bolton asked.

“He was dismantling the MC and joining SWAT with Darren. He was hoping for the sake of his safety he could crash at Creed’s Lake for a while.” I said.

“I don’t see why not, we have his background check, and he would actually make a good operative.” Jennings said.

“I say he’s good to stay but I’d like to do a full psychological exam before we make any job offers.” Bolton agreed.

“He saved my life, and I owe him. I’ll send Creed a message, but I won’t be looking for permission to take him back with us.” My mind was made up.

“We can never have too many sharp shooters.” Jennings reminded us.

Carter had State troopers posted just about everywhere around us. He called and offered an escort to the closest hotel so I could get some rest. Jennings and Bolton offered to stay, and I knew I wasn’t doing any good at the hospital while I was feeling half alive. I tried to call Belle, but Creed must have had them still held in their apartments, so the call just went to voice-mail.

Hey there, Belle. I was hoping to check in with you, but Creed must have everyone held in their apartments until our injured are secure. I’m okay, hanging in there, I guess, but I miss you. Ineed you so bad, Belle. We lost some men, Magnus almost died, and I have another friend that damn near made a sacrifice that could have gotten him killed. I want you to know that I love you, and that’s what is keeping me going right now. Before you, I was lost in this world. Always searching for something I couldn’t find. That search led me in the wrong direction, but then I met you. You are what I searched for and you’re everything I’ll ever need. I’m leaving to get some rest at a hotel for a while, but I was hoping to hear your voice. Please stay safe and know I love you.

Belle

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