Page 41 of Royally Lucky

“Load the women in the back of the van. If you get me what you have, I’ll start working on the one with the lacerations first. She needs medical stat.”

Kendrick’s arm held her like a vice around the middle. “Sutton, you don’t need to do shit until we’re back at the compound.”

She turned in his arms. “Yes, I do.”

They exited the building as soon as Keys told them their rides were approaching. The vehicle she’d come in slammed to a stop. Another SUV she recognized from the MC roared next to it, coming to a rocking halt.

“Everyone find a place inside one of the cages, and let’s roll. Sutton, in the van, we got a medical kit, but I can’t say what’s in it will do shit for her.” King nodded at the unconscious woman.

Sutton would do what she could. They loaded inside the van with Saint in the driver’s seat. Cosmo took the passenger while King and the others packed into the big SUV. She got in with Kendrick and Andre, along with the three women. Her heart hammered at the extent of the damage done to the back of the one.

Inside the kit, she found a couple of sets of rubber gloves, so she hurriedly pulled a pair on.

Andre removed a leather ball gag from one woman. She sagged against him, then scurried to the opposite side of the van as if afraid of his touch. He moved to take off the other woman’s gag. She shook her head violently, staring at Sutton and Kendrick.

“It’s okay. We’re here to help you. Ah, Andre, give her your shirt. Kendrick, can she have yours?” she asked, nodding toward the woman who wouldn’t let Andre touch her.

Kendrick shrugged out of his button-down and handed it to Sutton. She maneuvered around him, grateful he kept his hands on her hips to help steady her as she shifted toward theother woman. “Here, let me help you.” Sutton held the shirt out for her, waiting for her to slip her arms in. When the woman couldn’t stop shaking enough to do up the buttons, she took over and did it for her.

She turned toward the other woman, pointing toward the gag in her mouth. “May I take that off now?”

Sutton reached around the back of the woman’s head, feeling for the clasps that held the rubber in place. When she pulled the sides apart, the indentions left on the poor woman’s cheeks hurt Sutton’s heart. However, it was the large silicone ball lodged between her teeth that made Sutton want to kill the bastards who’d shoved it into her mouth. Blood poured out of her mouth as she worked to pull the thing out.

“Ah,” the woman cried, slumping to the side and curling into herself. Blood and slobber spewed out of her mouth as she coughed and gagged.

Sutton closed her eyes, hating seeing the woman suffer, but knew the other woman who lay unconscious would be just as damaged and more. She worked to undo the gag from behind her head, going slow so she didn’t hurt her anymore. Her passing out was the only saving grace.

After checking her pulse and ensuring herself the woman was alive, Sutton opened the kit. Finding several vials of morphine and an extensive sewing kit surprised her. Of course, they were a bikers’ club that could run into all kinds of trouble, so it made sense.

“I don’t want to give her any medications in case she’s allergic, especially when I don’t have any epinephrine in the extreme situation where she could have an anaphylactic attack.” A patient nearly died during surgery once when they’d administered morphine. Unknowingly to them, she’d been allergic to the drug. Her blood pressure dropped along with herheart rate. Luckily, they had the proper meds and the ability to stabilize the patient.

Like the other woman, this one would have marks on her face and mouth from the ball gag. However, it was the poor lacerated back that worried Sutton. Luckily, she didn’t need to worry about fabric being embedded in the torn flesh since there wasn’t any clothing on her.

“She’s going to need a Tetanus shot at the least. That whip, I’m sure, wasn’t properly cleaned or cared for. Hell, it looked like it was straight out of medieval times.”

Sutton’s hands paused in their cleaning. “Whip?”

Kendrick brushed her hair back. “The bastard who did this to her used a modified bullwhip on her.”

It felt like she’d never get the blood to stop flowing from the openings. Finally, after Sutton cleaned and did her best to ensure the wound was clean, she applied enough pressure to pull the torn edges of the largest gash together. She slowly worked across the woman’s back, using sterile strips and bandages to hold it together. Opening up another pack of alcohol wipes, she focused on the next wound. A moan made Sutton’s hands freeze.

The other woman moved from the corner to kneel next to her friend's head. Both women had long dark hair, with their makeup streaked in a macabre way down their tear-stained faces. What made Sutton even more saddened was the horror that crossed the one woman’s face as she got a look at her friend. She touched her cheeks and mouth. A whimper escaped before a fresh flood of tears flowed down her poor, abused face.

“You’ll heal. Those indentations aren’t permanent. It's kind of like when you sit for a long time with your legs crossed. If you looked at your legs, you’d notice a red mark or dent, but after a while, it goes away.” Sutton spoke in a soft tone while she cleaned the blood around the torn flesh. “These too, will go away. It’ll take a little more time, but they’ll disappear.”

She wouldn’t lie and say the scars on their minds or the ones she’s trying to pull together would heal. She wasn’t a miracle worker or a liar.

“My sister,” the girl said. She placed her hand on her sister’s head, brushing her fingers through the tangled mess.

Sutton found herself wishing for things that could never be—like rewind buttons and magic to wish away the pain these girls experienced. She couldn’t tell how old they were through the blood and mess, but their bodies were firm and youthful. At twenty-nine years of age, she was sure she was a few years older than them.

God, the horrors they must’ve faced made her stomach roll. Sure, she’d had her own demons from her past. Yet, they felt like a lifetime ago compared to these three.

Chapter Twenty

He watched Sutton working on the poor woman’s back and speaking to the other one, knowing she would have her own set of internal scars from the trauma she’d suffered. Fucking hell, he wished he could’ve prevented the latest bit from being thrust upon her, yet at the same time, if it weren’t for her and her skills, the young woman probably wouldn’t have survived. Andre watched the other closely as if he feared she’d freak out.

“They try to break us by making us wear the gags. I...I thought for sure we’d die in that place.” Tears fell freely from the girl.

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