Page 7 of The Devil's Weakness

“Those are Tuff Cuts; they’ll cut through anything. Just give it a snip,” Hawk informs.

I glide the shears under his belt before squeezing, and the leather is no match for the scissors’ blade. Impressed by their strength, I continue cutting through the remaining denim around his waist. Once his pants are out of the way, I focus on his shirt. For the first time, I realize how badly torn both his t-shirt and his cut are.?

I don’t scare easily, but I’m nervous about cutting through his shirt, not knowing how threatening his injuries are. Taking a deep breath, I place the scissors against the fabric at his hem. The apprehension coming off of Stone in waves beside me tells me he’s just as worried about Iron as I am.

The scissors cut through both Iron’s t-shirt and undershirt like butter, and I pull the material to the side, tucking it under his cut. He has some road rash on his chest and stomach, but it’s not as bad as I was imagining. Hopefully, the same goes for the injury to his head. I turn my attention back to Stone and relief in his stare as well. A moment later, Hawk approaches with an IV connected to a machine.

“Okay, now cut his shirt sleeves so that we can remove the fabric from his shoulders. We can leave his cut on since we can’t remove it at the moment. I’ll be able to work around it.”

I slice through his sleeves only, leaving his cut intact. Our cuts are sacred. We’re unable to alter or damage them purposely, foranyreason.

“As carefully as we can, we’re going to pull his clothing out from underneath him, okay?”?

Hawk grabs onto Iron’s shirt and undershirt, giving them a gentle but firm tug. Stone and I each grip the denim hanging loose from his legs, and we work it down the stretcher until we’re able to toss it to the side.?

“Next, I’m going to hold his neck and this c-collar in place while we slide him onto the bed. Blade, I’m going to have you push his hips gently. Stone, you can guide his feet.”

We nod in agreement at Hawk’s instructions.

“On three,” Hawk commands. “One, two, three.”

The three of us work on sliding Iron from the stretcher to the bed, and Hawk takes a deep breath once we’re finished.

“That was the hardest part,” he explains. “You guys were a big help. Thank you.”

Both Stone and I nod to Hawk before standing aside and letting him work. Once he’s finished taking Iron’s vitals, he connects him to a ventilator before turning his attention to us again.

“His blood pressure is steady, he’s not running a fever, and his oxygen levels are good. His pulse has evened out a bit since I first checked it at the scene of the accident. I intubated him to help him breathe. Obviously, I can’t order a CT scan, but judging by the size of the cut on his forehead, I don’t believe he has a brain bleed.”

My eyes widen with fear as Hawk speaks his last words. Brain bleed? That sounds terrible. I hope he doesn’t have one either.?

“He needs to remain in the brace until he regains consciousness. Since I can’t do a scan, we’ll have to wait for him to wake up to let us know if there is anything wrong with his neck. He still has most of his reflexes, so I’m not overly worried at the moment. But these next twenty-four hours are going to be crucial.”

“Is there anything else we can do right now?” I ask Hawk.

He looks at me; his expression is as serious as a heart attack.

“You can find the motherfucker responsible for this.”

Chapter Three

Somehow,I got out of there just before seeing two more members of the Devil’s Skull headed toward the scene of the accident.

It’s good I turned back to get a bag packed before continuing on to get Michael. Otherwise, we would have crossed paths, which wouldn’t be good. Also, it would have been counterproductive bringing Michael home with me while trying to pack. He would come up with every excuse in the book to stay rather than get out. And I can’t have him anywhere near our house right now. Not until this all blows over. The risk of someone searching my apartment is too high, and I don’t want them to find Michael instead. If he got hurt because of me, I would never forgive myself.

Pulling into the space in front of my apartment, I throw my car into park and run up the few steps to my front door. Rushing through the apartment, I grab my toothbrush and toothpaste, hairbrush, and enough extra clothes for a few days on the run. When I finish packing both of our bags, I slide my cell phone into my back pocket but stop just as I’m about to walk out the door.?

If the bikers noticed my car driving away from the scene, it wouldn’t take them long to figure out who I am. Once they do that, they’ll be able to trace my cell phone.?

Fuck, I really don’t want to leave it behind.

Going back into my room, I grab whatever spare change I can find. At least I’ll be able to call Michael from a payphone and check up on him while I’m gone. I shoot a quick text message to Ellie, letting her know I won’t be able to work for the next few days. Before she can respond, I turn off my cell phone and stash it in one of my dresser drawers. I take one last look around the apartment before I leave, and I pray I’ll be able to return soon.?

* * *

“What’s this?”Michael asks, holding up the bag that I packed for him.?

“I have to go away for a few days, so I packed you a bag. Can you stay with one of your friends while I’m gone? Steve, maybe?” I request.

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