Page 85 of Final Ride

Annie didn’t have to fire her gun and that made her smile. She could make Virgil into something special. She was sure of it.

Mick and I blasted in from the back and Virge had already killed the Breed fuckers. I ran past their bodies in the blood-drenched kitchen, focused on finding my father.

He was tied to a chair in a small storage room at the back of the dirty house. He’d been beaten and stabbed again and was covered in blood and dirt.

But he was breathing.

The Breed were killing him a little at a time.

“Boys, cut Travis loose and put him in the back of the truck. I’ll ask the GPS for the closest hospital.”

“Keep breathing, Dad,” said Virge as he cut the ties and released Travis from the chair.

Travis stared at us with half-dead eyes. He was only semi-conscious, not aware of what was going on around him.

Virgil freed him and without the ties holding him to the chair, Travis slumped forward and collapsed onto the floor.

“I’ve got him, Virge. Get the door of the truck open.”

“Copy that, bro.” Virge ran the length of the shitty house and out the front door to the truck. We loaded Travis into the back seat and climbed in with him.

“All set, boys?” Annie climbed into the front. “Let’s get him to the hospital.”

Mick started the truck and turned on the strobes and the siren. We made a fast trip to the hospital.

Saint Rose Hospital. Henderson. Nevada.

The trip to the hospital didn’t take long, but by the time we got there, Dad had lost consciousness.

Mick parked the truck in the Emergency loop and Annie ran inside to get help. She was back seconds later with an orderly pushing a gurney.

Me and Virge helped the big guy in the blue scrubs get Dad out of the back seat and secured on the stretcher. He never said a word. Just worked real fast and as soon as Dad was strapped on, he ran with the gurney into the hospital.

We sat in the waiting room and drank strong coffee until a doctor from the emergency room had examined Travis and came to talk to us.

“I’m taking Major Bristol into surgery now to clean up his wounds. I’ll stitch the fresh ones and re-stitch the ones he sustained before that. What are the older ones? A couple of days old?”

“Yes. Two days, Doctor. A bunch of bikers are trying to kill our dad,” said Virge.

“Your father will be heavily medicated when he gets to the ICU a couple of hours from now. I suggest you call in later for an update, then come back in the morning after I’ve had a chance to examine him.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” said Annie. “That’s exactly what we’ll do. Come on, boys. Let’s go get dinner and then we’ll call and check on Travis.”

“I don’t like leaving him here,” said Virge.

“This is the best place for him, honey. Like the doctor said, when he comes out of the operating room, he’ll sleep until tomorrow. He won’t miss us at all.”

“I guess you’re right. Seems wrong to leave him.”

Outback Steakhouse. Las Vegas.

Me and Virge didn’t like leaving Travis at the hospital and Annie tried to cheer us up. “We’ll have a great dinner, then we’ll pick up some cream for coffee and more beer and snacks so we can survive until we’re allowed to see Travis tomorrow.”

“I am tired and hungry,” said Virge.

“I’m starving too, Mom, but I feel better now that we got Travis back and he’s got doctors and nurses taking care of him.”

“It will take him a long while to recover,” said Annie. “You boys will have to run the ranch and carry the load for the next few weeks.”

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