Page 28 of The Traitor

The man clearly wasn’t listening and even inched closer to Knox. “Not before I get my money.”

Her reaction wasn’t planned and came from her need to protect Knox as well as an outlet for her anger and fear—she punched the weasel hard on the nose.

“Don’t you dare come near me or him ever again.”

Her hand hurt like a bitch, but Josie didn’t want it to show. Nothing was broken and the pain felt good, grounding her almost. Gage came running back from the bar, Knox’s coat in his hand, a look of concern on his face. “What the hell happened?”

The weasel was holding his nose, screaming like a child, slowly inching toward the back of the bar.

“Nothing. Let’s get out of here.”

Gage pushed her coat into her arms and bent down to hold Knox in an upright position, putting his coat on. Then he lifted him in his arms.

Josie kept a hand on Knox’s head as they walked away, hoping he was okay, and that this nightmare was over.

Chapter 14

In the backseatof the car, with Knox’s head on her lap, Josie had absolutely no idea where they were or where Gage was driving them. When she’d suggested taking Knox to the local hospital, Gage had shot her down, saying it was too dangerous and he’d arranged for a doctor to treat him privately. A quick look at the dashboard told her it was 2a.m. and they had been driving for a couple of hours now.

They’d arrived too late. That single sentence was haunting her and probably would for a long time. She swallowed hard to prevent the tears from falling as she looked at the still unconscious man. In the night shadows, he looked so pale, his dark beard contrasting with the bruises and drying blood. He still remained unconscious and Josie’s fear was steadily rising.

Gage hadn’t spoken from the moment he’d slid behind the wheel. The speed at which he’d driven made her gulp in panic a few times, but she knew time was of the essence, especially with the distance they’d covered. After a couple more quick turns, Josie realized they’d arrived at what seemed like a back alley. A few yards away, a lone man stood by an open door.

Gage didn’t allow time for any questions she may have had, quickly turning off the car, jumping out, and running to the other man. Tall and dark-haired, he appeared thinner than Gage and Knox, but she suspected he wasn’t as weak as he looked. The way he moved and constantly looked around, he had the aura of a man who knew how to handle himself.

The strange man was the one who opened the door on her side. Piercing sea-green eyes slid over her before checking on Knox. The impassible face looked deeply worried and he reached for him. Lagging with fatigue and worry, Josie tensed, which made the man look at her again. “I’m Locke. I’m a friend.”

Josie immediately relaxed, and chastised herself for reacting that way, as if Gage would involve someone he didn’t trust with Knox’s life.

With both Locke and Gage working as one, they got Knox out of the car as gently as possible. Gage again transported his friend in his arms through the door. Locke kept the door open for her to follow suit.

The place was mostly dark, but a couple of lights revealed they were in some sort of clinic. Gage turned and entered an examination room to see a woman dressed in a lab coat. She was stunning with a halo of brown curls enhancing her angel-like appearance.

Gage hovered near Knox, but the woman told him to step back so she could examine him. Hesitant, he came to Josie’s side and kissed the top of her head. “Tessa is a good doctor. This is her clinic.”

Another name that made sense and clicked into place. Despite her worry, Josie relaxed a little more.

Tessa opened Knox’s eyelids to peer into them with a small light. “How long has he been unconscious?”

“Since I called Locke, so a couple of hours now. We arrived just as he received the final punch. I didn’t think he’d be out this long.”

The doctor didn’t give anything away. “You should have driven him to the hospital.”

This time, it was Locke who answered as he brought a bag of ice. “You know that’s not an option. For any of us.”

Huffing, she shook her head and put her stethoscope on and listened to his heart for a long moment. “I don’t hear anything bad. There are a couple of bad cuts, but I need to clean him first in order to assess them. He was in a fight?”

“By the looks of it, probably more than one.”

Tessa looked at Josie for the first time and nodded. “I agree with you. There are a few wounds that are at least two days old. And I can also guess from the smell of him those fights were in one of those seedy bars. The stench of alcohol is not only on his breath but on his skin too. Booze, sweat, and cheap perfume. He must’ve had an interesting few days.”

At the mention of other women, Josie’s chest contracted, but now wasn’t the time to judge.

Tessa started to clean and examine his head, thoroughly checking for anything amiss. “It’s hard to make a true assessment of a head injury without a scan. Or without knowing how many blows to the head he’s had. I’ll have to stitch him in a couple of places, but he’s an experienced fighter. I suspect he instinctively avoided most of the dangerous hits. I’m going to run a couple more tests. He’s probably got a concussion, but he may also have other stuff going on, so we have to be sure.”

Josie couldn’t fault the doctor for exploring every possible avenue. She cleaned every cut and stitched the worst of them. She assessed the swelling of his eye and deemed it tolerable. Limb after limb, she checked his body for more serious trauma, while running her tests in the background. Hours passed and still Josie remained standing by the gurney, unable to sit or look away. Gage and Locke offered to stay while she grabbed a coffee or took a quick nap, but she refused. Leaning against the wall, her eyes were glued to Knox. Her body ached from fatigue and from standing for so long, but she knew it was nothing compared to the discomfort Knox would go through when he woke.

Because hewouldwake up.

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