Page 81 of Damned
“Yeah. Juliana. Panama. Can’t lose Bree, too.”
Chance’s chest heaved with a damned big sigh. His nostrils flared as he stared into Kruze’s eyes. It was almost like looking in a mirror. Same black hair, only Chance’s was cut short. Same deadly glare, only Chance’s glare was soft brown instead of green. He still carried a few nasty scars on his face, neck, and head from the mission that ended his Navy career. Kruze’s scars were hidden in his heart. Invisible, but deep as fuck.
He stared back into his older brother’s wise, amber eyes. “Lantz’ll never let her go, Chance. He tracked us here. Blew up my plane. He knows where she is. I hafta save her.”
“How can you be so sure?”
Kruze slapped his hand to his chest. “Because my heart hurts. It’s been dead for years, but right now, it’s screaming. It hurts, brother. I hurt. Bree brought me back to life. She’s in trouble. I can’t lose her, too. Help me. Please, God, help me!”
Chance’s glare shifted to Jared. “Get him ready to travel. I know it’s not smart, but sometimes smart’s not the right thing to do.”
“Look, I’m not a doctor,” Jared answered sharply, “but at the very least, your brother needs surgery, especially if we’re dealing with a perforated carotid. He’ll need re-sectioning of that artery and primary anastomosis, and he needs it as soon as possible, not later. This kind if wound is nothing to mess with. It’ll never heal correctly without surgery. This is serious stuff, guys.” Jared looked to Pagan for support. “You can give him all the blood you want, but he could still bleed out.”
“She’s the one, Chance,” Kruze rasped. “The only one.”
He would’ve come up swinging and cursing, but he had no strength, and Jared was right. Kruze knew the protocol for carotid damage—ifthe injury had been a simple, clean cut, like a femoral artery opened during angioplasty, andifthe vein had already been surgically glued shut. No lifting anything heavy. No strenuous exercise. Pretty much no anything for a couple days. That Jared mentioned re-sectioning meant Kruze’s carotid was probably severely damaged. The traumatized portion had to be removed, then the vein spliced back together like fixing a garden hose. And it needed to happen soon. But Bree didn’t have that kind of time.
Kruze rolled to his side. He was going. Jared could like it or not.
“Take it easy. I’ve got you,” Chance said as he helped Kruze roll onto his hands and knees.
“Gotta go,” Kruze told the dirt. He was a banged up, dirty, sweaty mess of a man. Just getting onto his knees had taken everything he had left. Didn’t matter. Kruze ripped the IVs out of his arm and tossed them aside. He wasn’t important. Only Bree.
“I’m with you, brother,” Pagan said. “I’ll carry you if I need to. Don’t worry. We’ll get you to Bree, then we’ll get you to Loring.”
“No… thanks...” God, it was hard to breathe. Kruze glanced over his shoulder in time to watch Pagan pull the IV out of his arm and toss the bags at Jared. “You dropped the eggs. Broke ’em all… that time.”
Pagan took a knee at Kruze’s other side, put one hand under his arm and helped Chance get him up on his feet. “Yeah, but I saved the bacon, just like I’m gonna save your bacon this time.”
Finally upright, Kruze stood for a minute, fighting shadows, struggling to catch his breath and his balance. There was no time to waste, but there he stalled. Wasting what few minutes Bree had left. Images from that day in Panama roared back to life in ugly, vivid greens, blacks, and so much gawddamned red. “Please. Help me save her.”
“Ah, guys.” Still kneeling on the ground, Jared pointed up at Kruze’s side. “That neck wound’s not his only problem.”
“Shit, your side’s bleeding. What happened?” Pagan hissed.
“He had a run-in with a loose screwdriver when they crash landed,” Chance explained tersely. “Already patched it once. Hold on.”
“No! Lantz’ll kill her,” Kruze cried. He took a step to prove he’d go down fighting, but he was leaning heavily on Chance’s arm. His ankle collapsed, and he stumbled. Just like last time. Bree would die because the man she loved was useless. He couldn’t get to her!
A gawddamned sob ripped out of his heart at the black cloud that had forever hovered over him. Kee-rist, why couldn’t it take him this time? Leave the girl, take the bastard who didn’t deserve to live!
Pagan and Chance both ducked their heads under his arms, their beefy grip solid at his back, and hoisted him back to his feet.
“Jared, call your guy in the sky,” Chance ordered. “Tell him we need that gawddamned chopper down here now, that you’re taking Kruze to his place. Tell him STAT or whatever magic word you need to make it happen. We’re not leaving Bree behind, and you’re coming with us. You can treat Kruze while we’re in the air.”
Jared snapped to with a sharp, “Yes, Chief.”
“Th-thanks,” Kruze whispered to his brothers, his strength damned near gone. “She loves me. She told me so.”
“Then you’d better live long enough to marry that woman,” Chance muttered, just as the landing helo kicked up sand and spray from the river. “I’ve lost enough people I love in my life. I’m not losing you, too.”
“You love me?” Kruze blinked. Men just didn’t say those things to each other.
“Yeah, you dumbass. You’re stuck with Pagan and me. Deal with it.”
Kruze’s head lolled on his shoulder, as his brothers each grabbed a leg and carried him to the helo’s open door. In seconds, they were inside. Kruze was wrapped in blankets, laying on a stretcher, praying he’d make it to Bree in time. Jared knelt at his side, packing the screwdriver puncture wound with something cold that immediately eased the pain. Kee-rist, what a relief.
Pagan was glaring at Kruze. “Jesus H. Christ! All this time! Why didn’t you tell me how bad things went down in Panama? I’m your brother, damn it. But all this time… For all these years…” His voice cracked. He swiped his face and broke down. “You’ve been carrying this shit by yourself!”
Chance picked up where Pagan left off. “Low blow, Kruze. We’re all we’ve got left. There are no more Sinclair brothers but us, do you understand? We’re in this together. From now on—”
“Unus por omnibus, omnes pro uno,” Kruze whispered.
“Damn straight,” Chance hissed. “All for one and one for all. We are the Sin Boys. All three of us! Not two. Three, damn it!”
Kruze closed his eyes. His brothers were there with him. They’d make sure he saved Bree. If he couldn’t do it, if he died on the way, they’d save her for him. The Sin boys together were nothing to mess with. Harvey Lantz had no idea how soon he was going back to Hell.
