Page 84 of Damned
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Bree couldn’t get to Kruze fast enough. Neither could his big, bulky brothers or the other giant in the room. She’d barely slipped her hand under Kruze’s head to cushion it before it hit the floor, when the stranger brushed her, Chance, and Pagan out of his way.
The blue bag he’d brought with him dropped to the floor at his side. He ripped its zipper open, pulled out a line of surgical tubing, and stuck the catheter end of it into Kruze’s forearm. Lifting two bags of blood over his head, he ordered Pagan to, “Hold these and stay the fuck out of my way.”
Had to be the medic, as adeptly as he handled Kruze. He tipped his head nearly to the floor and studied the strap belted around Kruze’s poor neck. That must be the tourniquet Senator Sullivan talked about. Didn’t look like it was working, not with blood trickling out from under it.
“How’s he doing, Jared?” Chance asked.
“Jesus Christ, he’s gone into shock and he’s bleeding, how do you think he’s doing? I told you this was a stupid idea.” Jared leaned back on his haunches, his head cocked, listening to the stethoscope on Kruze’s chest. “Don’t just stand there. I need pillows and a blanket. Now!”
It took Chance less than a minute to return with the required items. Kneeling beside Kruze, he put two pillows under his boots and floated the blanket over him.
Jared turned nasty and snapped the blanket away from Kruze’s shoulders. “Jesus. His pulse is thready. We might lose him. I need… I need…” He turned his glare on Bree. “You’re the one? You’re his Bree?”
Unable to speak, she bobbed her head.
“Well, good gawddamn, you’re the reason he’s still here then .” Jared made that sound more like an accusation than a good thing. “But you’re also the reason he’s still alive.” His voice had gentled, and that frightened Bree worse. She’d rather he barked at her. “Talk to him, ma’am. Hold onto him. He needs to hear your voice and feel your touch. Give him something to live for while I get my pilot on the line.”
She melted back to Kruze’s side, her hands soft and gentle on what she could reach of his chest. His breaths were coming farther apart now. His skin was clammy and cool. She refused to let him go. “Kruze, I’m here, honey,” she told him, her voice a quivering mess. “You saved me again. You and your brothers. Harvey Lantz is dead, and no one can hurt Robin or me or—”
Jared cut her off. “He needs more than just a news update, ma’am. Talk to him, gawddamnit. Really talk. Pretend you two are alone. Tell him what he needs to hear. For Christ’s sake, act like you love him.”
“Jesus, Jared. Back the fuck off,” Chance snarled.
“No, Chance, it’s okay. Really, it’s okay,” Bree whispered. “I do. I do love Kruze…” She bowed her head, closed her eyes, and anointed his forehead, his cheek, the tip of his nose, and lastly, his lifeless lips, with kisses and every last piece of her breaking heart. It didn’t matter who saw. It only mattered that he lived.
“You can’t leave me, not like this. Not again,” she breathed into his face. “You promised we’d do Paris again, remember? That balcony. That tiny shower. This time we’re taking Robin with us. She’s waiting for you, baby. She needs her daddy to come home and teach her how to ride her bike, the one you’re going to buy her. I’m your light, remember? You haven’t ever said that, but I know it’s true, and so do you. Your green eyes light up every time you look at me. They do. I see you, Kruze. Nobody knows you like I do, honey. Not Juliana. Not Chance or Pagan. This is our time. It’s just you, me, and Robin. Stay with us, Kruze. I’m going to marry you, damn it.”
Bree broke down. She needed this man so much. Losing him would kill her. “You’re going to pull through,” she sobbed. “You have to, and wearegoing to dance in Paris again. I know we are. Just stay with me. Hold onto me. I’ll keep you safe. You can do it. I have faith in you. I love you so much. Don’t you dare let me go again.”
A heavy breath huffed through his nose. She kissed his mouth again. And again. Then tipped back on her butt when Jared told her, “Sorry, hon. We have to leave,” as he slipped an oxygen mask over Kruze’s face.
A sob caught in her throat. “Am I too late?”
“No, ma’am, you’re doing everything right,” Jared replied kindly. “His heartrate is steady, but we need to move him to Loring, then get him life-flighted to the nearest hospital for emergency surgery. He needs a real doctor, not just a flyboy. My pilot’s on the horn for a specialist to meet us there. You’re coming with us. That’s an order.”
Nodding, Bree swiped a quick hand over her face. She had no idea Kruze’s brothers were kneeling so close to her until Chance tipped her into his side and said, “He’s a tough son of a bitch, Bree. He’ll pull through. You’ll see.”
She couldn’t help it. She put both hands over her face and cried, “I’m going to marry your brother if it’s the last thing I do.”
Chance pressed a kiss to her temple. “Thank God, sister. Kruze has been looking for you all his life. I am so damned glad to finally meet you in person.”
It seemed like hours before they had him in the helo. She sat on the rear bench seat with Chance and Pagan while Jared worked on Kruze. All three had headsets on if they wanted to talk. Bree didn’t. She didn’t dare take her eyes off Kruze, and she couldn’t hear the doctor Jared was speaking with. Jared was barking medical terms back and forth with the guy, then doing whatever he’d been instructed. But Bree couldn’t hear both sides of the conversation. Only Jared’s. He was angry, but so professional and capable. Like Kruze with his weapons, Jared knew precisely what he had to do to save Kruze’s life.
They were in the air when Pagan leaned into Bree and wrapped his jacket over her shoulders. “She needs her daddy?” he asked.
Bree tucked her lips inside her mouth and nodded. “He might not get the chance to tell you, but yes, Kruze has a daughter. He just found out a couple days ago.” Lord, so much had happened since he’d shared his secret about Juliana with her, when Bree had shared hers with him. What did either of those secrets get them? Nothing but grief. “It’s my fault. I should’ve told him, but…”
“Her name’s Robin?” Chance asked. “How old is she?”
Bree ran a hand over her eyes, and just like Kruze had, Pagan produced one of those travel packs of tissues out of thin air, popped the perforated top, and handed it to her. “Three years and three months,” she told Kruze’s brothers while she dabbed her tender eyes. “We were in Paris. It was July.” That romantic interlude felt like forever ago.
Chance put an arm gingerly around her. “He’s been hurting a long time, Bree. Mom was still alive then, but when he came back from Panama, it was as if someone extinguished the light in him. It was just gone. We all knew something happened on that deployment, but he kept it in. Wouldn’t share. I’m not gonna ask you what that something was, but you know, don’t you? He told you, didn’t he?”
She nodded, but bit her lip. “It’s his story to tell. I’ve shared enough, but yes, I know.”
“Thank God,” Pagan huffed. “He finally talked to someone.”
