Page 85 of Just Breathe

“Fucking A.” I clenched my jaw in anger. I watched as the last of Lucio’s crew get in their cars, hoping to remember some of them just in case I ever saw them alone.

“We got to get him to a hospital. I’m sure he has a concussion, broken ribs and they did fucking stab him,” she growled. “Someone please get me a shirt from our luggage, so I can slow the bleeding.”

Nathan and I looked at each other, knowing Callum would refuse to go to the hospital, and not only that, Lucio would make sure he didn’t get the care he needed. This was a lesson to be learned, and Lucio wouldn’t give him a pass.

“Guys!” she shouted.

“We can’t go to the hospital,” I said, as Nathan took his shirt off and gave it to Jane.

“What do you mean, we can’t go to the hospital?” She took Nathan’s shirt and pushed it again into his wound, making Callum stir a little. “They could have hit something major.”

“Lucio won’t hurt his money maker. I’m sure those guys knew exactly where to stab him, not to hit anything major.” I looked at the last car driving away from us, feeling more at ease.

“Plus, Lucio probably has eyes on us and won’t let us in a hospital.” Nathan squatted next to Jane, looking at Callum. “This is a lesson, and he’s going to make sure it isn’t an easy one.”

“Let’s get him in the car before they decide to come back or something. Who knows what Lucio might be thinking?” I nodded at Nathan so we could both pick him up. “Jane, open up the back door.”

She glared at me like I was the enemy. “No, he needs to go to a hospital. He needs medical intervention, and he could die from an infection or worse, he could bleed out.”

“Jane.” Nathan put his hand over her hand which was holding the shirt to Callum.

“Don’t fucking Jane me,” she snapped at him.

“Lucio won’t let him get medical attention. We are lucky he didn’t drag you away, so he wouldn’t get any medical attention,” I tried to reason with her.

“Guys, this is ridiculous. He can’t possibly….”

A vehicle passed by us slowly, interrupting Jane. I knew it was Lucio’s men trying to monitor us.

“For fuck’s sake. This guy is a fucking psycho.” Jane was getting the picture.

“Let’s get him in the car and home so we can patch him up.” I moved to Callum’s head and shoulders while Nathan picked up his lower body while Jane tried to keep the shirt on his stomach. It looked like there was less bleeding, but it still looked like a ton of blood.

Jane walked around us to get the back of the truck open.

“Jesus Christ, he weighs a ton,” Nathan grunted.

“Try carrying his upper body.” I felt like I was decent in my work outs, but carrying Callum I realized how solid he is and why he eats so fucking much.

“Fuck you guys.” I looked down to see Callum trying to wake up.

“Callum, can you tell me what day it is?” Jane came over to look at him as we carried him, but she received no response as he passed out again.

“Alright, let’s try to not hit his midsection and try to keep him level.” Jane guided us in the truck, bringing out her nursing authority that I shouldn’t find it sexy at the moment, but it definitely was. We got him in the truck with minor problems other than hitting his head and accidentally closing the door on his foot. The glare Jane gave us was worth it, though. I was enjoying her anger, and it made me think of all the bad things I wanted to do to her.

Jane hopped into the truck, letting Callum rest his head on her lap, checking his pupils and his heart rate.

Nathan and I both climbed into the truck, looking back at them. “We need to stop for some supplies.” Jane looked up at us. “I have a suture kit, but we need things to keep the wound clean and dressings to change out.”

Nathan looked at me expectantly. “Jane, we have all of that at home,” I said, knowing I was saying more than Callum wanted me to.

Jane stared at me, digesting my words, looking more distressed as the seconds went by. “Is this a regular thing for him? Getting his ass beat for this man or by this man?”

“Callum is sensitive about this subject. Why don’t you let him explain it to you?” Nathan suggested as I started the truck and pulled on to the road.

“So I’m assuming one of you patches him up after every fight?” I looked at her in the rear-view mirror. She was caressing his head, looking over his face.

“I was the next best thing to a medic in the Marines, so it’s stuff I’ve been able to handle,” I said, noticing a car pulling up behind us and I knew it was Lucio’s men. I wanted to stop the car and shoot a few rounds at them.

“He could suffer from irreparable brain damage one day. Getting hit in the head and suffering concussions often is not good.” Her voice sounded worried and sad.

“His hands are tied, Jane,” Nathan responded to her, sadness also in his voice because when our brother hurt, we did too because our hands were tied too. We’ve tried so hard to get the money to free him, but Callum, unfortunately, was too stubborn to either take it or give it to Lucio. It was also a lot of fucking money that none of us had.

---