Page 9 of Rush

“H-help me. Please.” Caroline knew her family would skin her alive for this, but she couldn’t ignore the pain in the man’s voice.

“Alright, I’m coming inside,” she said.

Crawling on her hands and knees, she entered the dark enclosure and turned on her flashlight. Shining it against the walls, she scanned the small space and realized why it felt so small.

“Rush,” she whispered. “Oh, shit. Rush.” She scrambled towards him, seeing the blood-soaked shirt.

“C-Caroline,” he whispered. “You’re here. Why are you here? Never mind, I need you to get the bullet out.”

“Bullet? I’m a veterinarian, not a surgeon,” she whispered.

“Please. It’s getting infected. You have to get it out. They’re after me, and you’re in danger just by being here.”

“I’m leaving tonight because of that danger,” she said. “We’re all heading to the zoo in Istanbul. Who is after you?”

“It doesn’t matter. Bad guys.”

“I can call home,” she said.

He gripped her wrist, causing her to release the phone. It clattered to the floor, sliding down the concrete opening and straight through the grates of the sewer drain.

“Sorry,” he smirked in pain. She frowned at him, shaking her head.

“Alright. Let me get some things from my kit,” she said.

“Can’t tell anyone,” he said, shaking his head.

“I’m not an idiot, Rush. I was raised in the same family that you were. I know what to do. Just let me get my kit, and I’ll get the bullet out and give you some antibiotics. Then you can run, just like you always do.” He still held firmly to her wrist.

“I didn’t run,” he growled. “I did the right thing.”

“No. You did the safe thing. There’s a difference,” she whispered. She could feel the tears building behind her eyes and cursed herself. “I don’t know why you couldn’t just tell me you weren’t interested.”

Even in all his pain, Rush reached for her neck, pulling her closer.

“Does this tell you how interested I am in you?”

Gripping her wrist, he laid her hand across his hard cock and pulled her mouth to his own. Forcing his tongue between her lips, he inhaled the scent of her, tasting her, teasing her. When she moaned against him, falling into his lap, he held her tightly. Then, he stopped.

“Rush? Rush, why did you stop?” she asked.

Adjusting to the darkness, she saw that his eyes were closed. He’d passed out. Caroline frowned at his handsome face, then tried to free her wrist from his hand. She couldn’t budge it.

“Perfect.”

She tried to pry her fingers free, but his grip was so tight he wouldn’t move. Caroline attempted to get off his lap, but he held her there with the injured arm. She could see it start bleeding again and cursed him.

“Rush. Rush, I have to get up to get my kit,” she said.

He nodded, loosening his grip. As she stood, she stared at his beautiful face and wanted to weep. Not now. Now was not the time. In the darkness, she moved toward her small rental car and gathered her medical kit. She could see the convoy already pulling out and knew they wouldn’t wait on her.

Locking the gates behind them, they continued toward Istanbul. Caroline ran inside the evacuated building and gathered bottles of water, nutrition bars, and candy. Anything that could build his strength and energy. Climbing up the steps to the enclosure, she heard men speaking and quickly opened the door, hiding behind it. Locking it from the inside, she moved toward the cave and crawled inside.

Taking the old tarp that was used for playtime with the monkeys, she tried to secure it over the opening, hoping her light couldn’t be seen in the darkness. Gently cutting his t-shirt, she removed the gauze and hissed at the red, inflamed wound.

“Idiot. Barbaric, fucking idiot. Think you’re some kind of Nordic god. Well, you’re not,” she mumbled. Drenching the clean gauze in alcohol, she wiped the wound and grabbed her forceps. “This is going to hurt.”

He didn’t even respond as she dug for the bullet. When she hit the unyielding object, she carefully grasped it, slowly pulling it out. Looking up, she was surprised to see him staring straight at her.

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