Page 106 of The Woman with the Target on her Back (Grassi Family)

Shoulder.

It was just her shoulder.

She was okay.

A graze.

“Oh, holy shitballs, how did you walk this off?” she asked, looking at Aurelio who was still standing with his gun out while Milo walked to Stan and Sheryl, checking each for a pulse before standing.

Then walking over to Don and Chuck, checking on them.

“They’ll make it,” he concluded. “Come on. We gotta get moving,” he told them, helping them each to their feet. The shock must have been fueling them as they each started to shuffle forward, hands pressing into their wounds.

It was done. For the time being.

Aurelio and Milo moved toward James who seemed to be going a little in and out of consciousness.

“Dad,” Traveler yelped, forgetting about her graze momentarily as she rushed toward her old man.

“You’re hit,” James said as Milo and Aurelio took his weight across their shoulders.

“It’s just a graze,” she said, brushing it off. “You’re a mess.”

“We gotta move,” I said, nodding at my cousins. “We don’t want to be here when the dealers come back,” I added.

“Are we just going to leave the drugs here?” Traveler asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” her father said, wincing as the guys shifted his weight as they started to walk.

“Problem for another day,” Traveler said in a way that implied it was something he’d said to her a lot in the past.

“You guys take her old man to our car,” I said. “I’ll drive these two,” I offered, nodding at Chuck and Don.

“I can—“ one of them started to object.

“Uncle Chuck…” Traveler cut him off.

Chuck’s gaze went to her then, eyes going sad. “I should have known,” he said.

“There was no way,” she insisted. “We have to do this later,” she added when I touched her hip, encouraging her to move things along. “Let August take you to the hospital.”

“I got it,” Chuck insisted again. “Go take care of your old man. I got Don,” he said.

With that, they moved back outside. I ushered Aurelio, Milo, and James to get moving while I stood in the doorway of the warehouse, making sure Chuck and Don got safely in their car and started away.

Then Traveler and I made our way toward our car as well.

Without needing to look strong for her old man, Traveler’s hand went to her shoulder, and she was whispering curses as we made the slow walk back to the car.

“Same hospital?” Aurelio asked, behind the wheel again.

“Yes,” Traveler said at the same time her father said, “No.”

“Yes, absolutely,” Traveler said, her tone brooking no argument. “You need to get looked at. Scans and everything.”

She gave Aurelio a nod, and he pulled away from the curb.

When we made it to the emergency room, Don was already being seen by a doctor as Chuck sat in the room next to him.

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