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Shrugging out of my kutte, I drag my hoodie over my head and then my T-shirt. Balling it up, I clutch it with one hand while I pull hers away from her side.
“Is it bad?” she rasps, her teeth clamped together.
“I only got a quick look at it, but it looked like it grazed your side.”
She blinks rapidly, as if dizzy. “It’s only a graze? It hurts like fuck.”
The hint of panic in her words hits me in the chest like a wrecking ball. I don’t want her afraid. She shouldn’t be dodging bullets while visiting her child’s grave. Today was meant to be healing for her, and instead, it has added more trauma.
“The doc should be able to stitch it.”
“Should doesn’t fill me with good feelings, Trick.”
Despite the seriousness of the situation, my lips kick up at the corners. “Okay, the doc will be able to stitch you up. Does that help?”
She glares at me. “Running from armed maniacs might be all in a day’s work for you, but that was my first time almost getting killed.”
The smile fades from my face and my words are harsh. “No one is going to kill you.”
“I don’t think they got your memo on that.” She shifts slightly, using her hands to move herself back against the wall. I don’t miss the way she winces, and I wish I could take this pain for her.
When she settles, I hand her my T-shirt, guiding both that and her hand to her side. “We need to keep pressure on it.”
“I can’t,” she complains. “It fucking hurts so bad.”
“I know, but I don’t want you to lose too much blood.”
“I thought you said it was just a graze.”
“It is.”
Grudgingly, she lifts her sweater and puts it against her side, squeezing her eyes shut in pain. She’s probably not pressing as hard as she should, so I use my hand to show her.
The breath she sucks in between her teeth makes my belly swirl uncomfortably, but there is no time for niceties with this. It might only be a flesh wound, but it could turn serious.
I pull my hoodie back on, slipping back into my kutte before I glance toward the garage door, listening in case our attackers are close, but I don’t hear any noise. It allows me to relax a little.
I’m not carrying a gun. It’s rare we do. The sentence for being caught with firearms is steep, and although we do use them, it’s only on certain occasions. I have several knives on me, though, which means getting up close and personal with our attackers. That is riskier and could leave Heidi exposed without help, but that’s the choice in front of us.
After a while of silence, I glance in her direction and my heart leaps into my throat. Her head is tipped to the side, her eyes closed, and even just from the light of my phone torch, I can see she is too pale.
I move quickly, cupping her face and lifting it towards me. My blood thunders through my veins until her eyes flutter open.
“Fuck,” I gasp out the word as she focuses her heavy eyes on me.
“Sorry. I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Running for your life really takes it out of you.”
I let go of her face as she sits a little straighter, still holding my T-shirt against her side. I don’t see any blood coming through it, which eases some of the tension in my body.
“It’s fine. I was worried you’d passed out.”
“This isn’t dramatic enough without me fainting?”
Voices outside the garage have both of us falling silent, but I place a finger to my lips anyway before I turn, blocking Heidi with my body.
Fuck, I thought we’d have more time before we were found.
I pull one of my knives out, flicking it open before shooting a glance back at Heidi. Her eyes are wide and nervous, but she holds out her hand towards me and mouths the word ‘knife’ at me.
