Page 37 of Fighting for Family

“How bad did he get hit?” she asked, doing as he ordered.

“It’s through the tissues. There are a lot of blood vessels there and an artery. We have to bandage it tightly until it stops. Hopefully, Victoria will be there by the time we arrive.”

“She knows it must be serious if Ivan called her. I’m surprised she didn’t take over flying the plane,” Sparky said.

Apollo whined and whimpered as Patch worked around him.

“It’s all right,” Patch soothed the K-9. “You’re doing a great job, buddy. You protected him. You did a great job, too, Sparky.”

She grunted. “Does it surprise you?”

“Not in the least,” Patch replied. “Don’t let this get in your head. You’ll prove Saint right if you start getting your feelings hurt. Don’t you think we haven’t gotten our asses reamed? When I met Claire, I almost walked away, believing I wasn’t good enough. Now, I only think about seeing her again, carrying our child.”

“You’ll get the opportunity. Doc and Whiskey plan on coming,” she said as Patch moved her hand to where he needed it to go. “We’ll be home in time for you to see Claire.”

“I know. It’s hard to feel happy with Leo gone. Don’t get me wrong, I never wanted to become a dad. Now, it’s all I think about.”

“Do you want a boy or a girl?” she asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” Patch replied, wrapping the injury tightly. “I want Claire to have an easy labor and a healthy baby. I haven’t even felt the baby move.”

“I’m sorry,” Sparky said. “First, you lose Leo. You’ve known him a long time. I can’t imagine how you must feel between losing him and worrying about Claire.”

“Will you watch over her for me?” Patch asked. “I’ll feel better if I know you’ll be there with her until I can come home.”

“I’ll check on her every day,” she promised.

“Thanks, Sparky,” he said, trying to hide the emotion in his voice.

“Will you do the same with Gabby? Tell her I miss her so damn much. I wish I got the chance to spoil her,” Knight said through the window. “I missed a lot of her pregnancy with Marcus. I acted like an asshole and missed out on the experience and made her unhappy,” he confessed.

“I haven’t known you long, but I know Gabby loves you. She doesn’t seem bothered by the past. Don’t focus on the past. Stay committed to your future,” Sparky said. “And yes, I’ll check on her daily.”

They rolled up to the small airstrip and saw Victoria’s plane waiting for them. Shadow pulled up as close as possible as Victoria ran down the steps.

“Who got hit?” she demanded.

“It’s Hollywood,” Patch said as Shadow opened the tailgate and Knight helped Sparky get down.

“Come, Apollo,” she called, holding out her hand. The K-9 whined, not wanting to leave his handler.

Sparky made the hand signal Cole taught her, and Apollo reluctantly went to her.

“Where are your men?” Patch asked.

“They’re following leads on Katie,” Victoria said. “I gave them orders to help the Texas team. They’re sending in their new recruit, Spider. It better work, or I’ll be wearing Matthew’s hide like he wears those cows on his feet.”

“You didn’t bring Aleski?” Patch asked, frustrated. “Shit, Hollywood needs medical care. We need to make a stop in Germany. He’s losing blood and has two GSWs.”

“Then you’ll come with us,” Victoria said.

“I can’t, damn it,” Patch said. “The team needs me.”

“From the appearance of things, Hollywood needs you more,” Victoria argued. “The faster we get him in the air, the quicker he gets treatment.”

Sparky bent down, listening to Hollywood, letting Victoria and Patch figure out what to do.

“Victoria’s here. She’ll get you to Germany, and you’ll be good as new,” she assured her teammate.