Page 14 of Romeo

“No.Igothim,” she says again.I glance down at her hand and note the bloodied knife still clutched in her palm.

“That’s his blood?”

She nods.“You can find him now?”Her eyes start to close.She’s lost a lot of blood, and my QuikClot kit is downstairs in my car.Because, of course it is.I rip my shirt over my head and wad it up then press it to her injury.

She cries out and hisses through clenched teeth.

“Sorry,” I mumble.“I need to apply pressure.”

“Just stop messing with me.Leave me here.Go get him.He’s getting away.”

“I’m not leaving you.You’ll die.”

“It doesn’t matter.”She groans.“You have to catch him.He’s what matters.”

“You’re not getting it.I’mnotleaving you to die.”

“Excuse me, is everyone—” The door swings open, and a man walks in.“What happened?What did you do?”His eyes go wide, and his expression contorts in anger as he comes to his own conclusions about what’s going on.

Romeo lets loose a warning growl as the man steps in.

“She’s fine,” I snap.“Fell.”

He eyes me then the door.I wait for him to question me.To come in here and try to force his way into the situation.But I’m not at all surprised when he backs out of the room.Likely for the same reason no one else came when Jules screamed.

They’ve all got their own demons they’re hiding from, and the last thing they want is attention.

“I need you to keep pressure here.”I take her hand and press it onto the top of my shirt.Her grip is weak, but she doesn’t let her hand drop.“I need to go down to my truck and get my med kit, okay?”

She nods.

“Romeo will stay here with you.Ifanyoneexcept me comes through that door, you tell himfass,okay?”

“Fass?”

I glance back at Romeo, who is watching intently, sharp ears pointed straight up.“Yes.But use his name afterward, okay?I’ll be back in a minute tops.”

She tries to sit up, but I shake my head and gently press her back down.“Stay here.Don’t move and remember?—”

“Anyone comes through the door, I sic your scary dog on them.”

“Yes.Bleib,Romeo,” I order.Stay.Then, I jump up and race out onto the walkway, weapon still in my hand.After ensuring there’s no one on the stairs or within view of the room, I do what I can to partially close the door behind me then rush down the steps, heart racing.

The truck is still unlocked, so I reach into the back seat and shoulder my black tactical backpack.It’s a go bag I carry everywhere—no matter where I’m going or what I’m doing.

After running back up the stairs, I shove the door open and close it behind me, this time propping a chair up under the handle to help keep it closed.“Pass auf,Romeo,” I order him.Attention.If anyone comes anywhere near that door, he’ll let me know.

I withdraw a pair of blue gloves and the QuikClot kit.“Okay.Let’s see what we’ve got here.”I gently remove her hand then shove the bottom half of her shirt up to her ribs so I can see the wound.Blood pours out of a gash that appears to be about an inch and a half wide.“This is going to hurt, but I need you to try not to scream.”

Tears in her eyes, she nods.

Using two gloved fingers, I gently reach into the wound to scoop some of the blood out of the way so I can see where the bleeding is coming from.

She covers her mouth with one hand to keep from screaming.Breathing ragged, she’s doing what she can to remain still, but every movement makes the bleed worse.

Finally, I spot the bleed and press my finger onto it, applying pressure directly.With my other hand, I open the package of QuikClot gauze and start pulling it out.

“You’re doing good, okay, Jules?”