Page 36 of Lockout (The Vikings MC: Tucson Chapter #11)

Lockout

S omething wet was wiping over my face. Coughing, I managed to pry my eyes open. And just like that, all the aches and pains slammed into my body, causing me to groan out loud.

A tongue snaked into my mouth, licking in a place it shouldn’t. Sputtering, I placed a hand on the dog’s face and lightly pushed.

Jecht hovered over me, a doggy grin on his face, his tail wagging so fast it was a blur. The place had been well lit by street lamps when we showed up. Now it was even brighter thanks to the random fires in the shell of the building.

“Good boy,” I said, patting Jecht’s neck as I surveyed myself. I was laying amongst rubble and there was a huge piece of sheet metal covering most of my body.

Gritting my teeth, I sat up and shoved the metal off. Jecht let out a couple of shrill, sharp barks. I knew enough from Seek to know he was letting her know he’d found me. He’d keep that up until she got to us.

If Seek and her dogs were here, that meant Keely was here. No way she’d have stayed at home once Seek got that call. The LoS wasn’t stupid enough to come at us right now. Not with this many cops around. Looked like every squad car on the force was in the parking lot.

I shifted, then sucked in a breath when the movement made me see fucking stars. I grabbed my leg and huffed out a groan. A piece of rebar was sticking up. I tilted my head and got a better look. It was impaled through my leg. Right through my left thigh. Fuck. That hurt.

Jecht let out two more barks, circling around me. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was checking me out for more injuries or something. But despite their intelligence, he and Auron were just dogs. He was nervous that I was going to get up.

I remember Seek talking about how she trained them to sit with people until she came to get them. She didn’t want people getting up when they might have injuries or be dehydrated. The threat of passing out was too real.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I told him. That seemed to calm him down a little. The barks were starting to blend into the background noise of sirens for me. Everything was a little hazy, which I knew meant I was close to passing out.

“Can’t do that,” I muttered. I needed to make my way back to my crew and get us all out of here. They were somewhere around here. Even if Jecht wasn’t here with me, I’d know that. They wouldn’t have left without me.

The tone of Jecht’s bark changed. It sounded more…happy. Glancing over, I saw the silhouette of someone rushing forward. “Seek?”

“Oh my God!” Keely burst out of the smoke like an avenging angel.

Fuck was I glad to see her. She tossed an object, which Jecht happily snagged out of the air and started chewing on. It was his reward for finding me.

Keely collapsed next to me, throwing her arms around my neck. “Lock,” she sobbed.

I couldn’t move very easily, but I shifted a little and wrapped her up in my arms. “It’s alright, Keely.” But I let her cry it out because, honestly? It almost hadn’t been okay.

As soon as the tears started to ebb a little, I pulled back and grinned at her tear streaked face. “Glad to see me?”

Her laugh was half sob, half chuckle. “Don’t ever do that again.”

“Trust me, if I never have to, I won’t. We need to get out of here before the cops find us. I don’t feel like answering a bunch of questions.”

“Here, let me help.” She was eyeing the rebar sticking out of my thigh, but she managed to help get me to my feet. “Lean on me.”

We started hobbling our way out of the wreckage, following Jecht’s tail as he weaved in and out of the debris and through the smoke.

I was so damn proud of my woman. Despite the breakdown when she found me—which was totally expected considering the circumstances—she was holding it together.

Her face was streaked with tears and soot, and we were both coughing thanks to the damn smoke, but she helped steady me as I shuffled my way out of this damn place.

Jecht let out two barks in succession. “He’s found the others,” Keely said. “Good boy,” she said as we stepped out of the smoke and behind some vehicles.

My brother’s expressions ranged the entirety of the scale of relief as they saw us. They rushed forward and took over for Keely, all but dragging me and dumping me on the tailgate of our cage ride.

“Careful,” I barked, sitting on the gate and grabbing my leg. “Fuck. This shit hurts.”

Everyone was crowding around. “Knew you weren’t dead,” Toxic joked, but I could see the worry still etched into his face.

“What the fuck, Toxic!” I bit out, as he reached out and grabbed my balls.

“Just checking. Making sure we don’t have to go back and look for junk.”

I couldn’t help it. I laughed. Leave it to Toxic to make light of the situation and get us all laughing.

Once the chuckles died down there was silence for a brief moment.

Then they were all talking at once, except my brother, who was just sitting next to me.

I was sandwiched between him and Keely. We didn’t need to say anything.

I could imagine how inconsolable I’d be if this shit had happened to him.

If I thought he was dead. We’d talk about it later, I was sure of that, but for now, he just sat near me.

“I should go find Seek,” Keely said, though it was easy to see she didn’t want to leave.

“Don’t worry about her,” Hush said. “The cops will look out for her.”

“There was another guy,” I said, remembering. “An LoS, in the building before it blew.”

“Fuck,” Hush muttered. “Glad to have you back, brother,” he said, then he and Jecht disappeared to go find Seek. He wasn’t about to leave her to continue searching if that asshole was possibly still alive.

That was the last thing I wanted either. Hopefully the piece of shit was dead, but if not, she needed backup. I scowled at Butcher as he got too close to the rebar. “Don’t touch it,” I snapped.

“I’m not touching it,” he shot back. “Just looking.”

“Well, don’t look at it,” I replied.

“We should take it out,” Demo said.

“Naw, don’t you ever listen to Pyre when he’s rattling on about field medicine? You’re supposed to keep it in,” Warrant told him.

“No, I don’t listen to him. It’s his job to patch us up. It’s my job to blow shit up.” He winced and glanced at me. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” I told him. “Leave it in.”

“We’ll take him to Crash Cart once Hush and Seek are back,” Rip said.

“Probably needs a hospital,” Priest suggested. “That might be more than Crash can deal with.”

“Is there an upper limit to what Crash can do?” Hellfire asked.

“Don’t ever fucking do that again.”

I glanced over and into Smokehouse’s tortured gaze.

“Next time just leave me there,” he continued, shaking his head. “I’ve decided I can’t be the reason you die. So next time just leave me there,” he repeated.

I understood what he meant, which was why I pushed him off that fucking plate in the first place. Reaching out, I grabbed his shoulder and squeezed in acknowledgment.

My leg was jostled as Priest, Rip, Toxic, Hell, and Ricochet all started arguing about whether to take me to the hospital or to Crash’s place. I looked down in time for blinding pain to nearly send me back into unconsciousness.

I wasn’t exactly proud of the howl of agony that I produced, but fucking Butcher had just yanked the rebar out of my leg.

He was standing there, holding it like it was a fucking prize.

He looked as proud as Jecht had, carrying his damn toy around after he found me.

“Dammit!” I hissed, struggling not to pass out. “You fucking asshole .”

There was no chance. The world was starting to fucking spin. Idaho caught me and laid me back in the truck. At least I wasn’t going to add a fucking brain injury to my list because I fell out of the back of the truck.

Keely’s worried face was the last thing I saw.

“...wrong with you?”

I wasn’t sure who’s voice that was. Wasn’t one of my guys.

“Don’t you know not to take shit out? That’s how a motherfucker bleeds to death.”

“Did he bleed to death?” Butcher asked, sounding bored.

“No, because I cauterized the wound and have been pumping him full of blood and other fluids. But he could’ve.”

“But he didn’t.”

I opened my eyes to see that it was Pyre who was scolding Butcher like he was a kid who’d done something wrong. Closing them again, I sighed. At least I didn’t have to be the one yelling at him this time. “ Feel dead,” I muttered. My voice was hoarse and I sounded almost as shitty as I felt.

“Lock.” I’d recognize that voice anywhere.

“Hi, Baby Girl,” I said, running a hand over Keely’s hair. I didn’t open my eyes again because it was just too much fucking effort.

Her lips brushed over mine.

Grunting, I smiled. “Gonna have to get blown up more often if that’s my reward.”

“I’d rather you didn’t,” she said with a little laugh.

“You do that again it’s going to be me kissing you awake,” Toxic told me.

Everyone chuckled at that. I frowned when my eyes still didn’t want to open. “Why do I feel so goddamn weird?”

“I gave you pain meds,” Pyre told me. “Would’ve been agonizing otherwise. You should sleep.”

Pyre had been a Navy Hospital Corpsman, and was one of the best medics there was. That was why Cypher had brought him onto his security team, and into his MC. Well, that and because the man fit in with that group like a missing link.

Pyre had served in a Marine unit as their medical specialist for years before his enlistment ended. I was in good hands. And I was floating. I kept my mouth shut before I said anything embarrassing that my brothers would never let me live down.

“Come sleep with me, Cables,” I said, finally managing to pry my eyes open so I could look at my gorgeous old lady.

“No way. I could end up hurting you.”

“He’s fine,” Pyre said. “Just out of it from the meds. Just lay on his other side.”

My grin was smug as she grumbled, then went around the bed and climbed in. “Good. Now the rest of you get out. Doctor’s orders.”

“That wasn’t what I ordered,” Pyre said with a chuckle.

“President’s orders,” I mumbled, already falling back into a drug induced sleep.

“He just needs to sleep,” Pyre said, his voice getting tinny and far away. “And blood thanks to this one.”

“You goin’ to keep checkin’ on him?” Hush asked.

“Seek,” I said, my tongue feeling like it was too big for my mouth.

“I know you’re my president and my friend, Lock,” Hush said. “But callin’ out my old lady’s name in your sleep isn’t endearin’ you to me right now.”

“She alright?” I managed to say. “The LoS guy-”

“He was already dead by the time she found him,” Hush said from next to my side. “She let the cops take the body. She and the dogs are fine. Go to sleep.”

“Hush…”

“Yeah, boss?”

I was getting fucking sick of people telling me what to do. That was usually my job. But there was no arguing with whatever Pyre had pumped me full of. Wrapping an arm around Keely, who was snuggled against my side, I let go of everything.

“Fuck off. Don’t…tell me…what…to do. I’m…sleep now.”

I didn’t even give a shit if they wanted to sit there and watch me like a bunch of weirdos. I was going to sleep my ass off.