“Get in line,” Alex said before disconnecting the call. “Get over here and help me,” Alex told the waiter. They stood Kevin up between them and each took an arm. If anyone noticed them on the street, it would look like Kevin was drunk. Alex and the waiter carried Kevin out to his car and put him in the back seat. Alex locked the doors and followed the kid back inside. He called the bartender over and when the two young recruits were standing in front of him Alex said. “If either of you breathe a word of any of this to anyone, I will cut you up into pieces and use you as bait the next time I take my yacht out for a fishing excursion. Got it?” They both nodded, wide eyed. “I’ll need an answer,” he said.
“Yes sir!” they both said. Alex wasn’t trying to scare them; he meant every word he said. He’d have no qualms about doing it. The qualms he had about killing Kevin today...those were not the norm.
“Good. Clean up this mess before anyone else shows up.” He picked up the gun Jackson left on the table. The serial numbers had long since been filed off. He stuck it in his jacket. He’d dismantle and get rid of it later.
Chapter 15
Paige and Crystal were just sitting down to lunch when the cell phone rang. She recognized the number as Roxi’s. “Hi Roxi.”
“Paige, a helicopter is going to land out on the north side of the house in fifteen minutes. My father’s been shot in New York. I need you to see what you can do for him.”
When does it ever end? “Okay, do you have a first aid kit here?”
“Yes, in the master bathroom. But whatever else you need, you let me know. I’ll get it there.”
“Do you know if the bullet is still in him?”
“No.”
“I don’t know how magic you are, but I’m assuming at the very least I’ll need a few suture kits and maybe a scalpel.”
“Are you far enough in your education to know how to remove a bullet?”
“What you see on TV and in the movies is purely for dramatic effect Roxi. If the bullet is still in him, more than likely that’s where it’s going to stay. Stopping the bleeding is what’s urgent.”
“Okay, do that. I’ll see what I can do about getting your supplies there.” Roxi hung up. Crystal looked at her daughter and said,
“What now?”
“Kevin’s been shot. I have to go to New York.”
“Paige no! What if it’s a trap?”
“Then I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. I have to go.” Paige went to Roxi’s bathroom and got the first aid kit. On her way back to the living room she stopped at the bar and picked out an unopened bottle of whiskey and took a handful of clean, white bar towels. She could already hear the helicopter approaching. “Mom tell Damien...”
“Tell me what? Why is there a helicopter landing out there?” Damien was standing in the foyer.
“Damien...Kevin was shot...”
“Fuck! By who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Is he alive?”
“As far as I know. Roxi sent the helicopter to take me to New York. Apparently, he’s not in the hospital.”
“He can’t go to the hospital with a bullet wound.”
“Of course he can’t,” she said, sarcastically. She picked up the first aid kid and the bottle and towels. Damien took the kit from her hand. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going with you.”
‘’Damien...Mom just asked what if it’s a trap. If you go, they get us both at once.”
“Doesn’t matter. They get you they get me either way.” The noise of the helicopter was almost deafening now. “Come on, we have to go.”
Paige didn’t argue with him further. They left through the front door and went around the side of the house. A large helicopter with “Stark/Whitemore Realty” painted on the side was waiting for them. Paige felt a tickle of anxiety in the pit of her stomach. She had no idea if it was the idea of getting on the helicopter...or actually working on a human being without a licensed MD present. Either way, she knew that she had no choice.
Once they were settled and in the air Damien said, “Who called Roxi?”
“I don’t know.”
“How bad is it?”
“I’m sorry Damien, I don’t know.”
He nodded. His jaw was set tightly. Paige hated to imagine what would happen if Kevin died. She reached for his hand and he gave it to her. She could feel how tight his muscles were. “How long will it take to get there?” Damien asked the pilot.
“About twelve minutes,” he said.
“If he’s bleeding can he bleed to death in twelve minutes?” Damien asked her.
She didn’t answer him. She didn’t doubt he already knew the answer to that. She squeezed his hand and just held onto him until they got there. Once again, it was all that she could do.
*****
Thirteen minutes later they were getting out of the helicopter on the rooftop of a building on Madison Avenue. The pilot told them someone would be meeting them at the door to the stairwell to open it. When Alex was the one that opened the door, Damien lost it. He grabbed his brother by the collar and pushed him back into the stairwell.
“What the fuck happened? Did you shoot him, Alex?” Damien had his arm pressed into his brother’s windpipe. Alex couldn’t answer if he wanted to.
“Damien! We don’t have time for this right now.” Paige was already on her way down the stairs. Damien let go of Alex, pushing him back into the wall as he did.
“Fuck! I didn’t shoot him! I’m the one who called for help. You better chill little brother before I shoot you.”
“Who shot him?” Alex was already headed down the stairs after Paige. He didn’t answer Damien and he didn’t stop.
“All the way down to the bottom floor,” Alex told her. “I think I got the bleeding stopped, for now.”
Paige could hear Damien following behind them now. She didn’t have time to worry about his temper tonight. This whole family was crazy. When she hit the bottom floor, Alex took the lead and she followed him to a conference room at the end of the hall. Damien followed close behind. Alex opened the door and they saw Kevin lying on the conference table. He was covered up with Alex’s suit jacket and his face was as pale as a sheet.
Paige pulled the suit jacket off of him. The front of Kevin’s shirt was soaked with blood and the towels that Alex had stacked on top of the wound were soaked through as well. Paige opened the first aid kit and found a pair of gloves. She went over to the sink and started washing her hands. “Does he have a wound on his back too?” she asked Alex.
“Yeah, I think I got that one to stop bleeding too.” That was good, that meant the bullet went through and wasn’t lodged inside of him somewhere. Now what they had to hope was that it didn’t pass through any of his vital organs. Where it was located the concerns would be his spleen, stomach or kidneys in the back. It was off to one side so she was hopeful that it took a path along his side. She dried her hands and slipped on the gloves. Handing one of the bar towels to Damien she said,
“Wet this with hot water.” Damien took it from her and went to the sink. Paige began removing the towels from the wound. When she finished that, she took the collar of his button up shirt in her hand and pulled down, ripping it open, buttons and all. Alex had a towel stuffed inside of his shirt as well. She had to peel that one off. It had stuck to the congealed blood around the wound. The bullet wound was small and ragged around the edges. There was blood congealed all around the outside of it. Fresh blood was oozing slowly out and dripping down his abdomen now.
Damien was back with the towel. Paige took it and dabbed around the edges of the wound. “Help me turn him over,” Paige told them. Damien stood on her side and Alex on the other. They pulled him up so his back was facing Paige. The wound on the back was still bleeding. The towels there were sopping wet with blood. Paige took those off and looked at the wound as she wiped at the blood. This one looked clean as well, but they needed to stop the bleeding. “I need more towels,” she t
old Damien. Damien picked up the bar towels and held them out to her. She took one and folded it in fourths and then she pressed it to the wound. “Damien, you’re stronger than me. Push against this as hard as you can.” Damien looked sick. Paige was sure it wasn’t about the blood. Her guess would be that he’s seen plenty of that in his lifetime. He just found out Kevin is his father and now he’s holding pressure on a gunshot wound. Paige went around to the other side and had Alex do the same over there. If the situation wasn’t so grave, it would be comical to watch the two brothers glare at each other.
“Can we call that Chris guy?”
“No!” Damien narrowed his eyes at his brother.
“Why? Did Jackson shoot him?” Alex still didn’t answer him. “He thinks he’s dead, doesn’t he?”
“We can’t call him,” Alex repeated. “Can’t you do this?”
“I need supplies,” she said.
“What do you need?”
“Never mind let me try something.” She wasn’t sure if she remembered he number, but she pressed in what she thought was Jules’ number. Several rings and she heard,
“Jules.”
“Jules, it’s Paige Acosta.”
“Paige! Thank God, I’ve been wondering how you got through your night last week...”
“Jules I need some medical supplies. Can you get them to me?”
“What do you need?” Paige gave him a list and then said,
“And pain killers if you can get them.” Jules snorted.
“Piece of cake. Where am I taking these supplies?” Paige gave him the address and he said, “Is thirty minutes too long?”
Smiling, she said. “That’ll be fine. Thank you.” When she hung up Alex said,
“Who is that? You can’t just have people coming in here.”
“Shut up, Alex! If it wasn’t for her he’d probably be dead in a few minutes.”
“What if that person calls the police, what then?”
“Then we tell them that Jackson Paine did this and turn over the gun that I know you have. He told you to finish him off and get rid of the gun, am I right?”
“You already think you know every fucking thing so there’s no point in hashing this out right now.” Damien dropped it for the moment and continued his stare down.
“Jules can be trusted. Don’t worry. He won’t be calling the cops.” Alex’s phone was ringing in his pocket.
“Can you get that?” he asked Paige. She pulled it out and looked at the number. It was Roxi. Paige put it to her ear and said,
“Hi Roxi, it’s Paige.”
“How is he?”
“He’s unconscious, but that’s probably because he’s lost so much blood. I have some IV fluids and medical supplies on the way.”
“Is he going to be okay? Is the bullet still in him?”
“The bullet passed clean through and as far as the first question Roxi...I’ll do my best, but he needs to be in a hospital.”
“He wouldn’t forgive me if I did that.”
“Will you forgive yourself if he dies?” Paige asked.
“Don’t let him die. I’ll be there soon.” Roxi disconnected the call. Paige rolled her eyes and once again thought,
“Crazy! They’re all flipping nuts.”
Chapter 16
Two and a half hours later Paige had both wounds sutured up and an IV drip running in Kevin’s arm. She also had a bigger audience. Jules had come and gone and then Roxi and Jake showed up. Damien was pacing the room and Roxi had taken over glaring at Alex.
“I’ve done what I can for him...he probably needs a blood transfusion and I can’t promise those wounds won’t get infected. He needs to be in a hospital.”
“No,” the three Paine’s said in unison. Paige met Jake’s eyes, the only other normal one in the room.
“You know...” Jake started.
“Yes, we know that you’re an attorney and just by virtue of being here you could get disbarred,” Roxi said. Paige was sure she was quoting it verbatim. “I’m sorry, Jake...but this is my father. No one is going to know that you were here. Once we move him home we’ll have this place so clean no one will ever know it was used as an operating room.”
“Where are all the people?” Paige asked. It was Friday afternoon. Why wasn’t anyone in the office?
“I called ahead,” Roxi said. “The owner is a friend. They sent the staff home early.”
“Nice,” Paige said, slightly sarcastically again. This world was so foreign to her. “I’d like for him to be awake before we move him again.”
“I have to go,” Alex said suddenly.
They all turned to look at him. “Where are you going?” Damien asked him.
“I need to shower. I have blood all over me. My father is expecting me at the house at seven.”
Roxi stepped up to her cousin. He towered over her and probably outweighed her by a hundred and fifty pounds of solid muscle. “You need to tell me what happened before you go.”
“He got mouthy with my father and then he pulled a gun. In Jackson’s defense, Kevin threatened him first.”
“Bullshit!” Damien said, “He wouldn’t be that stupid.”
Alex turned to his brother and with a scowl he said, “He was protecting you...and you,” he said to Paige. “Kramer is making a lot of noise. Jackson is trying to stop a war from starting. The only way for him to do that is to hand you and the evidence you have over to Kramer. You’re both playing with fire...and like Kevin; you’re going to get burned.”
“Why did Jackson leave him alive?”
“He expected me to clean up...the way I always do.”
“Why didn’t you?” Damien asked him.
Alex looked at his brother again. His blue eyes were blood shot and his shirt was covered in blood and sweat. Paige hated to defend Alex in any way...but she could see just by looking at him that he had given everything he had to saving Kevin’s life. None of them had thanked him. On the contrary, he’d been treated pretty poorly. Paige was well aware he was an asshole...but sometimes she could be too forgiving. Damien and Roxi didn’t seem to be afflicted.
“Because...he’s my uncle and your father,” Alex said. “I have to go now or you’ll be pulling a bullet out of me next.” He laughed then and said, “Not that any of you would.”
“Alex...”
“What?”
“Thank you,” Damien said.
Alex’s permanent scowl returned to his face as he told his brother, “Don’t mistake this to mean that I’m going to help you ruin my father,” He picked up his blood soaked jacket, fished his car keys out of his pocket and left.
*****
A while later, Jake ran out and got dinner for everyone and as they sat and ate Roxi said, “So judging from his parting comments, Alex obviously didn’t agree to help you?”
“No,” Damien told her, “But he didn’t really say no either which is a good sign...”
“And let’s not forget the fact that he saved your father’s life,” Paige told them.
Neither Damien nor Roxi agreed with her, but Damien said, “You saved his life. Thank you.”
“Yes Paige, thank you,” Roxi said. “I won’t forget you did this for us.”
“You’re welcome. I just hope you both realize that I meant what I said earlier. He needs antibiotics, he needs an x-ray to make sure he’s not bleeding internally and he probably needs a blood transfusion. He’s been out a long time. That tells me that he probably lost more blood than I’d originally thought he had. If his blood volume stays low for too long it can cause him to have a heart attack amongst other problems.”
“If we take him to the hospital Paige, they’re going to ask a lot of questions that we won’t be able to answer,” Roxi said.
“Especially now that you’ve patched him up,” Damien told her.
“I understand that,” she said. “But you’re risking his life by not getting him the treatment he needs...” Kevin moaned loudly. They all turned their attention towards
him. Roxi got up and went over to him. Taking his hand in hers she said,
“Dad...it’s me, Roxanne. Can you hear me?” He moaned again. “Do you think he’s in pain?” Roxi asked Paige.
“Maybe, I gave him some pain medicine through his IV when I first started it...but it might be wearing off.” Paige got up and found the kit Jules brought to her earlier. He’d brought her a big vial of Dilauded and several syringes. She washed her hands and drew the Dilauded into one of the syringes and put it directly into his IV. He groaned again and his eyelids fluttered open.
“Dad, can you hear me?”
Kevin croaked out a “Yes,” and then he tried to sit up.
“No! Dad stay there. You have to keep lying down,” Roxi told him. “You’re going to tear your stitches open.”
“Where—-?”
“You’re in a safe place Dad. Jake’s here and Damien and Paige. Paige patched you up. She saved your life.” Paige looked at Roxi and Roxi rolled her eyes. “You and Jake could start your own Girl’s and Boy Scouts of America chapter. What Paige would like me to tell you Dad is that Alex originally saved your life.”
“Alex? How? What happened?”
Damien stepped up next to the table. Kevin’s eyes found his son’s and focused on them. “We’ll talk about all of that later,” Damien told him. “You need to rest.”
“Damien—“
“Later,” Damien told him. “We’re going to get you home so you can rest. We’ll talk about everything in the morning.” Kevin grunted again and then drifted back to sleep.
“Can we move him soon?” Roxi asked.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Paige said. “I’m not sure sitting up in a helicopter is going to be good for him.”
“We can take him to my penthouse,” Jake said.
Roxi looked at him with worry in her eyes and said, “It’s one thing being here, Jake. No one can really prove you were here when this happened. But having him at your house...”
“Where are you going to take him? Jackson thinks he’s dead, right? He can’t go to his house. The only way we can send him home on Derek’s copter is sitting up, or lying across the seat with no harness on which I don’t think the pilot would approve of. We’ll have to walk him in though, make it look like he’s drunk until we get him through the lobby.”
House of Paine - (A Romantic Suspense - Book 2) Page 8