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 Please don t tell me you tried to kill him, Dr. Sheehan said.  I
would hate to patch him up for you to undo all my work.
Had Bryce made a big enough stink about Ahm? Apparently so if
everyone thought he wanted to off his mate.  Some people from his
tribe did this.
 Let me have a look.
Bryce didn t want to leave Ahm s side, but knew he had to. Ahm
wasn t going to get any better by merely holding Bryce s hand. He
needed medical attention, and fast.
 Damn, that looks pretty nasty. If I had to guess, I would say that
whoever did this twisted the knife to keep the wound open.
Bryce was ready to hunt down the two fey and kill them. It was an
odd reaction considering he hadn t lifted a finger to go help Ahm
when he was stuck in the marshland.
 Sterling, go get my bag from the truck. It s a black Nike bag and
it s tucked under the front seat.
Bryce could feel the tension in the room. The doctor wasn t sure if
he could help Ahm. He could scent the doubt. He was not going to
accept failure. Ahm was going to live if Bryce had to reach into the
man s leg and hold the damn artery together himself.
As he stood there watching Dr. Sheehan work, his mate slowly
opened his eyes. The intensity in Ahm s eyes almost frightened
Bryce. A dark, sickening feeling sliced through him as the man s eyes
began to close.
 How we doing down there, Doc? Bryce asked, watching the
slow pulse in Ahm s neck.
 I m working on it, Bryce. They did a nasty little number on Ahm.
The artery is not just sliced open, which would have been easier to
56 Lynn Hagen
repair. Instead, it s almost chewed up. Dr. Sheehan wiped at his
brow.  This is going to take time.
That was something Bryce feared Ahm didn t have. The longer
his mate lay there, the paler he became. How could anyone lose that
much blood and still be alive? The couch beneath Ahm was saturated.
Moving to the head of the couch, Bryce placed a hand on each
side of Ahm s face.  Fight for me, Ahm. He swallowed hard,
pushing his words past the strain in his throat.  Fight for us. Tracing
his thumbs over his mate s high cheekbones, Bryce promised
whoever was listening that he would give Ahm another chance just as
long as his mate didn t die.
Shit was looking dicey, and Bryce refused to entertain the concept
that the Shadow elf wouldn t pull through.
As time ticked by, his brothers started gathering in the living
room, all wearing somber faces.
They knew what Bryce refused to think.
Ahm was walking an invisible line between life and death.
A Man s Worth 57
Chapter Seven
Malcolm was resting against the porch banister, worried that
Bryce was about to lose his mate when he caught movement from the
corner of his eye. He spun in time to see something blue shimmering
in next to him.
 Oh, no you don t. He lifted his left arm, swinging a powerful
fist with the other. He knocked the attacking man off his feet, only to
have another one appear behind him. The second elf jumped on his
back, sinking a knife deep into Malcolm s shoulder. Grunting in pain,
Malcolm slammed his large and hulking body into the side of the
house, back first, successfully stunning the elf on his back.
Dr. Sheehan s mate was leaning against the SUV, waiting on his
mate when he saw what was going on and rushed to the porch. He
began fighting the two elves who had appeared. Malcolm shook his
head, regretting the movement when he felt the sharp pain from the
knife still embedded in his shoulder.
Another elf appeared.
Malcolm swung his arm out, connecting his arm with the man s
jaw. They were under attack and he wasn t sure how many of Ahm s
people would show up for the fight.  You are not about to take down
my family, Malcolm said with a feral grunt as he grabbed the fallen
man and wrapped a muscled arm around the man s throat.  I ll see
you dead before I allow you to hurt one of mine.
 He s a traitor, the man said as Malcolm began to slowly crush
the blue bastard s windpipe.
 He s a Lakeland now. Come near him again and you ll have
some very pissed-off bears coming after your own damn family. All
58 Lynn Hagen
of a sudden Malcolm was hugging thin air. The elf had shimmered
away, along with the other two invading elves.
 You re wounded, Jason said as he rushed over to Malcolm.
 I m fine. Malcolm waved the grey wolf away.
 I ll get my mate to help you. Jason raced inside where the
doctor was still working on Ahm. Malcolm walked into the house
behind the guy.
Malcolm grabbed Jason s arm.  Don t bother him. Ahm needs
him more than I do right now. I can survive a knife in my shoulder.
Ahm s wounds are more life threatening.
 I swear, Dr. Sheehan said from the living room,  you bears are
out to test my skills today. If a line starts forming, I m going to be
very pissed at you men.
 What the fuck? Olsen said as he shot up from the chair he had
been sitting in.  How the hell did you get a knife in your shoulder?
 Go check upstairs and make sure there aren t any more blue
elves shimmering in, Malcolm said as he dropped down onto the
other chair.
With a dark expression, Olsen took off up the steps. He could hear
Olsen shouting for his brothers and then the upstairs sounded like a
stampede of elephants were up there as the rooms were checked.
The pain intensified, but Malcolm ground his teeth, refusing to
take the doctor away from his critical patient.
Luke shimmered in, his eyes growing wide.  You have a knife
sticking out of your shoulder.
Despite the pain he was in, Malcolm gave him a bemused look.
 Is that what it is?
Luke glowered.  This isn t funny. What happened? Luke s hands
began to dance around the knife, like he wanted to do something to
help but was afraid to touch anything.  This has to come out.
 Don t you dare remove it, Dr. Sheehan said over his shoulder.
 We don t know if it s embedded in muscle or something more
detrimental. I don t even know how long the damn blade is.
A Man s Worth 59
Luke waved a hand at Malcolm.  Well, he can t just sit here with
a freaking knife in his shoulder!
Malcolm grabbed his mate, pulling Luke down onto his lap.
 Calm down. I swear to you, I m fine. Just in a shitload of pain.
Luke didn t look the least bit happy, but stopped the hysterics.
Malcolm sat there, watching as Dr. Sheehan worked on Ahm s inner
thigh, praying his son-in-law made it.
* * * *
Bryce watched his mate sleep. Once the doctor was done mending
him, Ahm had been brought upstairs to Bryce s bedroom where he
was now sleeping comfortably. There was nothing like watching a
person s mate slip between life and death to put things in perspective.
Bryce was going to try his best to put the betrayal behind him and
give Ahm a chance.
 Am I dead? Ahm asked as he stirred, his eyes slowly opening to
show Bryce the beautiful blue irises he loved looking at. Now that
Ahm was awake, Bryce wasn t sure what to say to the man. He had
been mad at the guy for so long that being anything else was
confusing.
 Dr. Sheehan repaired the artery. You ll live.
Ahm turned his head, glancing up at Bryce.  Don t sound so
disappointed. I m pretty sure my tribe will try again.
After everything that had just happened, Bryce didn t want to
fight with Ahm.  Then they ll be met by one angry bear. He leaned
his shoulder on the wall by the window, glancing at the yard below.
 Bryce 
Bryce held his hand up.  I m going to do us both a favor and give [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]