39 – Joey
4:00 AM… and something downstairs smashed.
Heart hammering, I sat bolt upright, pulling the covers to my chest. What the fuck was that?
My hand went out and touched nothing. I turned, looking at the empty bed next to me and glared at it. “What the hell?”
Was this guy ever going to be here, when I woke up?
Thudding on the stairs and I turned my head, looking back at the partially open door, ready to kick out at whoever was coming through.
Jolene?”
Iblinked
“Sota?” The door opened and the light flipped on, and standing there, with blood coating his hands, was Alex’s driver. “Sota? Sota, what happened? Whose blood is that?”
“Alex. He’s–he’s in the kitchen.”
The big man turned, and I stared, as he hurried back down the stairs, leaving me alone in the huge bed. Scrambling from the bed and across the room, I ran down the stairs, my heart hammering
What had happened to Alex?
As I got to the ground floor, I stopped, seeing the smears of blood on the walls, and the large splotches on the marble floor, leading into the kitchen. Slowly I stepped over the blood and headed toward the kitchen, stopping at the door.
There were three men in the kitchen. Sota, one dressed in all black talking on the phone and Alex.
He was sitting on the edge of the counter, gripping the edge of it, his jaw sporting a hefty bruise. But it was the flick–knife sticking out of the side of his left calf muscle that caught my attention, along with the blood that pooled on the white marble below his foot and the tourniquet just below his knee.
“Alexander?”
Alex’s head lifted and the pain which was etched in his features softened a hule. “Hey, doll.”
“Hey doll? Is that all you’ve got to say?” I stepped closer and the man who was dressed in all black stepped between me and
Alex
“Aoto, it’s fine. Joey is a nurse.”
Aoto looked me up and down, then stepped to the side, continuing to listen to something on his phone
My attention went back to Alex, who tried to smile at me. I put my hands on my hips and raised an eyebrow at him. “We’ve been having some trouble at the office.”
I looked at the knife sticking out of his calf and then back to him. “Some trouble. You should be at the hospital.”
“No hospital” Both Sota and Aoto said at the same time, and I blinked.
“Okay.” This must have something to do with Yakuza rules, and I frowned, looking at Alex’s leg again. “Why didn’t you pull
it out?
“Uh, because I know the femoral artery is in there somewhere. I didn’t want to bleed out, so we put a tourniquet on it. I’m not stupid.”
“Debatable
“Ouch.”
I sighed and looked at Alex “Let me guess, you want me to fix it?”
“I mean, only if it doesn’t inconvenience you.” Alex chuckled, and winced, one hand coming up to the side of his jaw. “Fuck.”
I sighed and turned toward the refrigerator, opening the icebox. “Everything about you inconveniences me, Alex.” “Oh, wow. That’s harsh.” Alex chuckled again, and I heard him wince for the second time.
Pulling a bag of frozen peas out of the icebox, I turned and walked over to him, as I wrapped them, in a dish towel.
“Yeah, you’ll learn to deal. Here.” I pushed the peas against his jaw. “Hold this.”
Turning, I looked around the kitchen and grabbed another dish towel, dropping it over the puddle of blood and looked at Sota. “Do you know if Alex has a first aid kit?”
“It’s-
I turned to Alex and held up my finger. “You shish.”
He did and I turned back to Sota, who walked
put
out of the room, to it on the bench next to Alex and opened it.
return with a first aid kit in his huge hands. I took it and
“Are you kidding me?” Looking up at Alex, I raised an eyebrow. “It’s practically empty, Alex.”
The bag of peas came away from Alex’s jaw. “I didn’t really think I was going to need it to treat a stab wound, Joey.”
I picked up the half packet of sticking plasters, a small bandage and a small roll of tape. I dropped them back into the box. and closed it, picking it up and shoving it onto one of the other benches. “Is there a twenty–four–hour drugstore around here?”
Sota nodded. “About five minutes away.”
“Good“I turned and looked at Aoto, who seemed to be finished with his call. “Can you go?”
“No need. Oliver is on his way. Give me the list, I will call him.” Sota said.
I rattled off the list and Sota relayed it to Oliver.
“Thanks Mr. Taylor.” Sota hung the phone up and looked at me. “He will be about ten minutes”
I looked at Alex. “Think you’ll live until then?”
Alex rolled his eyes and deadpanned me, causing me to giggle.
“Well, I guess, while we wait, we better get him ready.”
me cushions under both his
Five minutes later, with a lot of help from Aoto and Sota, Alex was now lying on his back, some head and his knee.
“We’re going to have to cut the jeans off.”
“Aww man, these are my favorite ones.”
“Should have thought about that earlier.” I quipped, pulling a pair of scissors from the drawer behind me, as the front door opened and Oliver strode in, two more men following him. Those men saw me with a pair of scissors and dropped the supplies they had and moved toward me, and I stepped back.
“Hey!” Oliver grabbed both of them and pushed them behind him, turning to them and giving them a good talking to. “She’s the nurse, idiots. Pick up the things she needs to save your boss‘ life.”
The pair bowed to Oliver, then to me and Ollie turned back to us.
“Sorry, Joey. They’re skittish.”
“Uh huh..” they put the supplies on the counter next to me and bowed again, stepping back. “Thanks. Uh, Sota, can you put all these out for me while I cut these jeans away? Please leave them in their packets until I say so.”
The big man laid the items out and then turned to me. I stepped up to Alex and started to gently cut away the jeans. When it came to the edge of the knife wound, I had to be slow and steady so as not to knock it. I didn’t know how far it had gone in how long the blade was, and if it was close to any of the major arteries in Alex’s calf. The main one I was concerned about was his posterior tibial artery. If it was close, and moving the knife nicked it… well, Alex would bleed out on the kitchen
bench.
Once the jeans were opened up to just below the tourniquet, I stepped back and turned, opening the packet of gloves and put some on, turning back to the five men in the room.
“Anyone who is squeamish around blood might want to leave.”
They all stood fast, and I nodded, turning to Sota
“Want to be my nurse?” He nodded, donning a pair of gloves and went to the other side of Alex. I looked at Aoto and Oliver. “Ollie, I need you to keep him steady, Aoto, I need you to help turn Alex onto his right side.”
The pair nodded and moved, and I looked at Alex. “I’m sorry, this is going to hurt.”
I smiled and leaned forward, quickly kissing him and then nodded to Oliver and Aoto. “Okay, let’s get this done.”
Aoto rolled Alex to his right and Oliver helped keep him steady, as I moved the cushion that was underneath the back of his knee, to between his knees.
“Okay, I’m just going to have a quick look, then I’ll pull it out.”
After examining the knife, I looked up at Sota. “Okay, I’m going to pull this, I need you to stem the bleeding. It’s going to gush a little. But I think it’s missed the artery.”
Sota nodded and took the packet of gauze I handed him, opening it and standing over me, ready, as I gripped the handle of the knife and started to pull.
“Fuck!”
Alex’s leg kicked out and I jumped back, the knife slipping from my grasp, still embedded in Alex’s leg. I looked at the men standing like dummies to the side. “Hold his foot still!”
They grabbed Alex’s leg, and 1 stepped forward again, gripping the now slippery handle.
“Okay, on three. One. Two…” I yanked early, so Alex didn’t anticipate the pain and flung the now–free knife into the sink behind me. Sota quickly pressed the gauze to the wound, which quickly soaked the blood which oozed from it
“Sota, lift it a little.”
He did and I looked at the color of it. “Okay, give it a minute, then we can pull it away, it’s clotting quickly.”
I turned back to the supplies and picked up a packet, looking at Oliver, who was cradling Alex’s head.
“He’s out”
“Good.” I replied. “Now we can stitch it up, without him complaining.”
