They attacked without warning, Paddy’s fist coming at him like a rattlesnake striking its prey. Gage blocked the punch with one hand and clipped Paddy in the jaw with the other. The man’s head snapped back, anger clouding his eyes, but Gage was too busy fending off Monte, who’d closed in on him. He got two jabs in, then a well-placed kick in his old friend’s crotch. Monte yelped in fury before retaliating, one meaty fist crashing into Gage’s left eye.
After that, he was fighting a losing battle. Someone yanked his arms behind his back, locked an iron-strong leg around his knees to keep him in place. Pain streaked through him when he felt another sharp pull on his arm.
Son of a bitch had wrenched his shoulder right out of the socket.
Fucking hell, that hurt.
No words echoed in the alley. Just a cacophony of muffled sounds. Thuds, grunts, the sharp smacks of fists against flesh. Gage blocked out the pain, same way he’d blocked it out when he was a kid and his dad was pounding on him. He wasn’t sure how long the beating lasted, but eventually he became aware of other noises. Footsteps. Shouts. Suddenly he was sagging forward, falling to his knees as his head swam and his pulse shrieked in his ears.
“Get the fuck out of here!” Reed’s voice. Coming from far, far away.
Gage blinked, trying to pinpoint where Reed was, but one eye was swollen shut and the other made out nothing but blurry shapes. He tasted copper in his mouth, felt moisture dripping down his chin, but he was too dazed to spit the blood out or wipe it away.
“Gage. Gage. You okay, man?” Reed again, concern ringing from his voice.
He cranked open his good eye, relief flooding his body when his friend’s face came into focus. “F-fine,” he croaked out. “I’m fine.”
“…ambulance,” he heard someone say. It sounded like Jerry.
“No.” Gage wheezed, struggling to catch his breath. “No hospitals.” He tried to get up, but his ribs ached like a motherfucker, shooting jolts of pain through his chest. A few were most likely broken. And yup, his shoulder was definitely dislocated, dangling uselessly as he managed to get on his feet.
“Gage. You’re fucked up,” Reed said firmly. “You need to get looked at.”
“I’m good,” he mumbled as he battled a rush of dizziness. “Just pop my shoulder back in, will ya?”
Disbelief echoed in his friend’s voice. “Sweet Jesus. You’re nuts.”
He stumbled toward the wall. “I’ll do it myself then.”
“Oh, for chrissake.” He caught a flash of movement in the corner of his eye. “Jerry, get over here.”
“Shouldn’t he be lying down for this?” their security guy demanded, equally dumbfounded.
“Yeah, but do you want to try to get this stubborn idiot to follow orders?”
Gage felt himself being moved, and then his arm was being lifted and hot agony rippled through him. Reed’s strong grip slowly pulled on his biceps, shifting his arm away from his torso. He bit the inside of his cheek so violently he tasted more blood in his mouth.
“You good, bro?”
“Just…do…it,” he said through clenched teeth.
The tension was unbearable. His shoulder burned, ached, pulsed with agony, and then a sickening crack sliced the air, and pain mingled with relief as the joint popped back into place.
As his vision blurred again, he leaned into Reed with a groan. “No…hospitals.” He felt himself losing consciousness. Fought it. Kept talking. “Just…take me home.”
“God, I really hate you sometimes,” Reed mumbled.
The black dots in front of his face got worse, an undulating sea of darkness beckoning at him. “One more thing.”
“Demanding bastard tonight, aren’t ya? What is it?”
They were in motion now, Gage’s bulk supported by Jerry and Reed as they carried him out of the alley. He had the vague impression of the sidewalk beneath his feet, but couldn’t seem to make his eyes focus.
“Skyler…” He swallowed, wincing from the taste of blood coating his throat. “Don’t call her…don’t…she can’t know…promise.”
“Goddamn it, Gage—”
“Promise.”
There was a pause, then Reed’s unhappy voice. “I promise.”
Gage nodded gratefully.
And passed the fuck out.
…
If it were anyone else calling, Skyler probably would have slept through the ringing of her phone, but she’d programmed a personal ringtone for Gage, and somehow her subconscious knew it. Her eyes snapped open and sought out the bedside clock. When she realized it was four in the morning, instant concern swept through her. She knew Gage wouldn’t call so late if it weren’t important.
She picked up immediately—and was startled when a voice that didn’t belong to Gage filled her ear.
“Skyler? It’s Reed.”
Her stomach clenched. Oh God. Something must be seriously wrong if Gage’s best friend was on the line.
“What happened?” she blurted out. “Is he okay?” The slight hesitation on the other end sent her heart rate into overtime. “Reed. Tell me what happened.”
“O’Donnell’s crew roughed him up.”
She swallowed a cold rush of fear. “How bad?”
“Bad. And the muleheaded mofo refused to go to the hospital, so I took him home. Can you—”