Wild and Free (The Wilder Brothers)

No use in a random stranger creating more of a mess for us to clean up.

“I’m sorry, sir, but we can’t serve you tonight. You’re a little too drunk and we’re about to close up,” I said.

The man lifted his eyes to me and I got a glimpse of the steely gray eyes his face beheld. And his chiseled features left me breathless. There was sweat permeating his brow that dripped down his prominent cheekbones, and his nose anchored a strong resistance to his face. He tried to take a step forward but stumbled again, heading straight for my body. I dropped the trash can and caught him, then braced myself for the onslaught of puke I knew was about to happen.

But instead of throwing up on me, he groaned and sank to his knees.

“Sir, are you all right?” I asked.

His breathing became more labored and I looked over at Bianca. She cocked her head before she set the tray of glasses down, then I watched her rush to the telephone. The man’s sweating blonde hair pressed into the crook of my neck and I hated how much I enjoyed his breath on my skin. Something was wrong with him, and all I could think about was how warm his lips felt against my pulse point.

“I don’t need a drink,” the man said. “I need your help.”

“Bianca!” I exclaimed.

“Already on the phone with 9-1-1,” she said.

“Come here. Let me lay you down. How much have you had to drink tonight?” I asked.

I eased the man down onto the floor as my hand cupped the back of his head. My eyes darted around his body, trying to figure out what was wrong. If he was drunk, I didn’t want to lay him down and risk him choking on his own vomit. He was too heavy for me to roll over if that was the case. I threaded my fingers through his hair to try and keep a grip on him, and the moan that fell from his lips was unmistakable. My eyes whipped back up to his and I watched a crimson blush trickle across his cheeks.

It was a mesmerizing color against his tanned skin.

“An ambulance is on the way, but the woman over here is asking me for specifics,” Bianca said.

I gazed into the man’s beautiful gray eyes before I drew in a deep breath.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Can you tell me that much?”

He coughed, sputtering spit that had a twinge of red to it. My eyes widened and they dropped down his body, looking for any sort of wound that would cause something like that. My eyes traveled down his neck, taking in the veins that were popping from his skin and screaming for help. They grazed down his chest that tugged against the tight fabric of his shirt. I shook my head and kept dancing my eyes around him as his hand moved. Trembling and pale, he grabbed the hem of his shirt.

“Don’t move. I’ve got it,” I said.

I reached for the fabric of his shirt and slid it up before my eyes widened in horror.

“He’s been stabbed!” I exclaimed.

“What!?” Bianca yelled.

“Tell the emergency operator that this man’s been stabbed in the stomach!”

TWO

Lucas

I groaned as my eyes fluttered open. Shit. How could I have been so fucking stupid? Working on a ladder like that in the dead of night because I couldn’t sleep was not a good thing. It was hard to peel my eyes open, as if they were glued shut with the crust of a drug-induced stupor. I drew in a deep breath and sat myself up, groaning at the pain that shot through my abdomen. I winced as my body relaxed against the pillows of the hospital bed while the rhythmic beeping of machines echoed in my ear.

And the darkness of my sight drew me back into that bar.

I’d never forget those bright blue eyes. Big, bold, and filled with panic. Her blonde hair had been pulled back into a thick braid that boasted of the amount of hair she had on her head. Her rounded cheeks lent an innocent demeanor to a petite woman, and I could still hear her panicked voice yelling in my ear.

He’s been stabbed!

The phantom grip of her hand was still on the back of my head. The way her delicate fingers threaded through my hair? I couldn’t even hold back the reaction I had to it. Her touch was caring and concerned, and the way she tightened her grasp in my tendrils made so many images flash through my mind. Images I couldn't stop and heat that trickled through my veins I couldn’t dissipate.

I hope I hadn’t made too much of an ass out of myself.

“Well, Mr. Ab Wound, I’m glad to see you up and about,” a calm female voice said.