Ryker (Hope City #6) - Kris Michaels Page 0,75

of his sweats. Stupid. No, not really. The cop was being cautious, which was good. He carefully lowered the weapon to the ground and backed away from it as directed. He didn’t want to get shot again, and not following the directions a cop gave you upped that probability.

“Arms up! Get on your knees!”

Ryker snorted. Yeah, where had he heard that before? He obliged with his left arm. “My right arm is broken. I’m Captain Ryker Terrell, HCPD JDET. These two are the runners from the warehouse sweep. Call it in and ask.”

“I’ll do that once you go to your knees.” The cop moved up and kicked his weapon away.

“Dude, that is my service weapon. If you fuck it up, I’m having the department come after you for the cost of repair.” Ryker dropped to his knees and then sat on his heels. Man, he’d seriously fucked up the doc’s work on his shoulder.

He heard the uniform call it in and heard Patel’s voice answer. He sniggered when she cussed over the radio. She was a momma bear.

One of the uniforms brought his weapon and handed it to him as the other cuffed the man who’d dropped Brie into the harbor. “Did he break your arm, sir?”

“No. I had shoulder replacement surgery about a week ago.”

“Holy hell, you took down two perps one-armed?”

“Yeah, and I thought you were going to take it easy today.” Tiernan’s smart ass comment brought a smile to his face, but he wasn’t moving. Actually, he couldn’t. If he did, he’d puke. He was done.

Tiernan crouched down beside him. “Dobson?” Ryker needed an update on the hurt member of his team.

“He’ll live. Not sure if he’ll be back to work anytime soon. Looks like the bullet went through his ankle.”

“I can recommend a doctor.” Ryker tried to lose the exhaustion, but damn it, he was fucking tired. “The op?”

“From what I’m getting from Control, we have all three sites secured. No casualties. My guys took down three in the warehouse, but we were able to get medical to them in time. They opened fire on us. We have it on video for internal affairs. How about we get you to the hospital?”

Ryker nodded. “Yeah, that would probably be good.”

“Fucker nailed you in the shoulder, didn’t he?” Tiernan offered him a hand up.

“Yeah. Do me a favor, would yah? Find out who the hell that guy is and make sure they watch him close. He’s mental.”

Tiernan chuckled as he ducked under Ryker's good arm. Ryker groaned but appreciated the support. “He’s not the only one who’s mental. You’d probably give him a run for his money.”

“Not funny.”

Tiernan laughed and started them toward the mouth of the alley. “Yeah, it really is.”

Ryker focused on moving one foot in front of the other. Okay, it probably was fucking hilarious. He’d laugh tomorrow.

Maybe.

Chapter 19

Ryker opened his eyes. Fuck. Right, the hospital. Again.

“Hi.” Brie leaned over him.

“Babe.” The word sounded like a croaking toad with a mouth full of flies, but she smiled at him. Fuck, he'd never get enough of that smile.

“The doctor was pretty upset with you.” She pushed the hair off his forehead.

“Not my fault.” He blinked up at her. “How are you?”

Her smile faltered for a moment. “Scared. Tired. Sore.”

He lifted his head and glanced down at the bed. He didn't have an IV stuck in him, so he tapped the silver rail with his hand. “Put this down and lie down with me.”

She shook her head. “I don't want to hurt you.”

“The only thing that is going to hurt me is you not getting in this bed and holding me.” He tapped the bar again.

Brie glanced at the door. “I'll get in trouble.”

“No. Come on. I'll protect you from the mean nurses.”

She chuckled and shook her head. “You couldn't protect me from a two-day-old kitten right now.”

“Okay, then you come protect me from the mean nurses. Please, babe, I need to hold you.” Ryker reached up and touched the bruise on her face. “I need to know you're okay.”

Brie glanced at the door again before she hit the button to lower the rail. He brought up his good arm, and she snuggled in beside him. Her leg over his, her head on his good shoulder, and her arm folded across his abdomen. Her warmth immediately wrapped around him. He kissed the top of her head. “Tell me what you're afraid of.”

She puffed a small exhale of air. “I don't know. I guess my sense of safety