****
Flint waited until Kendra was in the bathroom and out of hearing range. “Jesus Christ, Jesse!” he said tersely into the phone. “What the hell were you thinking bringing Dr. Shaw into this? We don’t even know her!”
“Calm down, Flint,” Jesse answered. “Look, we didn’t have a choice. You were unconscious and bleeding all over the place. What were we supposed to do? Tom wrapped your arm up the best he could but we didn’t know how to get the bullet out. We’re not a bunch of fucking nurses! What if we had nicked an artery? We couldn’t get the bleeding to stop and calling Dr. Shaw was the best idea we could come up with. You don’t realize how bad it was yesterday. You weren’t even conscious half the time. And don’t forget, you’re the one who insisted on not going to the hospital in the first goddamn place!”
Flint ran a restless hand through his hair. “I know, alright. I know. You don’t have to remind me. But come on, she’s a well-known veterinarian in town. Bardsville only has two vets, so you can bet everybody in the whole damn county knows her. Besides maybe the mayor, would there have been anybody with a higher profile you could have chosen to involve in our mess? And now that she knows about the safe house, you can bet it’s not safe any longer. ”
“She’s cool, okay? Trust me. I can read people. After all, she fixed you up and then agreed to stay. How bad could she be?”
Flint snorted. “She told me how you tricked her. The only thing I don’t get is how you convinced her to stay. I can tell by the way she looks at me that she thinks I’m a lowlife criminal. She might even be afraid of me. I make her very nervous.”
“Nervous? Really?” Jesse seemed surprised. “She didn’t strike me as the nervous type at all. Just the opposite in fact. What the hell did you do to her?”
“Me? Nothing!”
“I can tell you Dr. Shaw wasn’t the least bit intimidated by me and the crew, so you must be doing something weird to freak her out.”
Flint started to argue and decided to drop it. “So how did you convince her to stay?” he asked again.
“I offered to donate the proceeds from the charity run in the spring to the wildlife clinic. She wasn’t real keen on hanging around until I made it worth her while. If you take the time to think about it, you’ll see it’s a good deal all the way around. By giving Dr. Shaw the donation this year, we’re basically buying her help and her silence in the future. Understand?”
Jesse was right. The plan was a smart one. His older brother was president of the motorcycle club for a reason. “Yeah, I get it,” Flint said after a moment “That was a smart move. You want to tell me what I’m supposed to do here all weekend though? I need to get back to town and she hid my damn keys.”
Jesse burst out laughing. “She’s afraid of you, huh? Sounds like Dr. Shaw has your number, little brother. From what I’ve seen, you should be afraid of her. Seriously, you need to sit your damn ass in a chair and stay put. At least for a couple of days until we can figure all this out. I have enough on my plate right now without worrying about you. At least the Liberators don’t know about the safe house.”
“Did they do something else? What’s going on?” Flint knew his brother well enough to know he was keeping something from him.
“They tossed a Molotov cocktail through the tattoo shop window. The good news is they’re idiots and the bottle didn’t break on impact so there wasn’t a firebomb. The bad news is the front window was smashed and the cops were there all last night asking too many questions.”
“Fuck! Is Sam okay?”
“Yeah, he was in the back office with a customer when it came through the window. There’s some damage to clean up, but nothing we can’t handle without you. So I’m telling you to stay put. I’m not asking. Not as your brother, but as president of the MC. Do not leave the cabin until I okay it. You hear me?”
“I hear you,” Flint finally muttered.
“Good. By the way, how is your arm feeling this morning?”
“Hurts like a motherfucker. Thanks for asking,” Flint added sarcastically.
“I figured. Don’t fuck this up with Dr. Shaw. We need her on our side, so play nice. I’ll call you soon.”
“You do that,” Flint answered before hanging up.
Don’t fuck it up with Dr. Shaw.
He frowned. The warning had come a little too late.