"Fuck Dean, I'm gonna kill you," Brianna groaned from the backseat, her voice tight with a mix of agony and fury.
Julian shrugged out of his shirt, leaving only his undershirt clinging to his broad shoulders. Then, still driving as if the hounds of hell were on his tail, he threw his shirt over his shoulder onto Brianna. "Keep that pressed on the wound. Where does it hurt?" he asked, even as he began to dial Ty's number on the car's interface.
"What the fuck is it to you?" Brianna snapped, her breath hitching. "Last time I checked, you were a fucking architect."
"I'm not Dean," Julian sighed, swerving around a slow-moving sedan. "I'm Dean's twin, Julian. Remember me?"
"Are you shitting me?" Brianna growled. She tried to sit up, but the movement sent a white-hot spike of pain through her thigh. She fell back against the leather with a strangled gasp. "Oh, shit. I can't believe I got shot for nothing. You're not even Dean."
Brianna remembered Dean's outrageously handsome twin now. They'd met at Ty's bachelor party and again at his surprise wedding. Even then, she had noticed the way he carried himself, confident, bordering on arrogant, and far too attractive for his own good. "I should have fucking left you to die, you asshole. I'm sure I would have been given a medal at least for your death."
"I just saved your life, you dickhead," Julian retorted as he redialed Ty's number.
"You fucking got me shot, idiot!" Brianna bellowed, though it ended in a weak cough. "Did you by any chance just escape from a mental institution? Or is it that you're just dense? What the fuck were you doing in the area anyway?"
"Came to have sex," Julian deadpanned, wishing he could give the rude, grumpy, ungrateful woman behind him a dirty slap or perhaps something much firmer. "Why the fuck didn't you pick up on the first ring?" he snapped immediately as Ty picked up the call.
"Settle down, Doc." Ty's amused chuckle echoed through the car's high-end audio speakers. Beneath his voice, the soft, sweet gurgling sounds of a baby could be heard. "I wasn't near my phone. What's up?"
"Your stupid best woman went rogue and got shot by some military guys. What…"
"Jackson got shot?" Ty's roar drew a sudden wail from the baby, making Julian wince. "Shh... sorry darling," Ty murmured soothingly to the child. "Tell me she's okay, Julian." Although he tried to speak calmly, the desperation in his voice for his teammate was palpable. "Where is she?"
"In my car. I'm driving directly to the hospital," Julian said, blowing through a red light without a second thought.
"Jackson?" Ty called out, his anxiety vibrating through the speakers.
"Ty," Brianna tried to mask the pain, but her voice was paper-thin.
"Talk to me, Bri. How bad is it?"
"Hurts like a bitch, but I'll live," she groaned, clutching Julian's blood-soaked shirt against her leg.
"Good." Ty's sigh of relief was audible. "What the fuck is going on?"
"Hey, mind your language around the babies, dickwad," Brianna managed a weak jab.
"They're only three months old," Ty retorted. "Better start talking."
"Utter crookedness that will blow your mind, Ty. With the level it was coming from, I had to find hard evidence. Fortunately, I have it."
"How high up?" Ty breathed.
"Three-star. Grupert."
The silence on the other end was heavy. Julian's grip tightened on the steering wheel. He didn't like the sound of any of this. "Ty, I'm almost at the hospital. I'm taking her in."
"No!" Ty shouted. "No hospitals, Julian. If she's right about Grupert, he'll have every ER in the city flagged. If she shows up with a gunshot wound, she's a sitting duck. And you'll be an accomplice."
"Well, they and me both..." Julian muttered, glancing at the dented frame of his door where a bullet had grazed it.
"Julian..." Ty grunted in exasperation.
"What?" Julian barked, jumping another red light.
"This is serious." Ty sighed. "You need to take her home. Your home. I don't know how close they are to figuring it out, so I can't come to your place now. I might lead them right to Brianna. Your house is the best place, Julian. I know you have everything you'd need to treat her. Stay in. Don't come out. Even if you have to, be cautious."
"Fuck!" Julian muttered.
"Please do this for me, Julian. Save her." Ty sounded truly desperate now. "You're the best person for her right now."
As a General Surgeon, Julian was a specialist trained to diagnose, treat, and manage patients with a broad spectrum of surgical conditions. He had the hands of a god and the equipment to match at his private estate.
"Asshole might just kill me himself before those criminals even get to me," Brianna rasped, her eyes fluttering shut.
"At this rate, I just might," Julian drawled, turning to give her a quick glance. It was a brief look, but it was enough to see that his white shirt was already completely crimson. "Shit," he muttered with a frown. "All right, I'll take her home." He finally changed course, pulling a sharp U-turn that made the tires scream. "This is fucked up."
"Don't contact me," Ty cautioned. "I'll contact you. Stay safe." With that, the line went dead, plunging the car into silence.
"Just great!" Julian muttered as he began to dial another number. He hated what he was about to do, but it was a matter of security.
"Who the hell are you calling now?" Brianna asked gruffly.
"Dr. Broody," a female voice answered over the car's Bluetooth.
"Need more sex?" Brianna growled, her jealousy flaring even through the pain. Julian ignored her.
"Hi, sexy," Julian drawled, making the woman on the other end laugh delightedly. "What if I told you Christmas came early for you this year?"
"How do you mean?" The lady sounded amused.
"Well, I'm feeling generous today," Julian chuckled. "So I feel like giving you an exciting, early release."
Laughter from the lady and a disgusted, pained grunt from Brianna met his words. "Get your mind out of the gutter, woman," Julian chuckled. "How would you feel about an early trip? Say... tomorrow?"
An exaggerated sigh came through the speakers. "Stop playing with me."
"Who says I'm playing? In fact, the cost of your return ticket is on me. You can leave today."
"Are you serious?" the lady screeched.
"Dead serious. You can leave right away, go home and pack your stuff." The delighted screams that burst through the speakers were deafening. "Hey, hey, mind my eardrums, Wendy," Julian laughed. "I'll instruct the bank to pay your bonus into your account as soon as I get home. And guess what..."
"What?" Wendy sounded like she was in a dream.
"I'm going to double it so that you can get your mum something real nice. Tell her it's from the wicked doctor. How about that?" The car went quiet. All that could be heard was Wendy's breathing. "Wendy?"
"Are you okay, Dr. Broody?" she asked quietly. "It's four weeks to Christmas. Why would you allow me to go off this early? Are you..."
"...going to die?" Julian drawled. "Trust me, you're not going to get your wish anytime soon." He ignored the snort from the backseat. "Like I said, I'm feeling generous. And I feel guilty for making you miss spending Christmas with your mum last year."
"I still went to see her after Christmas," Wendy pointed out, sounding unconvinced.
"There's nothing like spending Christmas with your mama, Wendy," Julian said softly. "Better leave that house now before I change my mind."
"I'm going, I'm going!" Wendy laughed. "But shouldn't I at least wait till my replacement comes?"
"Don't worry about it. I'll handle it. Go get packed."
"Thank you so much, Dr. Broody. I'm going to miss you."
"Yeah, yeah. Don't be surprised if I call you to end your vacation early, though. Now leave." Julian hung up. "That was my housekeeper," he addressed Brianna. "Thanks to you, I can't have her or anyone around to 'pamper' me. Jackson?" He called out when she didn't respond. "Hey, don't pass out. Come on, talk to me."
"You call all your housekeepers 'sexy'?" Brianna asked weakly.
"Nah. Just the ones who see me naked and don't bat an eye," Julian drawled. "Wendy's fifty and treats me like her kid brother. I just want her out of the house before we get there."
"You must be a real shitty employer," Brianna rasped. "You don't allow your employees to be with their families..." She paused to groan.
"It was just that one time," Julian muttered. "I needed her then. So... any plans for the holidays? Besides getting shot at?"
"Stop talking."
"I have to. I need you to stay awake, Bree."
"Jackson," she corrected immediately. "That's my name. Jackson, not Bree."
"What's your first name?"
"Just call me Jackson."
"Okay, Bree. We're almost…"
"Are you deaf?" Brianna growled. "I said the name is Jacks…"
"Tell me your first name if you don't want me to call you Bree." Julian stifled the urge to laugh. He just needed to keep the soldier talking. "I mean it. Don't sleep."
"Call me Bree one more time..." she offered a threatening, weak growl.
"What are you going to do, Bree? Huh?"
"How old are you?" Brianna's breathing had become labored.
"I'll be thirty in three months. Why?"
"How about acting your age by respecting my wishes?" She tried to sound cold but failed.
"Shit," Julian muttered, glancing back. She was pale, her skin slick with sweat. "Stay with me, honey. What's your blood group?"
"None of your fucking business."
"If I'm to fix you, then it's my fucking business, so answer the damn question!" Julian retorted.
Damn, this woman is going to be one hell of a troublesome patient, Julian thought as he drove to the back of his estate and into the garage. He parked in a corner that wouldn't draw attention.
"AB-positive," Brianna finally whispered.
"Good. I'll be right back. Don't move."
Julian leaned against the car, trying to catch his breath.
Transferring a fit, muscular soldier from the back seat of a low convertible into a wheelchair hadn't been an easy feat. Brianna wasn't a small woman, she was tall, toned, and solid with lean muscle. Julian was six-one and built well himself, but lifting a dead-weight, unconscious Brianna had tested him.
He pushed her through the connecting door into the living area, then toward the west wing. Julian Broody didn't just practice medicine; he loved it. While his father, Michael Broody, was a famous architect who wanted his sons to follow in his footsteps, Julian's mother, Lucy, had been the one to win their hearts for medicine. Julian's brother Dean had designed this house specifically to include "Julian's Crib"—a fully functioning, state-of-the-art mini-clinic within the home.
Getting Brianna onto the operating table was a chore, but he managed. He quickly unbuckled the numerous gun holsters attached to her thighs, waist, and shoulders. Then, with clinical precision, he began to cut the black fabric away from her body.
As the clothes fell away, Julian found himself pausing. He was a doctor; he had seen thousands of naked bodies.
But Brianna was different. Her skin was golden, mapped with a few older scars that spoke of her dangerous life, and her curves were athletic and strikingly beautiful.
When she was finally naked on the table, Julian forced his professional mind to take over. He went to work.
Later, Julian heard the bell at the gate and felt his heart jump. Had they been traced?
He checked the security monitor and saw a FedEx van.
He frowned. He wasn't expecting anything. He grabbed one of Brianna's pistols from the stash he'd taken off her, tucked it into his waistband, and went to the gate. It was a package, a cell phone.
Back inside, the phone rang.
"Jean?"
"Jesus, Ty, are you trying to kill me?" Julian growled.
Ty laughed. "What did you think it was? An explosive? Where's Jackson?"
"Still out. Surgery went well, but she lost a lot of blood.
She'll live." Julian sat on a kitchen stool, feeling the exhaustion hit him.
"Oh shit. Should I organize some blood for…"
"I've got that covered. I hit the hospital and grabbed some units before I came home."
"Let's hope no one saw you," Ty sighed. "Keep that phone on you. We need her awake. I need to know what she found."
"Ty, she's not going to be of help anytime soon," Julian said quietly, his doctor's voice taking over. "Where she took the bullet... she needs time to heal. If she doesn't heal properly, it could end her career. She stays here. She rests."
"I understand," Ty said. "But Brianna is stubborn. She won't want to stay low."
"Well," Julian said, looking toward the wing where the beautiful, dangerous soldier lay sleeping. "She's in my house now. She'll do exactly what I tell her to do."