Page 33 of Vengeance

He nodded. "Yeah, he came up with it when he needed to meet me out on the road. It was to let me know that he was alone and it was safe to come out of hiding.” The pickup rolled beneath the bridge before stopping, and an older man climbed out. He was tall and lean with a gray beard. He already had his medical bag in his hand. His sharp blue eyes immediately landed on Vengeance.

"Well, you look like hell,” the man sighed.

Vengeance grinned weakly. "I've looked worse."

"Bullshit.” Doc Mercer knelt beside him, carefully peeling back the makeshift bandage, and his expression darkened. "You lost a lot of blood."

"I noticed,” Vengeance grumbled.

Doc reached into his bag for fresh gauze, and then he looked at Chloe. "So, this is the girl?” His eyes moved between the two of them.

Chloe nodded cautiously. "I'm Chloe."

Doc smiled kindly. "I know exactly who you are."

She frowned. "You do?"

"I've been expecting you for years,” Doc said.

Vengeance's heart sank. "Doc.”

The older man ignored him and looked directly at Chloe. "Did Vengeance ever tell you who Savage called the night he saved him?” He began removing a blood-soaked dressing.

Vengeance's eyes widened. "Doc, don't." But it was already too late.

Doc smiled sadly. "I was there." The past Vengeance had spent years trying to outrun had just caught up with him once again.

"Doc—” The warning came out hoarse. Doc Mercer didn't even glance his way as he peeled back the blood-soaked bandage covering Vengeance's side.

"You've always hated the truth coming out,” Doc insisted.

"I don't hate the truth,” Vengeance grumbled. “I just hate talking about the past—there’s a difference."

Doc snorted. "There’s no difference."

Chloe stood a few feet away, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as she watched the exchange. The confusion on her face was obvious. She'd spent the last several hours finding out that almost everything she'd believed about Vengeance had another layer beneath it. Now, she was about to find out there was another one.

Doc carefully cleaned the wound. "You were lucky."

"I don't believe in luck,” Vengeance said

"I know." He glanced up. "But I do believe that bullet missed your spleen by less than an inch."

Vengeance closed his eyes. "I'll take that."

"You'll take antibiotics,” Doc ordered.

"I hate antibiotics,” he grumbled.

"You hate being alive?" Doc asked

"I didn't say that."

Doc shook his head. "Still stubborn."

"It keeps me breathing,” Vengeance said.

"It also keeps getting you shot." Chloe surprised him by laughing. It was soft, but real. Both men looked at her.