AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’ve got some alcohol in the cabinet!” Libby said, rushing past me, nearly knocking me over.
“I can’t just clean it off with alcohol!” Sky shouted. “I need new tools!”
Libby grabbed them off the floor, holding them over the sink as she poured the eighty proof vodka over the tools. She spun and shoved them in Sky’s face. “This is all we have. Take it or leave it.”
Sky grabbed the forceps and got back to work, trying to retrieve the bullet. A low moan slipped from Jack’s lips as she finally pulled it out. “Do you have morphine?”
“No!” Jack shouted.
“Get me whatever you can to knock him out,” Sky said to Johnny.
But Jack snagged Johnny’s shirt, his hand shaking as he stared at him. I watched the intensity in his eyes, the determination as he pleaded with his friend. “No…drugs.”
His eyes slid over to Sky, and for just a second, I saw something, that same flash of want and need that I’d seen on Sky’s face.
He was in love with her.
31
SKYLAR
I finishedthe last stitch on Jack’s wound, focusing only on making sure it was tied off, and trying desperately not to look at his face. He’d been in and out of consciousness since they brought him to the safe house, but this was the first time I’d had a moment alone with him. If I finally looked at him, I knew those emotions I kept buried under the surface would bubble to the top.
I snipped the dental floss and set down the scissors, crumpling my mess into a ball. Jack needed rest and antibiotics right now. There was nothing else I could do for him. I just had to hope that I didn’t do more harm than good when I took out that bullet. I’d done plenty of time in the OR during my surgical unit, but I’d never actually done anything like that before. He needed to see a doctor, one that could ascertain if I’d done any damage.
My nerves were shot, fraying by the second since I laid eyes on my son. And just when I had him in my arms, I was called away to take a bullet out of Jack’s side. I didn’t even know how to deal with all that, or what I was feeling when I saw Jack laying on the table. I had to get out of here, take a breath and figure out my next step.
I grabbed the garbage, ready to leave when I felt Jack’s hand onmine. My eyes flicked to his, and for a moment, we just stared at each other. He could have died. He probably should have. I wasn’t trained for this kind of thing, and…and he never should have been in the position to begin with.
“Thank you,” he croaked out.
I opened my mouth to thank him, but the words seemed inadequate considering what he’d done. “Johnny told me what you did for Parker. I—” The words caught in my throat and I had to duck my head when I realized I was about to start crying. And when he squeezed my hand tenderly, the waterworks couldn’t be stopped. “You saved his life.”
“Hannah,” he whispered.
I stared at him in confusion before remembering Hannah was his sister. “She’s not here.”
He took a shallow breath as his eyes drifted shut. When they opened again, I realized he wasn’t really here with me. “Tried everything,” he mumbled. “Not good enough.”
“What’s not good enough?” I asked, taking a seat on the bed beside him.
His head rolled to the side and he sucked in a breath. He was a little more flushed than I’d like. I pressed my hand to his forehead, feeling the heat radiate off him. He needed to be in a hospital. This was too dangerous.
“I’m going to get help,” I whispered.
But as I started to stand, he gripped my hand tighter. “Sky…you have to help her.”
“I’m right here, Jack. I’m not going anywhere. I just need to?—”
“Not safe,” he muttered. “She’s not safe.”
“I’m safe now,” I tried to reassure him. “I’m right here with you. You saved me and my son.” Tears welled in my eyes as I watched him struggling to speak. Every minute he was here and not in a hospital increased the odds that he wouldn’t make it through this.
His eyes kept fluttering shut as he fought the fever burning through his body. I gripped his hand, pressing my lips to them, praying that he would come through this in one piece. When his eyesfluttered shut and his breathing evened out, I pressed my fingers to his neck, feeling his steady pulse beating. I knew he wasn’t out of danger, and that scared me more than anything.
Wiping the tears from my eyes, I stood, needing to see my son. I gasped when I turned and found Pete leaning against the doorframe. “You scared me.”
“Sorry, I just wanted to check on you. Parker’s been asking for you.”
