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But if they didn’t take his leg, Max knew he was going to die.
“Max,” Jake said hoarsely. “You aren’t alone, and it’ll be okay, no matter what happens.”
“Just do it,” Max begged openly, beyond caring and desperate for some sort of end to all of this. “Because you are either hauling me out of here in a casket… or out cold.”
“As you wish,” Jake said tearfully, drawing back his arm and knocking him out in one blow. The burst of pain in his jaw, combined with everything else, was enough to slam him into unconsciousness as Max sagged immediately.
His toe itched.
Max was so sleepy and moved to rub his socked foot against his swollen one gingerly and couldn’t find his foot under the sheets. His eyes shot wide open – and he screamed.
Not just a small yell but an earth-shaking, blood-curdling scream that rattled in his chest, reverberating against his ribcage as he tensed. His hands were strapped down, tethered to the railings on the bed, and he kept staring at the sheets where one limb was outlined and the other was missing just below the knee.
Nurses, doctors, even Houghton and Jake, rushed into the room – and he barely remembered any of it. Max was screaming violently at them all through tears, sobbing wildly, and horrified beyond recognition.
“HOW DARE YOU – YOU LOPPED OFF MY LEG INSTEAD OF TRYING TO EVEN SAVE IT? YOU BUNCH OF FREAKIN BUTCHERS! HACK JOBS AND BUTCHERS! I’LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS… NEVERRRR!”
Max was inconsolable as the nurses came to his side to sedate him, and he was yanking angrily at the ties, trying to free himself. The bed railings were rattling with each tug, his biceps were straining, trying to break loose and something hit his system immediately, causing him to sag slightly, while still yelling at them all.
“I hate you all… you bunch of meat sacks and whack jobs… butchers…”
Houghton slapped Jake on the chest, chuckling. “You’re the meat sack, Ortega. I’ve been called a butcher several times in my life. I’m used to that one.”
Jake had the decency to look like he was going to throw up.
“It’s not a joke…” Max wept, falling deeper into a drugged stupor. One of his eyelids was sagging, and the other was struggling to stay open. He was scared to death to shut his eyes again because what if they came back to take more of his leg? He couldn’t trust anyone anymore!
“You let them… take… it… flew halfway… ‘round… world…” and Max slipped under despite all his efforts.
6
DAPHNE
“Daphne! Lena! Come with me,” Jill barked out, hanging up her cell phone and looking panicked. “Christina, I don’t know how long we’ll be – can you and Gideon manage for yourselves tonight? Where’s my purse?”
“What’s wrong? Is it Houghton? Did they have an accident?”
“Jill, what’s going on?” Daphne blurted out, running for the coat rack by the door and shoving her arms into the first jacket she grabbed.
“We’re heading for the hospital…”
“Oh noooo…”
“Are they all right?”
“Yes,” Jill said, urging them out the front door as they all raced for the old farm truck that was rarely used. It smoked like a freight train because it was burning oil and didn’t do so well on the roads if there was any sort of weather. It was mainly used to haul feed around to the barn or help move bigger items.
As Daphne climbed into the truck, Lena sat in the middle, and she couldn’t help but notice the older truck had weird tweed-material seats and a strange-looking dash from her own vehicle. Jill was using the shifter on the column to put it into gear before the big beast surged forward, skidding dirt in the yard where it had been parked.
Both Lena and Daphne looked at each other in shock, holding on, before grabbing their buckles – which were only lap belts because of the age of the vehicle.
“What is going on, Jill?”
“Friendship, trust, and understanding… remember that, girls,” Jill said grimly, steering to avoid a pothole, causing Daphne to clutch the overhead handle to hang on.
“You’re scaring me,” Lena uttered, not holding back. “Jill, what is wrong?”
“My sweet Babe is at the hospital with Ortega – and Collins. They just amputated Collins’ leg, and it’s not going so well.”
