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He handed the phone back and moved past me, his sharp eyes settling on Gentry. “What happened?” he asked.
I glanced at Nolan and he immediately understood what I was asking. He quickly introduced himself and then told the vet the events of the evening. As Nolan spoke, Sawyer began pulling things from his bag.
His eyes never left Gentry. They blazed when Nolan got to the part about the cattle prods and BB gun.
He began asking me questions about Gentry’s health and patiently waited until I typed my response out before asking the next one. I flinched when he began preparing the dart gun that would knock Gentry out so he could get in there and examine him. To his credit, the man made sure Gentry didn’t see the gun, not even when he actually fired the dart. Predictably, the whole thing set Gentry off again. Nolan immediately sought me out and wrapped his arms around my waist, but I wasn’t sure if he was the one who needed comfort, or I did.
The sedative worked within a matter of minutes, and once Gentry was out, I went into the cage with Sawyer. It was painstaking work to catalogue all the injuries, but Sawyer worked quickly. He pulled at least a dozen BBs from Gentry’s body and there were nearly twice as many burns from the prods. In his effort to escape, Gentry had damaged several claws and torn one toe, which the vet quickly stitched up. Gentry was just starting to come around when we finished and stepped outside the cage.
“In an ideal situation, I’d take X-rays to see if any of the BBs are lodged in any organs,” Sawyer murmured as he cleaned up using the sink near the large freezer where I stored Gentry’s food. “But the nearest place that could handle him is a couple of hours away, and I think the stress of traveling would do more harm than good at this point.”
I nodded in agreement.
“Be sure to watch for things like labored breathing, lethargy, and limping. I’ll leave you with some painkillers, but he should be okay in a few days. At least physically.” He glanced at me and said, “Did you get him from a circus?”
I nodded and typed, Roadside circus.
“Fuckers,” the man muttered. He turned around and leaned back against the counter to study the bear before glancing at me. “I’m happy to testify against whoever did this.”
I nodded, then looked at Nolan. He was standing stiffly near the wall, arms crossed. The bruise on his jaw had swollen considerably and he looked wiped out. It was well after midnight and I knew we both needed to get some rest.
I went to his side, but he refused to look at me. His eyes were on Gentry.
“It’s my fault,” he whispered. “I pissed Jimmy off…I put you on his radar.”
I gently turned him and shook my head, but he was inconsolable. Tears began coasting down his face.
“I’m so sorry, Dallas. Gentry was doing so good and he trusted you and I know how much you love him.”
I was reluctant to release him long enough to get my phone out, so I just wrapped my arms around him and pressed my lips to his temple. He cried softly against my chest. I was dimly aware of Sawyer gathering his things. He was in my line of sight as he was leaving, so I saw him stop at the whiteboard I had on the wall to track Gentry’s food. He wrote me a note.
I’ll text you in the morning. I’ll do a re-check on him later in the day.
I sent him a nod. His eyes settled on me and Nolan for a moment and I saw an unnamed emotion go through him. He was gone before I could give it too much thought.
And it didn’t matter, anyway, because my sole focus was right where it needed to be.
On Nolan.
In the days following the attack, Nolan’s guilt had become an all-consuming thing, and when he wasn’t doing his work, he was standing outside Gentry’s enclosure watching the bear suffer through the remnants of the attack. Physically, Gentry wasn’t showing any signs of any additional injuries, so fortunately, it was less and less likely that he’d need to be transported somewhere for X-rays and further treatment. But that was as far as our luck had held out because Gentry had reverted to the animal he’d been when I’d first gotten him. He refused to come anywhere near me or Nolan, not even when we tried to coax him with his favorite treats, and when he wasn’t pacing the length of his enclosure, he was hiding in or behind the shelter I’d built for him within the habitat. He absolutely refused to go anywhere near the building where the cage was located, so we’d had no choice but to sedate him within the enclosure so Sawyer could confirm that the stitches he’d put in were holding and to check the bear’s vitals to confirm there was no additional potential damage.
