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“You’re lucky this went in where it did,” she murmured as she finished. “With the infection you picked up ... ” She sighed and lifted her gaze to his. “That’s two times I had to pull you back, Travis. You were close to septic by the time we got to you, you know that?”
“I know.” Because they were friends of a sort, he touched his fingers lightly to her gloved wrist. “Thanks.”
“Thank me by not making me do it again. It gets old, having to save your sorry ass.”
He offered a tired smile. “Actually, I was going to talk to the boss about that.”
Miles stirred from the small bench seat where he’d settled when Xi got to work.
“Talk to me about what?”
Travis hesitated as Xi gestured for him to lay down, then lifted a large pad to his side. “It can wait, Hawkins. Watch how I do this in the mirror,” she ordered, gesturing to the mirror over the exam table, the mirror fixed in place for just such a reason. Curtly, she told Miles the discussion could wait another minute. “In a few more days, you’ll be able to take the staples out. I’ll send a kit with Miles. I have to head out for an assignment elsewhere, but he’s taken staples out. For the area where the staples were ripped, we’re going to pack the wound, pretty similar to how it was done by whoever helped you with it. This allows the edges to come together naturally on their own—it will just take a bit longer, although the nutritional supplement you’re drinking and the topical ointment should speed it along. Now watch ... this is a wet-to-dry dressing.”
Travis watched as she walked through the steps, committing them to memory. After she taped a larger pad over the dressing itself, she had him verbalize the steps back and he did so without error.
“Good. Now if you can justavoidtearing the wound open again,” she said, shaking her head. She offered a hand to help him sit.
He took it, accepting the help. She might be slim but she was strong as hell.
“Just howdidyou tear it open?” she asked as she cleaned up the trash, wadding everything up in her gloves before stripping both off until everything was balled up inside.
“Ah ... ” He didn’t know if Isabel had mentioned it to Miles. If she had, any lie he told, the old man would sniff out. “Some kid was about to punch a much smaller kid—they’re probably about the same age, but the boy had about thirty or forty pounds on the other kid. I didn’t much care to see it, so I intervened.”
“Aboycaused you to rip that wound open?” Xi said, disbelief thick in her voice.
“Well, no ... ” Travis blew out a breath and rubbed his neck, shooting Miles a look. The older man was watching with speculation and Travis suspected Isabel hadn’t said shit. Great. He should have just made something up. But what? A bar fight? Like they’d believe that. “The kid’s dad came out. They’re teenagers, so it’s not like these are nine or ten-year-olds. The boy is only two or three inches shorter than me, already starting to pack on muscle. But his dad decided to get involved and put his hands on me. I didn’t much care for it.” He shrugged. “But then he also went to grab onto a little girl and ... well ... ”
“Brooklyn?” Miles lifted a brow.
Travis couldn’t stop the smile. “She’s something.”
“I’m aware. The last time I dropped in to visit Bella, that child answered the door and she scrutinized me within an inch of my life. If she was thirty years older, she’d terrify me.” Miles laughed softly and there was a look of deep affection in his eyes.
“Some asshole was about ready to hit a littlegirl?” Xi asked.
“I’m not sure if he was going to hit her or just shake her and try to scare her,” Travis said with a shrug. He’d been lightheaded from the pain at that point, not to mention lack of sleep, dehydration, general malnutrition and the lingering effects of the infection. Oh, and the booze from the night before. Can’t forget that. “But he was going to put his hands on her and I wasn’t going to let it happen.”
Xi’s deep brown eyes narrowed to mere slits and then she huffed out a breath. “Fine. You’re forgiven for causing me more work—justthis once.”
“Thank you, Xi.” Travis smiled at her.
She blinked, then shook her head and looked at Miles. “I don’t know what you have him doing in the field, but he’s too fucking pretty to be an agent. You know that, right?”
“His pretty face has its uses.” Miles smiled, then gestured for Travis to put his shirt on. “Tell me about this talk we were going to have. Or would you prefer privacy?”
“No,” Travis said softly, focusing on the buttons instead of looking at Miles, although his mind had shifted back to the decision he’d made earlier that day after his brief conversation with his twin. It was a decision he should have made last year, maybe even sooner. “It’s not classified. I just ... ” He blew out a breath as he finished the last button, then looked up and met his mentor’s gaze. “I’m out, Miles. I’m done.”
