“Slim to none,” Kidd said. “They most likely took it, disabled it, or it’s under debris. I’ll check it out, and see if there’s any other vehicles around to use.”
Kidd took off into the dark. Doc lifted her body off Conrad, and opened the flashlight app on her cell phone. She checked the screen to see if she had service. No bars.
She swung the beam around the area, looking for the towels and sheets Kidd had found earlier. She gathered as many as she could.
Kidd came back just as she sat on the edge of the tub. He dropped her medical bag at her feet.
Doc let out a huge breath, relief washing through her. She looked up at Kidd. The bag was in the living room when she had been herded into the outbuilding. Her thoughts went to the young girl she had been treating.
“Any survivors inside?” she asked.
Kidd shook his head.
Rage and heartbreak seared through Julie’s veins. How could Betesh have left his wife and child to die in such horrific manner?
Thoughts of revenge ripped through her and were at odds with her oath to save lives not take them. But she knew one thing, if she ever saw Betesh again, she would not only kill him, she would take great pleasure in doing so.
Chapter 11
The entire left side of Conrad’s body was on fire. Breathing was becoming more strenuous with each inhale. And something was wrong with his arm. Pain shot from his shoulder to his hand.
“Any vehicles?” Doc asked.
Kidd shook his head. “Not any that we can use.”
“Then we’re going to have to walk.”
Kidd looked at Conrad, who shook his head. There was no way Conrad would be able to walk back to the compound. Not only was it unlikely he would make it before he bled out, but he would be a massive hamper to Kidd and Doc.
“I’ll never make it that far, Doc,” he said. “Go with Kidd and Georgie, and come back for me.”
At least that way, Doc wouldn’t have to watch him die.
“Not happening,” she said, and faced Kidd, effectively blocking Conrad from the conversation. “I’m staying with Conrad, so I can treat him until you get back. I’ll only slow you down, and every second counts right now.”
“Take Georgie with you,” Conrad said. At least the dog could provide some cover for Kidd. Georgie grumbled in defiance.
Kidd chuckled. “Not likely to happen. I’m not sure she’ll ever leave your side again, man. Besides, Doc isn’t trained like we are, and Georgie can keep watch while Doc’s concentrating on taking care of you. I’ve got the cover of night…I should be able to get back to the compound fairly easily.”
Conrad knew Kidd was right, but he hated sending him out on his own. However, there wasn’t much of an alternative.
Kidd and Doc talked a few minutes longer and then Kidd left. Conrad could hear them talking, but was having a hard time concentrating on the words. Nothing made sense to him, as if they were speaking another language—but he knew they weren’t.
Heaviness weighed on him, his head felt like a hundred-pound boulder balanced on his neck. Sweat dripped down his back. Black colored his peripheral vision.
Doc was beside him. Her voice melodic. Soothing. She’d take care of him. She’d take care of Georgie. A prick in his deltoid was followed by cold flowing through his veins. Conrad had no idea how much time had passed, but his head stopped swaying as if bobbing on ocean waves.
“Where is this blood coming from?”
He looked at Doc. Her brow was tightly furrowed, and she had a scowl across her lips.
“The hole in my chest?” Conrad offered and tried to chuckle, but it hurt too damn much.
“No, I’ve got that under control,” she murmured, her eyes still intently following her hands as they moved along his body, up his chest, over his shoulder and down his arm. She stopped at his elbow. Pain sliced through his arm.
“Fuck me,” Conrad wailed.
“I missed this,” Doc was muttering to herself. “How could I have missed this?”
“Maybe you were busy trying to clog the hole in my chest so I could breathe…and then there was that little explosion we had to get through.”
The sound of fabric ripping was the only response he received. He could feel her hand wrap around his arm just above the wrist. “This is going to hurt, but I need to get this set as best I can.”
Without any further warning, she bent his arm at the elbow, wrapped something around his neck, and suspended his arm in a sling. Then she took a longer strip, worked it around his body and secured his arm to his chest.
“I don’t have enough light to see how much damage is there,” she said, and then looked into his eyes. “But that bullet did a number on your arm, Conrad.”
She continued to poke and prod at the joint. Conrad felt queasy and darkness flooded his vision once again. He was going to lose consciousness. He grabbed her wrist with his free hand. Her gaze darted to his.
“Don’t let them take my arm, Doc.”
“Let’s worry about that later— “
“No!” He squeezed her arm in his grip. “Promise me you won’t let them take my arm.”
“Okay, I promise.”
The sound of heavy vehicles rolling to a stop outside the crumbling building drew his attention. Georgie was standing on the opposite side of Doc. Anyone coming in was going to meet Georgie’s vicious bite before they could get to Doc. A bright light come over the top of them. Conrad’s heart swelled with the familiar whoop-whoop of a helo’s wings.
“Someone call for a medi-vac?” Kidd stepped up beside the tub and glanced down at Conrad, grin from ear-to-ear. “Calvary’s here.”
Everything went black.
Chapter 12
Julie paced back and forth in the tiny surgical waiting room. Conrad had been in surgery for just under an hour, and she was sure it was going to be at least one more before he was out of danger, and his injuries were repaired.
She felt like shit. She had made Conrad a promise that was not hers to make. There was no way for her to tell the surgeon to bypass treatment if it was the only way to save a life. And if the surgeon decided that there was no saving Conrad’s arm, Julie wouldn’t be legally able to intervene. She wasn’t his family, his wife, or even a girlfriend. They were just at the beginning of their relationship, so it was undefined.
And she was not in a position to authorize medical treatment for him.
Ethics prevented her from being in surgery. Their relationship would cloud her judgment and possibly hinder his treatment. There was no place she would rather be at that moment than in there with him, making sure he was okay.
The door opened, and she swung around expecting to see the surgeon there to update her on Conrad. Instead, Kidd walked in, his face paled and his eyes wide.
Her heart dropped into her stomach. “What’s wrong? Is it Conrad?”
“No, it’s Georgie. She won’t let any of us near her. She nearly bit me. Can you come with me and see if you can get her to calm down? She’s freaking out not being with Conrad.”
Julie glanced towards the OR. She didn’t want to leave in case someone came out to talk to her. But she couldn’t do anything here. At least if she was helping Georgie, it would be something more than just pacing the floor feeling lost and useless.
And Georgie was part of Conrad. Helping her was as close as she could come to helping Conrad without actually performing surgery herself.
The vet clinic was in a separate building on the compound. When she walked through the doors, she could hear barking and men talking in low, soothing voices. Pushing through the swinging doors into the exam room, she met the eyes of the two men she had met at the bar.
Backed into a corner, Georgie stood. Her hackles were up. Doc had never seen teeth as big as Georgie’s, made all the more menacing by the show of pointed canines, and the saliva dripping from her mouth.
“Okay,” Doc said in a quiet voice. “Why doesn’t everyone slowly back out of the room, except for Kidd.
The less people in here, the less threatened Georgie will feel.” Hopefully.
She actually had no idea how Georgie would react. She knew virtually nothing about dogs, having never had one as a child.
Once everyone was out of the room, Doc took a small step toward the dog. “Hey, Georgie. It’s me, Doc.” Conrad always used to address her by the nickname, and that was probably how Georgie knew her. “Come here and let me take a look at you.”
Squatting so she was closer to the dog’s level, she reached one hand out to her. Georgie eyed it tentatively, but dropped her lips back over her teeth. She took a step toward Julie, eyes locked onto her.
With one hand behind her back, Julie reached out to Georgie again. She came closer until finally Julie was able to pet the dog on the side of the head.
“Good girl, Georgie,” she said. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
Kidd was behind her, and placed a lead in her hand. She glanced at Georgie’s collar and located the metal ring. Lightning fast, she clipped the lead to the collar.
Georgie’s jaw clamped over Julie’s hand. When Julie screamed in pain. Georgie released her and backed away, pulling the lead taut.
“It’s okay,” she said, gritting through the pain. A small amount of blood pooled in the two punctures in her hand. “We just need to get you up on the table so I can look at you.” She employed the voice she used at her small general practice when kids would come in.
Kidd came around her and positioned himself on the opposite side of Georgie. He grabbed her around the legs, lifted, and carried her to the exam table.
Julie pet the dog’s head, speaking softly to her until she calmed down. “Grab that muzzle hanging on the wall,” Julie instructed Kidd. She cleaned her own wounds from the dog bite, wrapped gauze around her hand, and wished she had some painkillers. She was just going to have to work through the pain and pray for a little numbness. “I’ll need you to hold her still while look at her.”
Kidd placed the muzzle over Georgie’s nose, secured it, and then lay across the dog without putting his entire weight on her. Just enough to keep her from squirming away and jumping off the table.
Blood matted Georgie’s fur. Doc had noticed it when they had gotten to the compound, but had assumed it was Conrad’s blood. Now, guilt swamped her for not taking a closer look at the dog. She had missed these injuries just as she had missed the injury to Conrad’s arm. Concern over getting Conrad into surgery had blocked everything else, and she hadn’t given a second thought to Georgie.
Fresh blood filled a hole in the dog’s hind leg. Carefully, Doc lifted the leg and found an entrance wound near her hip. “Looks like you got shot, baby girl. Luckily, it went through without hitting any bone. Clean wound, as gunshots go.”
Moving up the dogs body her hand hit something sharp sticking out from the furry coat. She sifted through his thick coat. Pieces of shrapnel pierced the dog’s skin. She glanced around the area, pulled open a couple of drawers, and located long-nosed tweezers. Carefully, she pulled the debris from the dog’s skin.
Moving along his chest, she noticed a few pieces that were deeply imbedded. One wound was bleeding, but she couldn’t see debris in the hole. She tried to feel for anything, but was concerned with how deep the shrapnel was imbedded.
“Has anyone called the vet?”
“Yeah, he’s not on the compound, and at least two hours away,” Kidd said.
Damn! Doc had medical training, but was not up on her canine anatomy and physiology. “What about a vet tech?”
“Here,” came a voice from the doorway. A young woman stepped into the room and pulled on a pair of latex gloves.
“Do you have a way to x-ray her chest?” Doc asked. “I think there’s shrapnel imbedded pretty deep near the chest cavity. I don’t want to poke around if it’s going to cause more harm than good.”
“Yes, I’ll get the portable set up.”
Doc walked to the sink and washed her hands, dried them, and pulled on gloves. In a short time, the tech had the x-ray up and the pictures downloaded to the computer. Doc looked at them.
Her heart dropped. A few pieces were near the lungs, but it was the one by the dog’s heart that made her stomach twist in a knot. Any further poking and prodding could have pushed the sharp edge into Georgie’s heart.
“Is there any way to talk to the vet, and get him these pictures?” she asked the tech, who nodded and set about making it happen.
Within a few minutes the tech handed her a cell phone. “Dr. Sutton,” Julie said into the phone.
“This is Dr. McCreary. I’ve seen the x-rays my assistant sent. My suggestion is to take care of the bullet wound. But I wouldn’t mess with the shrapnel. In its current location, it’s too dangerous to go after.”
Doc agreed. “What do I need to do to keep her comfortable until you get here?”
“I’m too far out, you’ll need to operate on the leg as soon as possible.”
“I’m not qualified to do that,” Doc responded.
“My tech, Hanson, will be there to assist. She’s excellent, and I’ll be on the phone to walk you through it—provided I can keep a signal. Dr. Sutton, there is no one there more qualified than you, and you are this dog’s only hope.”
An electric jolt ripped through her. She had no control over Conrad, but she could save Georgie. And there was no way she was going to let Conrad come out of surgery without his dog.
“Okay, Dr. McCreary, let’s do this.”
Chapter 13
The TV was on in Conrad’s room, but he wasn’t watching. He had been staring out the window in the two hours since he had been told that he had permanent nerve damage to his arm. No one had said how that would affect his military career. They didn’t have to…he already knew from the sullen looks on the doctor’s faces.
He was through. His career was over.
A knock drew his attention from the window. Doc stood in the doorway in green surgical scrubs. As beautiful as ever.
Warmth flooded his heart but quickly turned to ice.
One more thing that was over—his budding relationship with Doc.
“Can I come in?” she asked.
“Sure,” he answered and turned his gaze back to the window.
She sat in the chair next to his bed, but he didn’t look at her. Couldn’t. She was so far out of his league when he had first met her. When he was someone. An Army Ranger. Now, he was going to be discharged with limited use of his left arm.
“I’ve stopped by a few times to check on you—and see you—but you’ve been asleep. I didn’t want to wake you.”
Her voice was sweet and soft and sorrowful. No doubt her eyes would be swimming in pity. Conrad couldn’t stand to find out. There was nothing he hated more than all the forced shows of hopefulness in everyone who visited him. Seeing it on Doc would destroy him.
“I hear they’re going to release you soon,” she said, a lilt to her voice. As if this was something good happening to him.
Conrad snorted.
“Do you know what you’ll be doing while you recover?”
Rage seared through Conrad and burst from his chest in an angry roar. “What the fuck do you mean? They’re sending me home. For good. Forever.”
“I’m sorry—I didn’t know—I’ve been in and out of surgery for the last thirty-six hours…” Her voice trailed off.
“Yeah, well, no worries, Doc. You did your best. You treated the hole in my chest. Too bad you missed the shot to my arm. I guess it was too much to ask that you treat both wounds. Not your fault…either way I was screwed. If you treated the arm, it might have been saved, but I would’ve drowned in my own blood. No, you chose to keep me breathing so I could go through life without the use of my arm, and get kicked out of the only life I’ve ever known.”
He finally looked at her. Face as pale as new snow. Eyes wide…and sad. No—hurt. He had blamed her for saving his life. Regret squeezed his heart in a vice. He looked away, not able to see the pain he had inflicted
on her. He knew it wasn’t her fault.
But at the moment, he had no one else to blame.
She stood, the chair squeaking against the vinyl tile. “I’m sorry for—,” she paused, her voice barely above a whisper. “I’m sorry.”
She turned and walked to the door. “Goodbye, Conrad.”
No, don’t go! He wanted to yell out to her. I didn’t mean it! He needed her to come back. Desperation flooded him. I’m sorry!
But it was too late. The damage had been done.
PART TWO
Chapter 14
Six months later…
Julie pulled into the parking spot behind the converted Victorian house that served as her medical practice. Since she had returned from the Middle East, she had resumed her normal routine…for the most part.
Life had changed since returning from Syria. Her divorce was finalized. Betesh had been found dead in the Humvee, buried under large chunks of his house. She was nursing a broken heart courtesy of Conrad Matthews. And she was a new momma—so to speak.
“Come on, Georgie,” she called to the Belgian Malanois. Georgie jumped from the backend of the Land Rover, tail slightly wagging. As they made their way up the back steps to the door that led into the small kitchen, Georgie headed straight for her food bowl and sniffed at the contents. The sound of dry kibble hitting the sides of the metal bowl and the chomping of the dog meant Julie’s nurse, Brooklyn, had made sure to feed Georgie. Most likely before she had done any of her other duties.
No one was happier than Brooklyn when Julie adopted Georgie and made her their unofficial office guard dog. The truth was, Julie had been the one to search for Georgie after returning home. When she had visited the vet’s office in Syria before she left, the doctor told her Georgie would be released soon, but would be “discharged” from her duties. It had taken Julie four months to track Georgie down, and with the help of her friend’s husband, Hank, a former Delta team member, she had been able to get the dog to Montana and adopt her.
She told herself it was only temporary. One day, Conrad would pull his head out of his ass and wonder what had happened to his partner and best friend. He would come looking for Georgie. When that happened, Julie would give him the one being that could make him happy—his dog.
Conrad Page 6