your little critter sure is stuck to you like velcro. He better not get into anything, though.”
“She,” I corrected. “And you don’t have to worry. Freyja sticks by me and she’s great with patients. She’s like a,” I paused to think of the pre-Collapse term I learned in school, “like a therapy cat.”
Rhonda nodded, the gesture stern, like she’d give me one chance and no more than that.
“So, is it true you’re married to all of them?” she asked. “The bikers you rode in with?”
“No,” I laughed. “I’m committed to three, and… I guess, in the early dating stages with a fourth.”
Both eyebrows shot up and Rhonda resumed facing forward with a chuckle. “Oh, to be young and beautiful again.”
She took me to a large room at the end of the hall where an actual, real CT scanner sat. My jaw dropped open and I nearly wanted to cry. Hell, I wanted to kiss that beautiful machine.
“How did you get this?” I asked in an awed whisper, approaching the machine. “I thought there were hardly any working ones left.”
“Governor Vance bought it himself and had it shipped from overseas,” Rhonda declared proudly. “See? All the words are in German.”
“I can’t imagine what it must have cost him,” I said, shaking my head. “But this is amazing! No more guessing games like out in the field.”
“It’s quite possibly the only one in the southwest.” Rhonda fondly ran a hand over the machine. “And it’s helped us save hundreds of lives, that’s for sure.”
“What else does the hospital have?” I turned back to her, giddiness running through me. “Ultrasound machines? X-rays? How about a lab?”
“Down, girl,” Rhonda teased with a chuckle. “We have all of those, yes, but not many, and even fewer people with the skills to use them. Our poor lab tech is always run ragged. He works the longest hours out of any of us and is always behind. We’re working on getting more people trained, but you know how it is. Medical professionals don’t grow overnight.”
“I’d love to help.” Excitement continued to brim throughout me despite her down, girl. “My specialty was in labor and delivery, but you can put me anywhere that needs the most support. Anything I haven’t learned out in the field, I can pick up quickly—”
“Ah, just the person to decide where an eager young medic should go.” Rhonda tilted her head down the hallway and I followed her gaze.
A tall, slender man was coming down the hallway with long strides. He wore the iconic, long white coat of a doctor with plain jeans and a T-shirt underneath. Glasses sat on an attractive, friendly face with a medium-brown complexion. What surprised me the most was how young he looked, close to the same age as any of my guys.
“Dr. Brooks, this is Mariposa,” Rhonda introduced. “Accomplished combat medic and Kyrie Vance’s personal savior.”
“Oh please,” I laughed, shaking off my surprise at the sight of the young doctor. “It’s amazing what a small knife and a huge dose of adrenaline can make you do.”
“I’ve heard you’re exceedingly modest too,” Dr. Brooks teased me gently with a warm smile, accepting my outstretched hand. “It’s a pleasure, Mariposa. I’m sorry we didn’t get to meet at the governor’s dinner party. We were swamped here.”
“That’s why I’m here,” I offered. “Heard you could use some extra hands and Rhonda was nice enough to show me around.”
The doctor nodded, his warm expression turning grave. “Rumors of a retaliation from Blakeworth are already swirling, even an all-out war. We’ll need lots of combat medics, and soon. People who can move fast and treat major injuries on the fly.”
“You’re looking at one.” I crossed my arms. “Have you been a combat medic yourself, doctor?”
“Ah, no.” He blushed slightly. “I went to medical school in Canada. University of Toronto, to be exact.”
“Canada?” I repeated. “Why on earth would you leave Canada for this place?” I had been hoping to escape to the great frozen north before running into my guys. It was a major refugee destination that few were actually able to reach.
“Governor Vance reached out to me,” Dr. Brooks admitted. “I had recently graduated, just started my residency, and apparently was near the bottom of a long list of candidates he’d called.”
Rhonda scoffed. “I can’t imagine why anyone else would have said no.”
“Right?” Dr. Brooks laughed. “A hospital job in a foreign land in the middle of civil and political unrest. Also, I wouldn’t get paid for the foreseeable future, but