Helpless (Steel Demons MC #5) - Crystal Ash Page 0,71
I screamed.
Twenty-Two
MARIPOSA
I hit the ground while Larkan’s bike was still moving, and painful jolts shot up to my knees. He yelled something after me, but I ignored him. I ignored everything that wasn’t the man lying motionless on the ground.
“Shadow!” I knelt at his side, feeling desperately for a pulse in his neck.
When the beat throbbed weakly under my fingers, it was a small relief. He could have a head injury or broken bones now, on top of his infected wounds.
“I need a hospital!” I cried out. People were standing around gawking on the street. Where the fuck were the Sons? “Hey!” I yelled in the faces of onlookers. “Where’s the hospital?”
“We don’t have one, miss. I’m sorry. A doctor comes through sometimes, but he left yesterday.”
“A room with a bed, then!” I screamed. “He’s hurt! He needs to rest. He needs—”
“Shh, Mari.” Someone grabbed me by my shoulders, shaking me gently. “There’s a service center at the end of this road. We’ll get him there, okay?”
T-Bone’s voice was calm, his eyes sharp. Seeing him quelled my panic slightly.
“He can’t ride,” I whispered. “He shouldn’t go anywhere for several days, maybe even a week or more.”
“That’s okay. We’ll figure something out. Grudge, can you help me get him up?”
The silent man slid his hands under Shadow’s shoulders and lifted.
“Careful with his head.” I reached out, supporting Shadow’s neck to minimize movement.
After I determined that he hadn’t broken any bones, the Sons and Larkan carried Shadow down the street to the service center. Some people still rubbernecked, but most lost interest in the spectacle after the crash. When the guys finally carried him to a room and laid him on a clean bed, I snapped into nurse mode.
“I need boiling hot water, alcohol, and clean towels. Can someone ride down to the apothecary and get bandages, syringes with needles, and any antibiotics that end in -cillin, -cin, or -cline.”
“Can I do anything?” Kyrie piped up.
“You can ask the kitchen for soup, broth, and drinking water. He’s probably going to be on a liquid diet for a few days.”
“What about you?” Dyno looked at me sharply. “Mari, you need to rest, too. You look like you’re about to fall over.”
“Just get what I asked for. Now, please.” I was already cutting away Shadow’s shirt. Hunger pains could wait if he was dying. “I’ll be fine.”
Everyone filed out of the room, except for Grudge. He made a noise that sounded like a harsh “Huh!”. I looked at him and he tilted his head toward Shadow, pointing at the unconscious man with his thumb and a wry grin.
“You saying I sound like him now?”
Grudge nodded, pleased that I understood.
“Guess that’s why we get along so well,” I sighed. “Help me turn him over?”
We carefully rolled Shadow onto his side so I could access his back.
“Fuck,” I hissed after lifting his shirt. “Those look even worse. I’ve never seen infection set in this fast.”
Grudge made a gagging noise and went to the window as I finished pulling Shadow’s shirt off. I didn’t blame him, the smell was worse than the stitches looked.
“I’m sorry, Shadow,” I whispered, grabbing my scalpel and dousing it liberally with the rubbing alcohol I had left. “I have to cut you again.”
The others started returning just as I cut the sutures free and began draining the pus from the wounds. T-Bone and Larkan retched, quickly joining Grudge at the window. Kyrie, surprisingly, had no reaction at all.
“Here’s some soup you can just heat up when you’re ready.” She placed the containers by the bed. “And here’s a cold sandwich for you. I didn’t know what you liked, so I just had them put everything on it.”
“Thank you.” I didn’t even look up from poking through Shadow’s infected flesh.
“Please don’t talk about food,” T-Bone begged, swallowing another dry heave. “Dyno went to the apothecary. He should be back soon.”
“Thanks. I know it stinks, you guys don’t have to stick around.”
Their footsteps were little more than background noise as I sterilized Shadow’s wounds as best as I could. A friendly squeeze came down on my shoulder.
“We’re all on this same floor if you need us,” T-Bone said before leaving.
Only Grudge remained, and he seemed in no hurry to leave. I didn’t mind that he stayed. He certainly wasn’t in the way. Concern etched his face as he watched me work on Shadow.
“You and him have gotten close, huh?” I asked.
“Mm,” he nodded, moving to sit at the opposite end of the bed from