Grateful, he sat still, and within fifteen minutes she’d finished and given him a sling to put his arm in.
“Thanks, Dr. Maripol. As soon as you can find out about my colleague, I’d appreciate it.”
“Okay. You sit and rest. I’ll put in an order for pain pills and antibiotics and then be back as soon as I find out.” With a pat to his uninjured shoulder, she left him. Awkwardly, he dug his phone out of his pocket to see a shitload of texts from Sean.
Omfg I just heard what happened
Are you okay?
Tristan, what’s going on?
The radio says one person is dead. Ray said you were shot, but he thought you were going to be okay.
I just spoke to Ray. He said you’re at Bellevue. I’m coming.
He huffed out a breath, the pain settling to a dull throb, but he ignored it, knowing that whatever he was experiencing, Truman had it far worse. He heard a commotion outside his small examination room, and biting back a smile, he rose to his feet and stuck his head outside the curtain. “I’m here.”
His face a mask of fear, Sean rushed over. “Oh, thank God. Did you get my texts? Ray’s outside in the waiting room. Char’s home with the kids but told me if I didn’t let her know what happened, she’d kill me.” Sean reached out to touch his face. “Are you really going to be all right, or were they lying to me?”
“Take it easy. I’ll be fine. The bullet took a little chunk of my arm, but I’ll heal. It’s Truman I’m worried about.”
“Oh, the guy in surgery?”
Tristan snapped to attention. “Yeah. Why? Did you hear anything?”
“They were saying one guy was critical.” Sean sobered. “Ray also told me someone died. That’s terrible.”
In all the pandemonium, he’d almost forgotten about Brady Christianson. Grief overwhelmed him, and a sob escaped. “I couldn’t save him. I was inside. I would’ve…I didn’t want anything to happen to him.”
Horror filled Sean’s eyes. “Of course you didn’t. Tristan. What’s going on?”
How to explain… “It was Terry all over again. When they came into the bank, firing, all I could think of was,This isn’t going to happen. Not on my watch.I knocked Owens to the ground, covering her to make sure if we got hit, I’d take the bullet first. She has a young son.”
“So you figure because of what happened to Terry, you’re going to sacrifice yourself to make up for it?” Devastated, Sean clenched his fists. “You want me to get the call that you’d been killed?”
Stubbornly, he set his jaw. “I couldn’t let her get shot.”
They glared at each other until Sean dropped his gaze. “I know. It’s just…the thought of you in that situation scares the shit out of me. I can’t imagine how you must’ve felt. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to second-guess you.”
Hating this, he held out his good arm. “C’mere.” Sean sat next to him on the uncomfortable exam table. “My first job is to protect the people I work with.” He kissed Sean’s head. “I love you, and you should know I’d never deliberately put myself in harm’s way, but I’m the one in charge. I’ll never run and leave my team to fend for themselves.”
“Mr. McDermott?” The curtain opened, and the doctor who’d taken care of him poked her head inside. “Oh, hello.” Her smile to Sean was friendly. “I wanted to tell you, your colleague is in surgery, and he’s critical but stable. The bullet hit his spleen and may have damaged his kidneys.”
A sickening feeling rolled through him. “Thanks.”
“I’m working on your discharge papers, so you should be ready to leave within the hour. Do you have someone to take you home?”
“Yes. Me,” Sean replied. “Are there any specific instructions?”
“Bed rest, and we’ll give you a prescription for pain meds and antibiotics. Other than that, don’t let it get wet when you shower, and the stitches should come out in ten days to two weeks. You can come back here or go to your own doctor to take them out.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
“No problem.”
His shoulder throbbed, and he winced trying to move it in the sling, Sean hovering over him like a mother hen. “I have to get dressed, but all I have is the shirt they brought me in with.” He wrinkled his nose when Sean picked it up from the chair in the corner. It was torn where the bullet had gone through and stiff with dried blood, but he had no other choice. “Hand it to me, please. You’ll have to help me.”
Stiff from sitting for so long, he grunted when he slid off the exam table. Sean stood in front of him, with the first real smile on his face since walking in.
