Shirley smiled. “Sounded like it.”
Dalton chucked, grinned at Bodie when Bodie flipped him off. Rowan didn’t seem to care as she pushed past Dalton and grabbed another cup of coffee. Dalton leaned in, whispered something that made her smile as she glanced Bodie’s way. She answered, too soft for Bodie to hear, but he had a feeling he didn’t want to know. That he might end up kissing her, again, right there in the sheriff’s station. Blow any hope of keeping the change in their relationship on the down low.
The door creaked open behind him, a swirl of cool air breezing through the office. He turned, expecting Special Agent Kaine to waltz through, when Greer grinned and ambled over.
She leaned against her desk, practically glowing. “Guess we all got the call.”
Bodie crossed his arms. “Aren’t you supposed to be working less these days?”
She looked down at his thigh. “Aren’t you supposed to be resting that leg?” She snorted. “So, we need to talk about last night because you claimed it was a recon-only mission, and yet, I heard there was gunfire and explosions?—”
“Recon mission, my ass. It was a damn shitshow.”
Bodie inhaled as a man’s voice bellowed through the station, each word edged with a roughness Bodie hadn’t heard in a while. Not even yesterday when they’d been talking via video.
He turned, stared at Nick Colter as he stumbled through the door, catching his balance on the wall. Face ashen, another day’s worth of grow shadowing his jaw, he looked more than haggard. “Nick?”
Nick straightened, nearly fell, again. “What part of give me several hours didn’t you understand?”
Dalton hooked Nick’s arm, glaring at him when Nick tried to push him off. “Are you mad? You’re lucky you made it all the way in from your truck.” He stopped Nick from interrupting him. “You look at least as bad as I did when you pulled my ass out of that compound, so, shut up, and let’s get you a chair.”
Dalton half-dragged, half-carried Nick over to Greer’s chair, plopped him down. “You’re bleeding.”
Nick grunted, knocked Dalton’s hands away when he reached for Nick’s jacket. “I’m fine.”
“Bullshit.” Dalton glanced at Greer. “Chase at the hangar?”
Greer pulled her cell away from her ear. “He’s on his way. He’ll be ten or fifteen. Told me to handcuff Nick to the chair if needed because he’s a horrible patient.”
Nick stood, fell back into the seat a second later, scraping the chair back a few inches. “He’s one to talk, and I said, I’m fine.”
Greer marched over, stood in front of him. “I can see the blood through your clothes from here, jackass. You should have just called us.”
“When you hear what Rowan and Bodie got involved in, you’ll understand why I came in person.” He let his head fall back as he hissed out a breath through his teeth. “Shit.”
Rowan huffed. “This is ridiculous. Wait here.” She jogged out, returned a minute later, a large duffle similar to Chase’s medic bag slung over one shoulder. She plopped it down on the floor beside him, hitched one hip out to the side. “Are you gonna bitch about me taking a look before your buddy gets here? Or are you gonna be a man about it?”
Nick chuckled, cursed again. “I heard you were a ball buster. And I don’t need either of you?—”
“It’s happening. The only question is whether Bodie and Dalton have to hold you down or you play nice.”
“I’m an operative. I’m not supposed to play nice.” He sighed when she just stared at him. “Fine. I guess it can’t hurt.”
“Oh, it’s gonna hurt.”
She leaned over, helped him out of his jacket, then eased his long-sleeved shirt off his good arm and down the bad. Blood soaked through a bandage across his right shoulder, red lines traveling down his chest.
Rowan peeled off the gauze, tsked. “You’ve ripped out several stitches. And I can tell you haven’t been taking the antibiotics the doctor prescribed.”
She rummaged through the bag, grabbed a syringe and suturing supplies.
Dalton nudged her. “Not that I’m doubting your skill, but it looks pretty bad. Shouldn’t he go to the clinic?”
“Absolutely.” She stared down at Nick. “Are you going to drag your ass to the clinic so someone with an MD after their name can fix this?”
Nick merely snorted.
“That’s what I thought.” She filled the syringe with some clear liquid, tapped on it to remove any air. “Try to hold still. This is gonna burn.”
