I raised my eyebrows but didn’t bother to ask how she was going to find someone we could trust. Maybe there was somesecret high-powered club full of lawyers and surgeons that helped each other out on a case-by-case basis.
What did I know?
I knew how to stitch up bodies. That’s what I fucking knew.
Okay, normally, they weredeadbodies, and I was sure I wouldn’t know what the fuck to do if Cal had an internal bleed… but I certainly was going to try to do whatever I could to keep him alive until Cass could get a real doctor in here.
Cass whipped out her phone and stalked out of the room. She was already dialing a number when I went to Cal’s other side and slid my arm around his back, doing my best to help Vox get him down the stairs and into the prep room.
“Ginger snap… is that… you?” Cal whimpered as I helped him stumble toward the stairs. Despite the fact that I had never been so scared in my life, my heart soared in my chest.
He called me ginger snap.
“Yes, baby. It’s me. I’ve got you. We’re going to get you all fixed up, okay? I just need you to put one foot in front of the other.”
“I… I fucked up.So bad.”He choked on a sob, and my fucking heart shattered into a million pieces.
“Shhh. Shhh, it’s okay. We’re going to fix it. Whatever it is, we’ll fix it together, alright, angel? I just need you to try to stay awake for now. Can you do that for me?”
“I don’t know.”
“You have to try for me, baby. Keep those gorgeous eyes open.”
He turned his brown gaze to face me, and my heart almost stopped when I saw how dazed they were.
He was so pale… he was losing so muchfucking blood.
“Vox, we need to move faster.” I tried to keep my voice calm so as not to upset Cal more than he already was. Vox nodded and picked up the pace.
As quickly and carefully as possible, we managed to get Cal down the stairs and into the preparation room.
I rushed to wash my hands and get on all my PPE. Forcing myself to breathe and keep as calm as possible, I set up a small end table with all the equipment I thought I might need.
Once I was ready, I glanced at Cal, biting my lip beneath my surgical mask. He was still clutching that blood-soaked cloth to his side when Vox had him lie down on the stainless steel table.
I wrapped my hand around it and gently pried it away from Cal’s grip, frowning when I realized it wasn’t a towel or a cloth at all. It seemed to be the head of a stuffed highland cow.
I shook my head, not bothering to ask what the fuck that was all about.
“Get cleaned up and put on gloves. You’re going to have to be my nurse,” I barked at Vox, who nodded and leapt into action. He was nearly as pale as Cal was.
“Straight scissors.”
Vox immediately handed them to me, and I used them to cut off Cal’s shirt. He groaned beneath me, and I swore, annoyed that I was causing him unnecessary pain just by touching him.
This was a fucking morgue. I didn’t have any general anesthetic. The strongest shit I had was a bottle of ibuprofen in the medicine cabinet upstairs.
“I’m sorry, baby. I know it hurts. I’m going to try to be as gentle as possible.”
He nodded, swallowing so hard I heard it. Letting out a shaky breath, I did my best to stay focused. Once I got his shirt off, I was able to better assess the damage.
There was a bullet wound on his right side. Dark blood was pouring from it so freely that I was truly worried he might need a blood transfusion. I didn’t know his blood type or where the fuck to get something like that on such short notice.
I really hoped Cass could get a doctor here quickly.
“Put pressure here,” I ordered, showing Vox where I wanted him to put his fingers. One thing I did know a lot about was how blood moved through the human body. A big part of embalming was draining the body of blood so you could replace it with the embalming fluid.
So, I was pleased when Vox pressed his gloved fingers into Cal’s side the way I instructed, and the steady spurts of blood immediately slowed down to nearly a full stop.
