She nodded. “He’s O-positive.”
Relief rushed through me. “Okay, that’s good.” It was a common one. I was O-positive, too. If worse came to worst, I would find a way to funnel my own damn blood into his body if I had to. He was not fucking dying on me. I wouldn’t allow it.
I hurried back downstairs with the pillows and stuffed them under Cal’s legs. Vox had done his job and kept pressure on the wound, but he was now also holding Cal’s hand so tightly his knuckles were white.
“Where’s… Ryan.” Cal’s voice sounded weak, and his eyes were closed. I rushed to his head and brushed his hair out of his eyes, dropping a kiss on his forehead through my mask.
“I’m right here, baby. The doctor will be here soon.”
“S-stay… with me?” He coughed before immediately wincing. “Please. I’m s-sorry… I left you earlier… I didn’t… mean.”
“Oh, baby, I know. I know you didn’t mean it.” I whispered, dropping more gentle kisses on his forehead. “I’m not going anywhere. We’re going to get you all fixed up, and then I’m going to tuck you up into bed, okay?”
He didn’t answer, and I bit my lip. His breathing was more shallow than I would have liked. I was about to whip out myphone to call Cass when she walked into the prep room with a man I didn’t recognize.
He was younger than I expected, maybe in his early thirties. He had a sandy mop of golden hair and blue eyes. I watched him assess Cal’s wrecked state, and his lips formed a firm line.
“Ryan, this is my friend, Dr. Callahan.”
“Call me Tom,” he said. “I would shake your hand, but I think it would be better if I scrubbed in instead.”
I nodded, letting out a sigh of relief. “Yes, please,” I rasped, and Dr. Callahan didn’t waste another second. He got straight to work, and for the first time since Vox and Cal had stumbled through the door, I felt a glimmer of hope.
Maybe we would make it out of this after all.
It took a few hours, but even with limited resources, Dr. Callahan was able to get Cal stable.
I replaced Vox and took on the position of nurse, freeing him to go make sure the house was secure. Though I had no idea what had happened to Cal, I knew there would likely be consequences, so I was extremely glad Vox was here to make sure we were protected.
Cass and Theo went to get Naomi and bring her back, so it was just me and Dr. Callahan in the embalming room when he finally announced that he had done all he could.
“He lost more blood than I would have liked, but as long as you let him rest, he should be okay. I’m more worried about the brand on his chest. It’s infected. I don’t think it’s to the pointwhere he needs an IV, but start him on these antibiotics for now.”
Dr. Callahan reached into a black leather bag he had brought with him and fished out a bottle of pills.
“Sorry, did you say…brand?”I rasped, and the doctor met my eyes, his lips pursing.
“Yes. That’s what it looks like.”
The world felt like it was literally tilting beneath my feet. I glanced at Cal, who was now completely unconscious on the table, and my lip trembled.
He had passed out during the doctor’s inspection of the bullet wound. Tom informed me it was difficult to say forsurethatthere was no internal bleeding, considering we weren’t in a proper OR and he didn’t have access to a scope.
But he was ninety-nine percent sure. Cal had gottenreallylucky, and he was relatively confident he would make a full recovery.
He just needed to rest.
My mouth opened because I felt like I needed to saysomethingabout the fact that the man I was pretty sure I was in love with had been branded like he was a piece of fuckinglivestock.
But I couldn’t speak. No words came out.
I felt like if I uttered a word, I would just start screaming, and I might never stop.
Dr. Callahan rested a sympathetic hand on my shoulder, gesturing to the bottle of pills he had given me.
“Those should help, but make sure you also clean both wounds regularly and give him fresh bandages daily. Also, please call me immediately if he starts complaining about any excessive abdominal pain or tenderness. It might be a sign that I’m wrong, and there’s an internal bleed I missed. Here’s my card.”
He handed me a business card, and I stuffed it in my pocket, unable to look away from my sleeping angel.
