“I need more hyoscyamine as well as another saline pack,” Tace snapped.
Sami edged closer to the door, her stomach cramping. The desperate smell of blood was everywhere. “Tace?”
“Now, Greyson,” Tace said, his voice cracking. “We’re gonna lose him.”
“I can’t take my hands out of his chest right now,” Greyson hissed.
Sami poked her head in, relieved that Greyson’s broad back blocked her view of the guy with his chest apparently open. The metallic smell of blood nearly dropped her to her knees. “I can get it.”
Grey turned and pinned her with a hard look. Dots of sweat collected across his forehead. “Call one of my men.”
“There’s not time,” Tace said, edging to the side.
Sami took a step back. Blood had splattered across his neck. “Trust us, Greyson.”
The Merc leader gave a low growl. “Fine. The nearest storage area is across the back street in the house with blue shutters. Go down to the basement, find the utility closet to the left, and shove a hidden panel out of the way. It was a panic room for the rich people. The medicine is on the far right.”
Sami turned and launched herself into motion, running through the building and out the back door. A quiet street fronted by overgrown lawns and huge houses surrounded her. The sun beat down, making her shield her eyes. The blue shutters caught her attention at a three-story house with red roses along the front.
She ran across the already cracking driveway and up the stairs, pushing open the door. Cool, stale air slapped her. She shut the door in case any of Greyson’s guys came by. An unlit but still sparkly chandelier hung down from two stories up; a staircase went up to the right and down to the left, the stairs alternating between black and white tiles. She hustled down into darkness. Shit. A table sat at the bottom, and as she neared, she could make out several flashlights. Smart.
Flipping one on, she turned left and ran down the hallway, pushing open a closet door. Empty shelves lined the walls. Reaching the end, she tapped the beige-painted wall and then pushed to the side.
It rolled open to reveal a room probably half the length of the house. Guns were tacked to the west wall, water was stacked to the north, and medicine, tons and tons of it, took up all the shelves on the east wall. She ran forward and cataloged the vitamin B vials. At least three hundred vials were there.
She tried to memorize the different drugs while searching for the right one. Finding it, she grabbed a vial, a couple of syringes, and a saline bag. They had at least fifty saline bags. For good measure, she grabbed a bunch of gauze and several large bandages.
Greyson must’ve been one of the first to scavenge the local hospital.
Turning, she noted a large number seven tacked to the door. Seven? Were there at least six other depots like this?
She wanted to take more medicine, but she didn’t have a pack. So she hurried up the stairs and into the glaring heat, running across the road to the former workout facility.
Reaching the surgical room, she paused. “I have the stuff.”
“Over here,” Tace muttered, his hands in the guy’s chest.
Sami kept her gaze averted and moved his way, dropping the materials on a table. “Do you, ah, need me to do anything?” She tried to breathe out, but nausea rolled up her throat.
“Yes. Fill the syringe to the second line,” Tace said.
Sami did so, her hand shaking.
“Leave it on the table and go outside. I can’t have you puking,” he said, his voice not unkind.
She turned and bolted, taking several deep breaths outside. If it had been such an emergency, why did she leave the syringe on the table? Maybe Tace was using it right now.
Just how calculated had he become? Had he faked something so important during surgery just so they could find the resources? Was Greyson even needed in there?
Sami shook her head and slid down to sit on the ground. No. Tace wasn’t that cold—no way.
Yet she couldn’t help but shudder. The surgery went on for another hour, punctuated by terse comments and low expletives. Finally, Greyson caught her attention. “Call it, Justice. He’s done.”
“Fuck.” Tace stormed out of the room and yanked off blue surgical gloves. “Damn it. Fuck.”
Sami pushed to her feet.
He leaned over and breathed out several times.
