Chapter 12

 

“Why do we need to go to the vet clinic?” I asked.

“Which way?” Matt merely said.

“Straight on this road, around the curve, down the strip and past the McDonald’s. Turn right as if you’re going to the highway, then cross the bridge to the T, turn right, then another couple miles on the left.”

Matt stuck to the speed limit through town as if we hadn’t just busted out of jail, but he kept glancing in the rearview mirror and scanning the side streets. I repeated my directions at the appropriate junctures. We heard sirens in the distance, yet never saw any police cars. In just a few minutes, we were driving around the back of the little vet hospital where I worked part-time.

“Is there an alarm system?”

“Yes, but I have the code if you can get us inside the door. Obviously, I don’t have my keys. Why are we here?”

He didn’t say anything, but he opened his car door and gave another grunt of effort. I got out and hurried around to his side of the car. I couldn’t see much in the dim lighting of the gravel parking area for staff, which backed onto the hillside. Then he swayed slightly. I reached forward to brace him, grabbing his shoulders, and he hissed.

I let go, but he swayed again and reached out for me this time, putting his arm around my shoulders. We walked toward the back door together. “What’s wrong? Did Lula hurt you? Did the guard…” I swallowed hard, unable to complete the thought out loud. I wouldn’t be able to see how badly he was hurt until we got inside.

Matt covered his hand with the end of his sleeve and smashed through the door window, then unlocked it from the inside. Once we were in, I punched the code into the alarm system, and it deactivated. I led Matt into the room at the back we used for large animals and flipped on the light. He sagged, pulling us both down to our knees.

I tugged up the bottom of his hoodie so I could assess the situation. The material was soaked, and I guessed it wasn’t sweat. I pulled the top off him and tossed it aside. I didn’t see anything but blood at first, so I got up and circled him. His yellow T-shirt showed me a bullet hole in his upper right shoulder.

“Shit. When did you get shot?” He opened his mouth, but I cut him off. “Never mind. That’s not what I meant. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was busy getting us here so you could do what you do.”

“What do you mean?” I did my best not to freak out, but we were in a vet clinic, and he was covered in blood. “I’m going to call 911,” I told him. I took his hands to steady him as I tried to think how to prop him up.

He held my hands tightly in his. “No, if you do that, they’ll know where we are. We can’t risk it.”

I stared at him, incredulous. “You might be an angel, but you’re human right now. You can still die from bullets.”

He tried to grin, but it turned into a grimace. “Not with you around. You’re a trained medical doctor for animals. Take the bullet out and sew me up. Lay a little healing on me. I’ll be fine.”

I balked at the idea. “I’m a vet, not a medical doctor.”

He winked at me. He actually winked. “I’m an animal, too, remember?”

I remembered. “I’d smack you right now if I didn’t think it might kill you.”

He did grin, though he swayed as he spoke. “Don’t worry, darlin’, I’m not going anywhere. You’ve got medical training and a healing touch. You can do this. I trust you.”

I shook my head, aghast. “I’ve never worked on a human before.”

“You healed yourself the other day,” he reminded me.

“Those were scratches, not bullet holes.”

He made a move to get on the metal exam table, and I helped him to stand, then lie face down, even though it was crazy.

“I trust you,” he said again, then promptly went slack.

Shit, Shit, Shit. Should I call the paramedics or do what he asked?

Studying him, I had a sudden inspiration. I put a hand over the bullet hole and closed my eyes, picturing the human form. The bullet glowed in my mind’s eye, showing me where it was, as if on an X-ray. I opened my eyes. It wasn’t too deep. I could do this.

I gathered the medical instruments I would need, as well as antiseptic. If I worked quickly enough, he wouldn’t be awake for it. I could numb the area with a shot or two. I erred on the side of caution, not wanting to guestimate his weight for any of the medications, just giving him topical medications we used for animals. They had been used for humans at one point, even if we had something better now. I extracted the bullet, then sutured him up.

Now came the hard part. I laid my hands over the sutured bullet wound and closed my eyes. I pictured the wound healing and closing from the inside out — tissue, veins, and blood vessels knitting together as if they’d never been apart. I poured everything I had into healing him.

The energy draining from my hands trickled to a stop. I opened my eyes and took my hands from his wound. The room swam in front of my eyes for a minute, and I grabbed the edge of the table.

“See, I knew you could do it.”

I looked up to see Matt’s head turned to the side, him watching me steadily. I smiled halfheartedly. I had done it. He was alive, but it had taken a lot out of me.

“I need to sit down,” I replied.

He started to turn over, but I put a hand on his shoulder that hadn’t been hurt. “Just lie still for a few minutes. I’m going to get you something to drink. I don’t have any appropriate IV fluids here, but you lost quite a bit of blood you need to replace. I just need to sit down and rest first.” I walked carefully over to a chair and dropped into it gratefully, then leaned my head against the wall and closed my eyes.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I will be.” The wall felt wonderfully cool and solid against my cheek. I opened my eyes and looked at him. “What’s our next move?”

“Same thing it should have been before we stopped here—get out of Dodge and go somewhere I know to hole up. The only problem is going to be making it around any police barricades.”

My mouth worked soundlessly. I’d busted out of jail and was on the run. Reality sucked donkey balls. “What about Jen… and Shanda and…?”

Matt shook his head. This time he did turn over and sit up, albeit slowly. “Jen is in capable hands, and you can’t help her anyway if you’re incarcerated or dead. I left Shanda enough food and water for several days. We’ll figure something out, we have to move quickly. I need a change of clothes out of the car, the black duffle. There’s some in there for you too.”

“Okay, just give me a minute,” I said, and rushed back into the office. I couldn’t say I was “friends” with any of my co-workers, though I was friendly with all of them. Tracy was a vet tech I’d talked with a lot and who I knew had a compassionate heart. I scribbled a note asking her to take Shanda and telling her how to get into the house, then taped it to her locker. Next, I dashed out to get the clothes Matt asked for.

I changed into the extra set of clothes I kept at the clinic in case my clothes were covered in something warm, wet, and not mine when treating an animal. It tended to happen with young, nervous, or frail animals.

I went back to the exam room where I’d left him.

“Ready?” he asked.

I took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s go.”