She smiled at me sadly.“It was Chelle’s idea to go hiking.Eli was our tour guide.
The more she told me, the less sense she seemed to make.
Reaching into my closet, I selected a bundle of dark-colored, clean towels, a box of medical grade gloves I kept at home, plus antibacterial gel.Turning, I thrust the pile at her before I selected the medical tweezers from my first-aid kit.“Once this is done, I want the full story.”
“Okay.”She took the bundle from me.“That’s fair.”
“Plus, there’s something else.”My attention slid to the door as I considered how to break the bad news.
“Can it wait?”She sighed.“I’d like to help Eli first.”
“Sure.”Accepting the reprieve, I bit down on my grief.“Let’s get back to him.”
We crossed the hallway, finding my patient clutching his empty glass.
“I’ll need your shirt off, Eli.”Staring at the two remaining shots of whiskey, I considered helping myself to one, but thought better of it.“Let’s see what we’re working with.”
Chapter Fourteen
Sterility
Erin
It was like I was in a dream.My eyes were open and my heart was beating, but it seemed as though I was walking through treacle-laced fog.I saw Owen moving around me, noticed his arms moving and acknowledged he was talking, but his words were deceptively vague.I recognized the language, yet somehow, I couldn’t make my brain process the words.
“Erin!”
It took a moment for me to realize Owen was actually talking to me.
“Erin, are you okay?”His tone was part curt frustration and part concern.
“Yes.”Suddenly, as if someone had just flicked on the light switch, I was back there in the room with him, my attention honed and flitting from Owen to Eli.“What can I do?”
“I’ll need boiling water.”He nodded to the door.“The kitchen’s that way.”
“Right.”Boiling water.I can do that.
“And bring a few sharp knives.”His brow furrowed as he no doubt considered how on Earth he was going to remove the bullet without the appropriate medical equipment.“There’s a block on the counter and there are more in the cutlery drawer.”
“Give me a few minutes.”Dashing from the lounge, I hurried around the expanse of his house until I found the enormous kitchen.
I might have spent more time marveling in my brother’s luxury had my insides not been contracting with painful anxiety, but I was on autopilot, finding the kettle and refilling it before leaving it to boil.
“Knives…” Staring around the marble-topped counter, I spotted the block Owen had spoken about and pulled it toward me.Assessing the smaller blades, I tried to decide which would be the best type to slice into Eli’s skin.
“Oh, God.”Leaning against the side, I pulled in a breath.
How has it come to this?
I’d forever be grateful that Owen was prepared to help, but the fact that I was standing in his kitchen, considering the best blade he could use to cut Eli open was unfathomable.
Searching around in his cupboards for a vessel to carry the boiling water in, I tried to distract myself from the woe.
Everything would be okay.Ithadto be okay.After everything I’d been through in the last few days, I couldn’t conceive a world without Eli in it.It wasn’t just the passion we enjoyed that motivated me, but the traumatic experiences we’d shared.How could I go on without someone who understood what had happened, who I was, and how it had affected me?I needed Eli to survive, to be well, and to help me heal.
I glanced up as the kettle boiled, choosing the largest jug I could find and placing it on the counter.Selecting a number of small knives, I tried not to think as I poured the water into the jug.It was easier to just pretend everything was normal.I was cleaning up around my brother’s house—no big deal.Hopefully, that normalcy would see me through whatever transpired next.
Holding the knives carefully, I collected the jug and carried it slowly back to the lounge.Owen had switched on a powerful lamp behind his sofa, the bulb casting bright light over Eli’s torso, and my brother was kneeling over Eli as I walked in.
