2. Doc
M y phone rings and I ignore it until it stops, only to immediately start up again. With a growl, I snatch it off the table and bring it to my ear. “What?”
“There’s been an accident,” Cristian says, ignoring my disrespect. “Roman’s car was hit… It’s bad, from what I understand. I need you to go to the scene for transport.”
“Fucking hell, I’m on my way. Send everything to James.” Cristian hangs up without another word and I pocket the phone.
Marking my place, I toss my book onto the coffee table. I'm sad I won’t get to see how good of a fuck Grady is until later. Well, probably not for the next few days, if it’s as bad as I think it might be. There’s only one reason Cristian would tell me to go to the scene rather than my office at the main house: someone is dead or dying.
Arriving on the scene, James and I jump straight into work mode. He grabs my medical bag as I take in the situation.
“Enzo’s trying to bleed out in the front seat, Doc,” Benji says.
“Roman?” I ask, even as I head to where I can see another of the guards trying to help someone from inside the car.
“Fine, mostly. He lost consciousness for a minute, but we got him back. Pretty sure he has a concussion, but nothing that needs immediate attention.”
“I want him looked over before you leave.”
Nudging the guard out of the way, I crouch and get a good look at what I’m dealing with.
Cursing, I don’t dare touch anything, except to make sure the makeshift tourniquet they have tied around Enzo’s leg is secure. “Keep doing what you’re doing,” I say, getting back up. “I need to make a call.”
Kail’s van pulls up just as I take out my phone. “One of you check on Roman and get him back to the house, the other will be assisting me.” I don’t wait for either of my assistants to respond before dialing a number.
At first, I don’t think the call is going to connect, it rings for so long, but finally he picks up. “This better be good, Wescott.”
“I need a surgical team and an OR. I’m bringing someone in who’s been in an accident.” Lowering my voice, I say, “I don’t think we’re going to be able to save his leg, but I want to save his life.”
“And why should I help you?”
“Because without me your sister would still be in her previous situation.” I let my words sink in for a moment before continuing, “We’ll be there soon. Full surgical team, and no questions.”
“Fuck you,” he snarls before hanging up.
I’m not worried, it’s a common response from my fellow medical professionals. Even though they have no problems coming to me to use my connections to the Amatos when they need help, they like to pretend they’re better than I am. Hypocrites.
“We need to carefully pull him from the car. How long has he been unconscious?”
“Just a few minutes, sir.”
I grimace, worried about him going into shock. I have a feeling it’ll be my head Roman will go after if his favorite bodyguard dies.
Kail comes over with the bodyboard he keeps in the backseat of his van. “I want this done quickly,” I tell the bodyguard, whose name I can’t be bothered to remember right now, and Kail. “He’s already lost too much blood, and I’m worried he’s in shock. We need to move fast, without risk of injuring him more.”
It’s delicate work. I might be a doctor but this isn’t the type of shit I deal with. For a moment, I consider calling an ambulance, surprised that one hasn’t already shown up. But then again, the power of being an Amato is having hands in as many pockets as you can.
By the time we get Enzo loaded into the back of Kail’s van, I’m worried it’ll be too late.
Without a word, Kail and I climb into the back, despite how cramped it is, and James gets into the driver’s seat. My medical bag isn’t nearly as well equipped as I need it to be, but combined with what Kail has on hand, it’ll have to do.
Kail tries his damndest to staunch the bleeding, while I put in another call to the hospital, giving them our ETA and my observations.
“You sure the hospital is the right move?” Kail asks.
Blowing out a breath as I shove my phone back into my pocket, I answer honestly. “No. I would prefer to do the entire surgery myself, but neither you nor Rose have the right qualifications, and I don’t have the equipment. Both things I will need to rectify.”
Kail makes a face. “I’m not going back to school. I like what I do and where I am.”
“Then I’ll tell Cristian to hire someone who is trained in surgery.”
Honestly, the extra hands wouldn’t hurt. Especially now that the entire main Family seems to have turned into horny, kinky fuckers who are determined to bleed each other dry every time they fuck. Pair that with Carter and Roman’s death wishes, and yeah, someone else on the team will be useful.
By the time we make it to the hospital, Enzo’s complexion has grayed, and everything we’ve done to keep him stable hasn’t been nearly enough. The surgical team is waiting for us, and so is the bastard better known as Doctor Aidan Murry.
“Dr. Murry.” I give him a clipped nod. “I didn’t expect to see you.”
“I’m not leaving this mess to my staff, Wescott.”
The medical staff gets Enzo transferred to a gurney. “Update Cristian and let him know we’re going into surgery now,” I say to James over my shoulder.
Murry stops me. “You have no authority here, Wescott.”
“If you think I’m going to allow you to operate without me, you’re crazy. I’ll go over your head if I have to.”
Murry knows it’s not an idle threat, and finally jerks his head as he spins around and follows his team into the operating room.
Kail and I aren’t far behind, and we ignore the daggers being thrown our way as we scrub in. Murry may be right in that this isn’t my area of expertise, but I know what I’m doing and meant what I said: I won’t allow someone in my care to be worked on without me being present. I’m the one responsible for all Amato employees. Like hell am I just going to trust someone else without making sure they do everything correctly.
Like a well-oiled machine, they get Enzo’s surgery underway. Kail and I stay out of the way in the crowded operating room, but we pay close attention to everything going on.
When Enzo flatlines, Kail makes a distressed noise and my stomach sinks even as they work at reviving him. What is only seconds feels like an eternity before the monitor finally starts showing a heartbeat again, and someone calls out that he’s back.
Kail sniffles, and I look over at him. “You can leave if you need to. Wait with James.”
He shakes his head. “I’m okay.”
“Come here, Wescott,” Murry barks.
Sidling up to him, he nods to one of his nurses. “Start cauterizing the blood vessels.”
If this were any other situation, I’d be irritated that he’s treating me as if I’m beneath him. But this is too important for that.
Taking up the cauterizing tool, I start tying the blood vessels off, while Murry confers with the orthopedic surgeon who will begin shaping the rest of Enzo’s soft tissue into a stump. That part of the procedure is over my head, so when I’m done with my task, I move back and let the experts finish the surgery.
“Go give James an update, and text Rose to find out how Roman’s doing. Also ask James to track down some coffee. We’re in for a long few days.”
“Yes, sir.” Kail gives Enzo one last look before leaving the operating room.
Turning back to watch the rest of the surgery, I begin making plans in my head for getting him home as soon as possible, because like hell do I trust anyone outside of my staff to care for him.