Chapter 18
Moments later, the door opened, and in came Royal.
He was carrying Nico. Behind him came the other Sentinels, and with them were two men, bound and gagged.
Their expressions were filled with terror.
Those men were tossed onto the floor. No care was given to their comfort or any injuries they might have had. They looked worse for wear.
Royal placed Nico on the couch. He was pale and had cuts all over.
There was a ragged wound at his neck and another on his wrist. They were bleeding, though the flow had been slowed by the hastily applied pieces of cloth around them.
I wasn’t sure who had done those. The patter of feet reached me before Fiona ran into the room.
She came to me, holding out a pair of pants for me.
As I took them, she saw Nico. She gasped, then put her hand over her mouth as if to hold back any more sounds.
Seconds behind her were Gal and Galen. When Galen saw the condition Nico was in, he turned to his grandson.
“Gal, go get my bag. You know which one.”
His grandson sped out of the room. I had Fiona crushed in my arms. All of us stood there, not knowing what to do.
“Fiona, I need you to see to your mate’s wounds. You know what to do to disinfect and treat them. If anything appears to need stitches, you can do those. I need as much light over here as I can get. I need to be able to see what I’m doing.” Galen’s voice was filled with authority.
Gal ran back into the room with a large black case. I’d seen it earlier, but assumed it held clothing. After setting it on the floor beside the couch, he opened it, and I saw it was filled with a variety of medical equipment and supplies.
Fiona tugged me over to a nearby chair. I was pushed down into it.
She went to rummage through her granddad’s case.
Gal was next to their granddad, listening to his commands.
Typically, when one of us was hurt, Nico was our healer.
He would use his medical knowledge and, at times, his powers to do it.
We’d never had him be so hurt that he couldn’t do it.
It revealed that relying on one person as your medic was a liability.
If we were back in Needles, we had Cerys we could call upon, but there was only so much she could do. Nico looked terrible. His breathing was ragged. His normally olive complexion was ashen. As Fiona worked on me and her family worked on Nico, Brax gave us a rundown of what had happened outside.
“There were five humans, and what we thought was the leopard shifter until after they engaged us, then Nico sensed the presence of the vamp. He went seeking him. For a while, we didn’t know where he was or what was happening.
However, as we dealt with the last human, Nico must have caught the other vampire.
They were battling but popping in and out of sight.
We couldn’t keep up. You know what it’s like when Nico fights.
“Anyway, they were at it, and you were in here with the leopard. We were afraid to interrupt either of you. What if there were more out there? So a couple of us searched for backup, while the rest remained on guard outside. Thankfully, none were found. The next thing we knew, Nico came stumbling out of the darkness, saying the other one was dead, then he collapsed at our feet. That’s when Royal told you we were coming in with him. ”
“It was my fault. I should’ve sensed him sooner. He was masking, but still. I’ve always been able to detect another, even when they do that,” Nico said weakly. His voice was filled with pain.
“I don’t want to hear that bullshit. You defeated him. Just because he was better at masking doesn’t mean you failed. If he’d gotten past you, we would’ve had a helluva time killing him. And likely some of us wouldn’t have survived the fight,” Banner snapped.
“Is anyone else seriously wounded? If so, go see Fiona, and she’ll triage you,” Galen ordered. His hands were sure and working quickly as he set up some supplies.
Everyone else assured him their wounds were much simpler than ours. I watched Fiona as she took more of the bandages and a tube of something from the case. She donned gloves as well.
“Damn, you’ll need to remove your pants so I can treat any bites or claw marks there, too. I should’ve thought of that,” she muttered.
“Take care of the rest of me first. That’s where the majority and worst are,” I told her.
I watched for a couple of minutes before I had to voice what I knew my fellow Sentinels and I were wondering.
“Fiona, how is it that your granddad is so prepared, and that you three seem to know what you’re doing?”
She hesitated before answering me. “We’ve not talked about this yet, but you know that Granddad lost Grandma when I was sixteen.
I told you that he quit working to care for her.
She lingered for months, was very sick, and required a lot of care.
Granddad was able to do all her care, but supplies and such were an issue.
Our insurance wasn’t the best, so he used his savings to cover the items he needed.
What I didn’t tell you when I mentioned this before is the job he left.
Granddad was a doctor. Or I guess you could say he's technically still. He never gave up his license as far as I know.”
This news stunned me. I knew by the expressions on my friends’ faces that they were the same.
“Why didn’t he return to work after she passed?” I asked.
“He tried. He had his own practice before Grandma got sick, and a junior partner who stepped up to cover for him while he was away.
When Granddad went to return, the partner had found a way to swindle him out of his practice and any money he had left tied to the business.
We tried to take him to court, but there was no money to hire a decent lawyer. Granddad was screwed.
“After that, he refused to go back to working in a hospital. He had no funds to open a new practice. He had some investments that the so-called partner couldn’t touch.
Those bring in a small amount each year, and he’ll apply for Social Security once he’s old enough in appearance by human standards. ”
“Why wouldn’t he go back to the hospital?” Banner asked.
“He refused to uproot us from Phoenix. We’d lost too much, he said.
But that meant he risked running into the ex-partner if he worked at any of the hospitals near us.
The bastard has privileges at most of the hospitals in Phoenix thanks to Granddad.
If Granddad saw him, he didn’t trust himself not to kill the bastard,” she hissed.
There was a prolonged silence after she finished. My mind was whirling, and so were those of my fellow Sentinels. We might’ve been silent, but the three Katzes were busy. It was clear that Gal and Fiona had assisted their granddad a lot and had been well-trained. It was Banner who spoke.
“When we get everything cleared up on this front, we need to talk, Galen. I can help you get back what you lost. I understand you won’t be in Phoenix any longer, but that bastard shouldn’t be allowed to live off your legacy.
We’ll talk. You just got yourself a lawyer. ” His tone was gruff. He wasn’t happy.
“Banner, I appreciate the offer, but you don’t need to do that,” Galen stated.
He had cleaned Nico’s neck wound and was suturing it up. Gal was cleansing other lacerations and bites on Nico’s upper body. The wrist remained wrapped in the bloody bandage. I think Nico must've applied it.
“I know I don’t have to. I want to. People like that make my day when I can make them pay for the shit they do to others. When I’m done with him, he’ll be lucky to keep the clothes on his back,” Banner vowed.
He wasn’t bragging. Banner was feared by other lawyers and respected by judges in more than one state for a reason. He was a shark in the courtroom. And his favorite cases were those defending the little guy or the wronged.
Galen nodded briefly as he kept working. I bet he’d argue when the time came, but I knew Banner. He’d go after the guy on principle even if Galen said it wasn’t necessary.
Time seemed to drag by as everyone got patched up. I needed stitches on two lacerations. Fiona applied a numbing cream, and though the needle stung, she stitched me up expertly. Each stitch was uniform and perfect.
“You’re really good at this. Did you ever consider becoming a nurse or doctor?” I asked.
“I did, but I found that while I do like this aspect of it, the other, more mundane things I find boring. Chemistry and biology were far more exciting for me,” she said, smiling for the first time since tonight’s adventure began. Then, she continued.
“The one who would love to be a doctor is Gal. He’s wanted to be one since he was five.
We’ll be sending out college applications and applying for grants, scholarships, and anything else we can to see if we can swing it so he can go to school.
It’s eight years of college plus at least three years of residency.
He’s got some college credits already from his high school classes.
They have advanced placement, AP, classes that offer dual credit.
He has taken as many of them as he could for the past two years.
His school allows sophomores to take those classes.
He planned to do the same in his senior year. ”
Before I could say anything, Royal spoke. “I’ll check to see if the high school at home offers those AP classes or if the local college does, so he can still do it next year. I don’t see them not providing them.”
“Thanks, Royal. That would be great if I could,” Gal chimed in. A small smile graced his lips.