Chapter Three #2
She did her best to wipe the concern off her face.
Antibiotics didn’t guarantee a wound wouldn’t get infected.
Although the dose was high, the medication was mainly for bacterial infections.
There were a host of parasites that would revel in the warm body of water they’d been in.
She flinched when a blur entered her peripheral vision, then heat warmed her cheeks when she realized it was Silver returning with his medical kit.
Jane was grateful when Silver didn’t call her out for her reaction but instead placed the bag at her feet and told her to alert him if she needed assistance.
She didn’t waste any time opening the kit and removing the sanitizing wipes.
After thoroughly cleansing her hands, she pulled on gloves and began laying out what she needed.
Some of the children were starting to stir on the other side of the boat and Addy was quietly supplying them with food and water.
“So, you were in sunny California, and you got a call to sub in for another SEAL.”
“Well, I wasn’t exactly sipping a drink with a little umbrella on the beach.” His lips twitched and her shoulders relaxed when she saw it was out of humor and not pain. “I wasn’t in California at all, actually.”
“Another mission?” Even though he was a SEAL and had probably had many injuries, she wanted to keep him distracted and comfortable.
“You could say that. My teammate Red and I were on leave, but our friend needed help. He’s a retired SEAL who recently assisted a woman, Vivienne is her name, escape a forced marriage. Long story short, the woman’s best friend, Thalia, was abducted and taken over the border.”
She gently peeled the gauze away from his leg. She’d treated many terrible wounds in this region, but Sully’s had become infected at a rapid pace. Heat pricked behind her lids. He was one of the good guys. Didn’t deserve to have been shot while rescuing her.
“Did you find her?” She was afraid of what the answer might be as she opened clean water to wash away the pus that was leaking from the hole in his leg.
“Yeah,” he said with a heavy breath. Sully was hurting—that much was clear. “We found her. Crazy thing is, Red knew her from childhood. She’d saved his life when he got lost in her country.”
“I’m not a believer in fate, but stories like that make you question things.
” Jane cleansed the wound and then rebandaged it.
They were both silent for a moment as she sat back on her heels, disposing of the medical waste in a small bag inside the kit.
After she’d removed the gloves and sanitized her hands, she closed the kit and tucked the bag beneath him to elevate his leg.
“I am.” Sully’s voice sounded choked. She was going to see about getting him some stronger pain medication.
She’d been so focused on Sully’s injury, she’d briefly forgotten what they were even talking about. “You are what?”
“A believer in fate. Yeah, I’ve seen bad shit.
But I’ve also seen enough of the good to understand that sometimes we cross paths with people for a reason.
I see the worry in your face, Jane. You’re taking on the guilt of a wound you had no part in creating.
You should know that whatever happens with my leg, with this infection, I feel lucky because I know bone-deep, I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. ”
Her chest tightened painfully as anger rose up hard and fast, nearly choking her.
Fate? Exactly where I’m supposed to be? This good-natured man with his smiling eyes and boyish freckles could very well need his leg amputated.
The infection could enter his bloodstream and result in septic shock.
His organs could systematically shut down. He could die.
“I struck a nerve. I’m sorry for that. What I’m not sorry about is being on this mission. Being in the right place at the right time in that river.”
“If you were in the right place at the right time, you wouldn’t have been anywhere near the trafficker’s catamaran when the bullets started flying.
” Why was she being such a bitch to this poor man who clearly felt like hell?
She was securing a pulse oximeter to his finger when she felt light pressure underneath her chin.
“Look at me.” Sully’s statement was a demand, albeit a gently spoken one.
She blew out a long breath and gathered the strength to meet his gaze.
“Not being exactly where I was would mean I didn’t get to you in time and that would be unacceptable.
I don’t know who you are, but I know what you did on that boat to protect a child whose life would’ve be irrevocably marked if those men had gotten their filthy hands on her.
What you did for her? It makes me want to fucking weep.
For what you went through. The strength it took to dispatch your attackers knowing full well they wouldn’t take losing two of their own lightly.
Jumping in the water took the attention off the children.
You could’ve died, Jane, but I think you already know that.
What impresses the hell out of me is you did it anyway.
You were ready to die for the innocents on that boat.
Then your first thought when we swam to my team was getting me to safety.
Not once in my entire military career has a civilian put my needs before theirs. ”
“Those girls didn’t deserve to be in that situation, just as you didn’t deserve to be hurt.”
“And you did?” His face was completely devoid of emotion, but the way his eyes narrowed combined with a crease between his brows made his displeasure known.
She stared at him for one breath then two.
“I’ve made mistakes. Done things I’m not proud of.
I’m telling you that because I don’t want you to think I’m something I’m not.
” She checked the reading on the pulse ox and removed the device from his finger.
The reading was lower than she’d expected, not dangerously so, but one that indicated a more serious situation might be brewing.
After taking his temperature and heart rate, she was even more concerned.
“Don’t care.” Sully flashed her a grin, and it seemed to drain all his energy. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the hull of the boat.
She glanced up, suddenly frantic to find Silver. Her anxiety eased a fraction when she spotted the other SEAL. When he locked eyes with her, Silver immediately moved in her direction.
“How bad?”
“Running a fever, elevated heart rate and decreased blood oxygen saturation. The wound is infected, and I’m concerned he’s in the early stages of sepsis.”
“He’s officially out of the fight, then. I’m going to give him a heavier pain med and get him hooked up to a temporary I.V. We’ll keep him comfortable until we get to the extraction point, then pump him with more antibiotics.”
Her hands were trembling now and for the first time since her capture, she wanted to sob.
This man was important. A rescuer. A guardian angel for those in crisis.
And the truth was, she was scared for him.
It had been so long since she let herself feel fear, and yet, this stranger had evoked that emotion in her.
Please let him be okay. He didn’t leave her in that river when the situation seemed hopeless, and there was no way she’d be leaving his side.
Not until she knew for certain he was going to be okay.