like to speak with you."
Freak nodded and pulled her from her chair and they followed. The doctor who'd spoken with Freak earlier stood making notes at a counter by the nurse's station. "You're Mr. Rawlings' next of kin?"
"Yeah. He's not married and has no blood relatives."
The doctor made a face like he didn't really believe it, then smoothed his expression out. "I have to ask, why did you wait so long to get him help?"
"I hadn't seen him since right before he got into that fight, and went to check on him. Found him like that and called the ambulance." The way he sounded, Freak had plenty of experience with lies and half-truths. Technically, though, he hadn't seen Buffalo since right after the fight.
"And you don't know who tried to care for him?" The doctor looked pointedly at Tanya.
Panic surged into her chest. What could she say?
Freak squeezed her arm and took over. "No, we don't. Tanya was away a few days."
He put the chart down. "Well, here's what we have so far. The injury to his thigh might not have been quite so serious, but gangrene has set in. We're not sure the extent yet. As for the wound to his penis…" he paused and shook his head, "I've never seen anything like that. We have a urologist coming in to assess him further, but I can say it isn't good. We might have been able to repair the initial injury without lasting damage. Whoever took care of him didn't do him any favors. That tube they put in, I'm assuming as an attempt at a catheter, caused incredible damage to the urethra and actually perforated the bladder. In addition, he has a severe infection, and he was given large doses of a strong narcotic, probably in an attempt to control the pain, so we have all that to deal with, too. We're doing everything we can to get control of the infection now, and he's headed for surgery. The gangrenous tissue has to be removed from his leg, and the bladder and penis need to be repaired."
"How long until we know more?"
The doctor shook his head. "Honestly, we're looking at a very complex surgery, if he can even tolerate it now. If you'd like, we have a surgical waiting area, or you can leave a number with the staff up there and they'll call you with any updates."
Freak took a deep breath. "Tell me straight, doc. Is he going to make it?"
Tanya's heart sat in her throat, as if waiting for the chance to jump right out her mouth, so she kept her teeth clamped tightly.
"He's in very serious condition. We just don't know right now what all we're looking at."
Could Buffalo possibly die? If he did, things would get seriously bad for her and the other girls. Sweat rolled down between her shoulder blades as she followed Freak to wherever they were going.
Chapter Eleven
When Trip made his move, Fabio slipped around and dispatched the second pickup truck driver. The two of them took cover there, closer to where the attackers had used all the cover near the protected truck. As they watched, one gunman attempted to move closer, giving up safety in favor of a better line of fire. One of the defending Hell Raiders easily dropped him.
The man lay in the dust and screamed, and one of his comrades darted from cover in a rescue attempt. The hero quickly joined his buddy on the ground, his own blood spilling. That brought the number of attackers down to six. Were they ready to die for whatever was in that trailer? The wounded men on the ground hopefully served to make them consider their next moves carefully.
In the meantime, Trip had no intention of backing off. They had a very limited window of opportunity before law enforcement arrived. Log books be damned, they had to be out of that fucking lot before cop tires touched it.
"We need to end this shit fast and roll."
Fabio nodded. "Yeah. Everybody's ready to move. Driver's awake and behind the wheel already. Ryker's on the roof, ready to pick them off."
Trip let his shoulders relax just a little with relief. Fabio always had things on the ball to keep them safe and
Freak nodded and pulled her from her chair and they followed. The doctor who'd spoken with Freak earlier stood making notes at a counter by the nurse's station. "You're Mr. Rawlings' next of kin?"
"Yeah. He's not married and has no blood relatives."
The doctor made a face like he didn't really believe it, then smoothed his expression out. "I have to ask, why did you wait so long to get him help?"
"I hadn't seen him since right before he got into that fight, and went to check on him. Found him like that and called the ambulance." The way he sounded, Freak had plenty of experience with lies and half-truths. Technically, though, he hadn't seen Buffalo since right after the fight.
"And you don't know who tried to care for him?" The doctor looked pointedly at Tanya.
Panic surged into her chest. What could she say?
Freak squeezed her arm and took over. "No, we don't. Tanya was away a few days."
He put the chart down. "Well, here's what we have so far. The injury to his thigh might not have been quite so serious, but gangrene has set in. We're not sure the extent yet. As for the wound to his penis…" he paused and shook his head, "I've never seen anything like that. We have a urologist coming in to assess him further, but I can say it isn't good. We might have been able to repair the initial injury without lasting damage. Whoever took care of him didn't do him any favors. That tube they put in, I'm assuming as an attempt at a catheter, caused incredible damage to the urethra and actually perforated the bladder. In addition, he has a severe infection, and he was given large doses of a strong narcotic, probably in an attempt to control the pain, so we have all that to deal with, too. We're doing everything we can to get control of the infection now, and he's headed for surgery. The gangrenous tissue has to be removed from his leg, and the bladder and penis need to be repaired."
"How long until we know more?"
The doctor shook his head. "Honestly, we're looking at a very complex surgery, if he can even tolerate it now. If you'd like, we have a surgical waiting area, or you can leave a number with the staff up there and they'll call you with any updates."
Freak took a deep breath. "Tell me straight, doc. Is he going to make it?"
Tanya's heart sat in her throat, as if waiting for the chance to jump right out her mouth, so she kept her teeth clamped tightly.
"He's in very serious condition. We just don't know right now what all we're looking at."
Could Buffalo possibly die? If he did, things would get seriously bad for her and the other girls. Sweat rolled down between her shoulder blades as she followed Freak to wherever they were going.
Chapter Eleven
When Trip made his move, Fabio slipped around and dispatched the second pickup truck driver. The two of them took cover there, closer to where the attackers had used all the cover near the protected truck. As they watched, one gunman attempted to move closer, giving up safety in favor of a better line of fire. One of the defending Hell Raiders easily dropped him.
The man lay in the dust and screamed, and one of his comrades darted from cover in a rescue attempt. The hero quickly joined his buddy on the ground, his own blood spilling. That brought the number of attackers down to six. Were they ready to die for whatever was in that trailer? The wounded men on the ground hopefully served to make them consider their next moves carefully.
In the meantime, Trip had no intention of backing off. They had a very limited window of opportunity before law enforcement arrived. Log books be damned, they had to be out of that fucking lot before cop tires touched it.
"We need to end this shit fast and roll."
Fabio nodded. "Yeah. Everybody's ready to move. Driver's awake and behind the wheel already. Ryker's on the roof, ready to pick them off."
Trip let his shoulders relax just a little with relief. Fabio always had things on the ball to keep them safe and
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