When Men Betray by Webb Hubbell Page B

leg and frowned. “Sorry, Jack, this is going to hurt.” He took off his belt and wrapped it around my upper thigh. The pain was excruciating as he tightened the tourniquet. I heard him say, “Ambulance is on its way. I’ll handle the police and meet you at the ER. Sorry I threw you on top of that bottle, but that car had you in its sights.”
    â€œWell, all in all, I’d rather be alive.” I grimaced, regretting the energy wasted on dark humor.
    Clovis shook his head grimly. “I fucked up. We’ll talk about it after the docs check you out.”
    I couldn’t believe what he was saying. “Look, nobody can anticipate a random, wild driver losing control of his car.”
    Sirens were blaring—I was dimly aware of police cars and an ambulance pulling up.
    â€œThat was no wild driver, and there was nothing random about it. You were the target, and the driver was a professional—I got a pretty good look at him. Now, will you please keep quiet till they get you to the hospital?”

14

    T HE PARAMEDICS INSISTED I lie on a stretcher that was too narrow and too short, then moved me quickly into the ambulance and hooked me up to the cardiac monitor. The pain from the pressure of the tourniquet and the embedded glass had taken hold. Everyone kept telling me I was going to be fine, but my leg sure didn’t feel that way.
    Before I knew it, the ambulance door flew open, and my tiny stretcher was flying down a sterile hall into a room where I was circled by an offbeat chorus of voices and a range of different sizes of hands that began cutting clothes off me and taking my blood pressure.
    A young doctor examined my leg and removed the tourniquet. He looked up and said, “Well, it’s not a pretty sight, but all in all, you’ve been pretty lucky—no damage to any arteries. We’re going to remove the bottle, repair a couple of smaller blood vessels, and sew you up. I don’t think we’ll need to sedate you. We should be able to make you comfortable with a local anesthetic. If you’re okay with that, we can have you out of here pretty quickly.”
    A beer bottle stuck in my leg—it felt pretty ignominious. “Sure, but if you don’t mind, I’d rather not watch.”
    A dreamy-eyed nurse told me that Beth and Maggie were on their way to the hospital. I say “dreamy-eyed” because she was covered in surgical scrubs, mask, and hat. All I could see were her eyes. I concentrated on her eyes rather than whatever the doctor was doing to myleg. Before I knew it, he was finished, and I had to take my eyes off the nurse because the doctor was talking.
    â€œYou were lucky. The bottle came out clean. I didn’t find any evidence of broken glass or slivers. The nurse will give you instructions about treating it, changing the bandages, and follow-up. I’ve prescribed a mild painkiller and an antibiotic. Has it been more than five years since you’ve had a tetanus shot?”
    â€œUhh …”
    He turned to the nurse and instructed her to give me one before I left. She nodded and left the room, off to get the shot, I guessed. Oh joy.
    â€œYou can walk on your leg. Just don’t go jogging, okay? Your leg will hurt like hell for a couple of days, but it’s a whole lot better than if you’d been hit by that car.”
    He shook my hand and left.
    The nurse came back in with the syringe. I was relieved to get the shot in my arm. She had removed her mask, and I realized that her eyes were quite alert. I must have been the one with the dreamy eyes.
    â€œI couldn’t help but notice. You’ve been in the ER before. That’s a lot of scar tissue. Were you in a car wreck?”
    â€œSomething like that.”
    â€œYikes—must have been awful. Your family is bringing you some clothes. They should be here soon, so why don’t you lie back and rest?”
    I dozed off but not for long, as Beth came