Pure Dynamite by Lauren Bach

nodding.
    Taking a pair of scissors, she quickly cut away the rest of the makeshift bandages, noticing the extra layers of cloth.
    "Were you trying to make a pressure dressing?"
    "Trying."
    She wondered briefly at Adam's background. The steps he'd taken had prevented the other man from bleeding to death. It was obvious he'd had experience with gunshot wounds before, but how? Military? Paramedic? Career criminal?
    She examined the wound, grateful it wasn't a shotgun blast. They were the worst, especially at close range, blowing away whole sections of flesh and vital organs. Some bullets could be equally damaging, though, shattering on impact and sending deadly fragments to ricochet through organs.
    "Any idea what he was shot with?" Knowing the caliber and type of ammunition would help her assess the potential damage.
    "Handgun. I'm guessing three-fifty-seven," Adam said.
    She started to ask how it happened, but stopped. Given the way they'd shown up here tonight, it was unlikely they'd tell her the truth.
    During her rotations in the ER, she'd seen people shot for a lot of different reasons. Intentional or accidental, there was nothing good about a gunshot. Knowing how or why it happened didn't change the treatment. Or the chances for survival.
    And in this case, perhaps the less she knew the better. Too much knowledge could make them think twice about leaving her alive.
    "I need to check for an exit wound. Can you turn him?"
    The man's left buttock was bloody, making the exit wound easy to locate. More slit shaped than round it wasn't bleeding as badly. She pressed on it, then irrigated it with saline to clean it before grabbing another thick stack of gauze to cover the wound so Adam could ease the man back down.
    She checked his blood pressure again, keenly aware that being on her own in a critical situation reduced her effectiveness. If they had come in when the clinic was fully staffed, there would be two or three others assisting. A nurse would monitor his vitals, get a medical history. Someone else would draw blood, start an IV, while the front desk called for an ambulance. They would take whatever life-saving steps they could, but mainly they'd stabilize the patient for transport to the closest hospital.
    Perhaps while the man was unconscious she could talk Adam into letting her call for help. But before she could speak, the injured man's eyelids fluttered open.
    His complexion looked ashen. Unhealthy. He moaned back to consciousness, his voice hoarse and tinged with fear. "How long was I out?"
    Renata glanced at the clock. "Seven minutes."
    "God ... I feel like shit."
    "You should. You've been shot."
    "Did it... go straight through?"
    "That's hard to verify without X-rays, but it appears so."
    The injured man seemed relieved. "That's good, right, Doc?"
    "There's nothing good about a gunshot."
    "But it could have been worse," the man pressed. "If it... had hit my heart or lungs ... I'd be a goner."
    "It doesn't have to hit a vital organ to prove fatal." Renata moved her stethoscope around on his thin, hairless chest. "Are you allergic to any medications? Penicillin or other antibiotics?"
    The man took a shallow breath. "No. I'm not allergic to pain medication either."
    "Our narcotics are taken to the hospital each night. Too many break-ins."
    "Great." He coughed, looked at Adam. "What now?"
    Adam glanced at her. "What's the course of treatment?" "If we were at a hospital, I'd order X-rays, blood work, and ship him to the OR for surgery to repair that vein."
    "Yeah, well, we're not at the hospital, are we?" The injured man interrupted. "What can you do besides bandage me up?"
    "Not much."
    "That's what I figured."
    She realized she may have spoken too soon again. If there was nothing more she could do, would they get rid of her?
    "Actually, I was going to add an antibiotic to the IV to help fight infection," she rushed on. "You're definitely at a greater risk for that."
    "How long before he's stable?" Adam asked.
    She