Pure Dynamite by Lauren Bach Page A

swallowed the urge to lie, to tell them he was fine so they'd leave. "I'm not sure. He'll need at least another liter of saline intravenously. And the bleeding has stopped for the moment, but that could change if he moves too much. With the amount of blood he's lost he could go into shock rapidly."
    The two men exchanged glances. Lyle shook his head. "Get on with it then."
    She grabbed a bag of antibiotics and moved to connect it to the IV She fingered the control, realized her hands were shaking.
    "Don't do anything stupid, Renata." Adam was right behind her. She hadn't even heard him move. "Once he's stable enough to travel, we'll leave. You won't be harmed."
    "What guarantee do I have of that?"
    "My word. Now finish up."
    His word? Oh, that made a big difference. Biting back a retort, Renata turned to the injured man.
    Uncovering his wound, she began cleaning it with saline. When she examined it more closely she saw bits of threads protruding. There were probably pieces of cloth inside the wound that needed to be removed as well. Her probing would start the bleeding again. There was also a jagged piece of flesh that needed to be cut away to ward off complications and promote healing. Both would also be extremely painful. Typically a patient was heavily sedated first.
    She opened the drawer, grabbed several small forceps and disposable scalpels. Adam hovered close, watching.
    "This will hurt." She picked up a scalpel.
    "I'm already in pain, lady." The man curled his lip back. "It can't get much worse."
    "It will."
    "That's just fucking great."
    She leaned close to offer an alternative. "If I call an ambulance, they'll have morphine—"
    Without warning, the man grabbed her hand bent it backwards and snatched the scalpel. Renata screamed at the intense pain.
    "If I hear you say ambulance or hospital one more time, I swear I'll take this scalpel to your face and—-"
    Adam knocked the younger man's hand aside, breaking his grasp. "She got the message."
    For long seconds, Renata stared at the floor, fighting for composure. If Adam hadn't interfered the man would have broken her wrist. Or worse. The thought of what he might have done with the scalpel terrified her.
    It also fanned her anger, made her want to shout every vulgarity she could think of. More, she wanted to turn and walk out, refuse to treat him further. Except ... she didn't have a choice. They were armed. And they had a physical advantage. The unfairness of the situation only incensed her further.
    She picked up another scalpel and straightened before staring coldly at the man on the table. "Touch me again and I'll—"
    "You'll what?"
    Adam stepped between the two. "Enough. We're going out to the lobby while you try to get hold of your brother again. When we come back, she's going to finish dressing this wound. And you're going to let her."
    Renata noticed the younger man didn't question Adam's authority though she sensed he wanted to.
    "We need a closer meeting point." Adam handed him a cell phone, then tugged her out of the exam room.
    He steered her toward the front lobby where MTV still roared. The only source of light, from the television, cast the waiting room in flickering shadow.
    "Sit there." He pointed to the chair closest to the set. "What station has eleven o'clock news? Local stuff?"
    His question was unexpected. She was also surprised to realize the men had been there less than an hour. It felt like a week. "Channel six is local. So is twenty-two."
    "Just find one. And turn it down."
    She grabbed the remote and nervously lowered the volume. From the corner of her eye she saw Adam glance down the hall. What had he meant about a closer rendezvous spot? Were they really planning to leave soon?
    She heard Lyle murmuring on the phone, but couldn't make out what was being said. She shifted sideways.
    Adam caught her eavesdropping and scowled. "Hurry up."
    Straightening, she punched the remote again. Since he was so concerned about her overhearing the phone