Page 45 of Torn In Two

“I don’t know if I’m supposed to laugh or be horrified by that question.”

I held the paper so she couldn’t take it and winked at her. “I’m a pretty good judge of character. I back myself and the years of experience I have. I’m fairly certain you aren’t going to deliberately unplug someone’s life support.”

Kara’s mouth dropped open.

“This can’t be legal.” Hawk’s face was full of confusion. “You could lose your license for this, couldn’t you?”

I laughed at their shock. “Look, fact is, we would take Ted Bundy’s help right now, we’re that understaffed. The main thing here is knowing you aren’t going to steal drugs, and your access passes won’t give you entry to any of the medical supply cabinets, so the police check is bullshit anyway. This isn’t Providence. It’s Saint View. Around here, we just do whatever we need to do to get by. I’ve got a very long line of people out there who need help, and I’m not about to turn away able-bodied help.”

I shut up as Dr. Tahpley walked into the room, pausing at the three of us standing by the desk. “Oh, sorry, didn’t realize you were using the room, Gray.”

“Not a problem. This is Kara and Hawk. They’re new volunteers, so you’ll see them around.”

Hawk nodded, and Kara smiled at the older doctor.

“Lovely to meet you. We’re excited to help out.”

Completely ignoring them, he tossed a pair of gloves into a bin and cracked his neck. “Lunchtime, I think.”

Pompous old prick. He did this to the nurses too. Just ignored them because anyone on a lower pay grade was of little interest.

I glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s barely eleven. You didn’t start ’til nine thirty.”

Tahpley’s eyes held a challenge. “Like I said, lunchtime. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

He walked away. All I could do was stare at him.

“What a fucking cunt he is,” Hawk muttered.

Kara elbowed him. “Language…but also, I agree.”

Hawk sniggered then turned to me. “Her agreeing is about as close to swearing as she’s going to get.”

I pushed pens at both of them, fighting off irritation at Tahpley shirking his duties yet again. “I’m fine with swearing or not swearing. Trust me, I’ve heard a whole lot worse. But you see why I’m willing to skip things like police checks when someone comes in and actually wants to help? It’s rare. So sign your papers and let’s go.” I dug deep to find some good humor because we all knew those people out there needed more than scowls and a prescription shoved at them. I grinned at Hawk and Kara, trying to psych myself—and them—up. “We’ve got lives to save.”

It was my way of equaling the balance. While we were in here saving people, my little group of psychopaths would be out there on the streets, ending the lives of others.

15

KARA

The hospital was fascinating. We were given scrubs to change into, then Grayson threw us into the deep end. I’d expected to be rolling bandages or maybe running mail from one department to another.

But Grayson explained that the volunteer program here was more about the emotional support of patients. Sometimes, that meant supervising someone who couldn’t be left alone, so they didn’t need to be restrained to the bed. Sometimes it meant comforting a child while a parent was seeking help for a sibling. We did some cleaning and other basic admin tasks when the nurses found out we were volunteers and pounced on us with glee.

I worried Hawk would find the whole thing irritating, but when I looked around for him about two hours into our first shift and found an old lady clutching his arm for support as he walked her to X-ray, I saw his expression.

It wasn’t boredom.

It was satisfaction. Something I hadn’t seen from him when he was at the club.

At two fifty, Grayson called us over. “Well? What do you think? This is generally about the time our volunteers quit. So I totally understand if that’s the case.”

I gaped at him. “They quit after their first shift?”

He nodded. “More than half. Probably closer to seventy-five percent. So trust me, I understand if it’s not for you. This place can be hard. Not just physically, though the vomit and shit isn’t my favorite. I don’t have to deal with that so much with my regular patients, but down here, there’s a lot of it. I think it’s the emotional side that gets to people more though. Being around people who are hurting isn’t always easy. You both were amazing today, but if you’re out, I get it.”

“I’m not out,” Hawk said quickly. “Not even a little bit.”

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