Page 61 of Perilous Healing

“How about your nurse? We gave you one for this.”

“I need Abana with me at all times for translation and an extra set of hands. I’ll also be keeping the pregnant woman as a nurse before and after her baby is born. You’ll ensure that she and her husband have enough meal tickets for themselves and their families.”

River looks genuinely amused, but Yarrow looks about ready to blow a gasket.

“You make a lot of requests for a woman who’s a prisoner here,” Yarrow growls.

“I’m here to do a job, and if I can’t do it effectively, why have me here at all?”

“You cannot be pulling my workers,” River says. “I need them to meet my quota. Otherwise, this entire operation might as well go up in flames.”

“Understood. But you can’t expect me to run the only local hospital with only one extra set of hands.”

He considers. “Fair enough. You may have the woman and her husband. But you take no others, understand?”

“They’ll still get meal tickets?”

“Yes.”

“They need an increase in whatever you’re giving them.”

River’s amusement fades just slightly. “Excuse me?”

“She’s eating for two, and by the looks of it, you’re still only allowing her basic nutrition for her survival.”

“Fine,” River says. “But this is the last request you make of me. Do we understand each other?”

“We do.”

“Boss, we need you on the south side of the fence, over,” someone calls through the radio.

Yarrow lifts it. “On our way, over.”

River continues staring at me a moment longer, then he and Yarrow turn and leave.

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

“You good?” Silas questions.

“I am now. Come on, I need to get this woman cleaned up so she can be comfortable.”

Chapter19

Silas

“Okay, let’s get you settled.” Bianca guides Laring over to a medical bed on the far side of the converted storage container. The pregnant woman is glowing, her skin clear of sweat and grime, and she’s been dressed in a clean dress the color of olives.

She smiles and thanks Bianca in her native language, as she covers her with a light blanket.

“You’re welcome,” Bianca replies, and Abana translates. She turns to the woman’s husband, a man named Idra. “Can you please drain the tub? Then get some fresh water, and you can bathe as well.”

Abana translates, and Idra grins widely and thanks her before rushing back toward the tub behind the partition that keeps it separate from everything else.

“You do good things for them,” Abana says, eying Bianca curiously. “You are not like I thought you would be.”

“How did you think I would be?” she asks.

“Like him,” Abana replies. “Cold. Unfeeling. Evil.”

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