Page 44 of Explorer's Revenge
I follow them over, but Way pulls me to a stop, running his eyes over me with so much worry, I soften and let him.
Way cradles my head, turning it left and right, running his hands over every inch of me. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks. “Aiyaret, is anything hurt?” He finds every scrape and cut, and I can’t help but smile as I watch him. He looks so worried and uncharacteristically serious that my heart skips a beat.
Is Maeve right?
This isn’t the time to think about it, that’s for sure, but then his hands grip my cheeks and he leans in, resting his forehead into mine. “I was so fucking scared,” he whispers. “Don’t ever do that again, you hear me?”
“I’m sorry,” I respond, but I refuse to make that promise, and he notices. Reaching up, I grip the nape of his neck and hold him for a moment. “Thanks for coming for me.”
“Always,” he murmurs, holding my gaze. “What are friends for?” The way he stumbles over the word “friends” has me recalling Maeve’s observation. Is she right? Have I been ignoring this all along?
The searching look he gives me makes me release him and step back, and I head over to Maeve to see how she is. Way’s hand slides down my back to my waist as if he thinks I’ll disappear again. It’s comforting, so I don’t say anything. Instead, I lean into his touch, needing his support after everything that happened.
Wilder is crouched next to Maeve, his bag beside him as he eyes her wounds before reaching for her leg and turning it back and forth, making her hiss.
“Wilder!” she snaps, smacking his hands away as he sits back. “Ignore it. I’ve survived so far. We need to get out of here before it comes back, okay? We can worry about me losing my leg once we are out of this hole.”
“You could bleed out before we get up there,” he retorts, refusing to back down, “so shut the fuck up for once, Carter, and let me deal with your injury.” His touch is soft as he pulls her tourniquet away. “Shit, this must be so painful.” He eyes her anxiously. “Did you sew this?”
“With my shoelace. It was better than bleeding out.” She leans back, clearly feeling weak, and Rick drops to his knees, letting her lean back into him as Logan crouches on the other side.
“That’s hardcore,” Rick teases.
Wilder smirks slightly as he opens his bag. “You saved your own life, so I guess you aren’t a total idiot.”
“Really? I nearly got eaten, and you’re still an ass?” she complains as he douses the wound with cleaning fluid, making her jerk and scream.
He grabs her neck, eyeing her hard until she stops. “So fucking weak, Carter. I thought you were hardcore.”
“I fucking am,” she growls, and I know he’s starting a fight to distract her from what he needs to do.
Turning to his bag, he pops something and hands it to her. “These are strong, and they might make you feel sick, but it should block the pain for a while.” Without asking any more questions, she throws them back as Wilder lays out what he needs, and then he looks at her.
“Fucking do it,” she grumbles.
“I’m going to need to clean it again. I’ll keep your stitches in. There’s no point in agitating the wound and reopening it, but we need to bandage it. I have some antibiotics as well as adrenaline. It will help with shock and fatigue, but it’s going to make you crash later and feel like shit.”
“Wilder, just fucking do it,” she orders, and he nods.
He’s the best person to deal with this. He even started med school before dropping out, but her wound is extensive. He’s clearly concerned, but he doesn’t say it as he starts to clean and dress it.
Her scream echoes around the cavern once more before she cuts it off, turning her head and burying it in Rick’s chest to muffle it so the creature doesn’t hear. When Wilder sits back, she slumps and pants as she turns her head to see her leg. It’s wrapped as best as he could manage. That’s about all we can do down here.
“Don’t worry, you’re still as hot as ever,” Logan teases, making her grin despite the pain.
Wilder loads up a shot and then looks at her. “You’re a pain in the ass, Carter, you know that?”
“You bastard.” She groans as he stabs her with the adrenaline, making her narrow her eyes on him. “Prick,” she finishes.
“There, that’s all we can do here. We need to get you to a hospital as soon as possible. Can you climb up the rope on that leg, or should we create a pulley system?”
“I’ll be fine,” she snaps as she sits up. “Don’t worry, I won’t slow you down. Let’s get the fuck out of here.” Despite her words, when she stands, she slips, and Rick catches her.
“I’ll tie her to me,” Way offers. “I’m the strongest. I can get her up there.”
“I’ll be fine,” she promises.
“No, you won’t,” Way says, his voice soft. “It’s okay to need our help.” He looks at me and then at her. “Let me do this.”
