Page 19 of Wolf Bane
Maybe Tyler’s theory was right—I needed the stress to be a trigger.
Goddammit.
Gina Perrin helped me put Mr.Robards in the recovery position before I grabbed a patient gown from the cupboard beneath the sink to cover him.His clothes were a loss, right down to his socks.“Who the hell does the ICW have nearby?”I demanded, keeping my voice down so Reba wouldn’t hear if she was coming back already.
“A plane landed earlier at DFW.They were on their way down this way already, to check up on things,” she said with a tense shrug.“Um.I guess you never got the message about me then?”
Reba’s clattering steps dragged me back to my feet, intercepting her before she could come in the room.“Oh my God, Landry, is he?—”
“He’s breathing.Pulse is thready but present,” Gina Perrin announced.“Seems to be getting stronger though.”
Reba nodded faintly.“I rescheduled your one and one forty-five,” she said, voice shaking.“There were only a few people in the waiting room, but they left.Um, I’m going to start calling to reschedule…” She eyed Mr.Robards on the floor, her lower lip caught between her teeth as she stared.“Landry,” she said quietly.“I could’ve sworn I heard a… a dog or something.A coyote?It was loud.That wasn’thim,was it?”
Gina Perrin made a face—coyoteseemed to be an insult to many weres, don’t tell Mal or Mariska—but I shook my head before she could jump in.“You definitely didn’t hear a coyote or a dog,” I said, only lying by omission.“We’ve got this, Reba.When the, ah, medics get here, send them straight back.”
Reba nodded, jaw clenched tight no doubt to hold back whatever stream of words she was dying to let loose.Instead, she hurried back up to the front and, a few minutes later, I heard her official phone voice as she started making calls to the patients who’d scattered.
“They were all weres.The ones in the waiting room,” Gina Perrin offered after a moment.“I could tell when I came in.”
“Then they likely knew what was happening,” I murmured.“Or could figure it out.”
“The howl gave it away,” she agreed, checking Mr.Robards’ pulse again.“A bit stronger.”
Quiet settled heavy and thick between us.After several small eternities, Mr.Robards stirred, groaning, and tried to sit up.
“Hold still there,” I urged, pressing back against his chest when he tried to move.“Something’s wrong and we’re going to help you, okay?We’re just waiting for some more folks to get here so you can go…” I eyed Gina Perrin.
“To a specialized urgent care,” she finished, giving me a wild-eyed shrug.“Somewhere they’ve seen this before.”
“Did I have a heart attack?”he groaned.“My body… Oh God,” he rasped, closing his eyes.“What’s going on?”
Low voices outside in the hallway cut across Reba’s protest.“Hopefully, we’re finding out soon,” I said.Gina Perrin stood with me, stepping back when I moved to greet whoever was coming our way.
It was a sweep of organized chaos.Two men in ill-fitting scrubs that still had crease marks swept in and one of them scooped Mr.Robards up bridal style.The other cornered me against the exam table and demanded a point-by-point recap of the entire event.
“How about we sit down in my office?”I shot back.“Get back here with him.Hey!”
Gina Perrin darted around the man carrying Mr.Robards to block the door.“I don’t think so, pumpkin.Who are you?”
“We’re here to see to the patient.”The man cornering me smiled.“That’s all.”
“Nope.”Gina Perrin bared her teeth.“Not until I talk to someone who can vouch for you.”
“You need to stand down,” the one with Mr.Robards snapped.“This isn’t some little game, lady.We have work to do here.”
“You have my patient.”I pushed past Overbearing and strode over to Bossy.“Put him on the exam table.Gina Perrin, go call.”
She nodded, shooting me a look before pulling her phone from her pocket.“If you move, I swear to God, I’ll bite you right on your ass,” she said to Bossy.
I shrugged when Overbearing glanced back at me.“I don’t know where you’ve been.I’ll just shank you with a scalpel.”
Not that I had any in the office.But he didn’t seem to know that.
A commotion in the front of the office, Reba’s startled shriek, then a familiar low rumble of a voice sent me on the world’s fastest roller coaster ride.Gina Perrin bristled—if her fur had been out, it’d have been standing straight up—but I waved her down.
“I know who that is,” I said, unable to stop my smile.“Ethan, we’re in room two!”
Ethan filled the doorway, forcing Gina Perrin to step closer to Bossy.“Davis, Kenner, put him down,” Ethan ordered the two weres.“We need to do this properly.Landry…” He turned a tired, fleetingly affectionate glance on me.“What the hell did you do?”
