Page 7 of The Unbuttoned Ranger
“Fine, but you can’t be out here in the hall in your birthday suit,” the nurse said calmly.
“I demand better clothing too. This isn’t prison so why in the hell should I be expected to wear a gown. If you haven’t noticed I’m not a woman,” he growled.
“All our patients wear gowns, sir,” another nurse told him.
“Then I choose to stay naked.” His barreled chest puffed out as if it were a statement of its own. Echo was harmless but as stubborn as an old mule.
Sharp shook his head. It was a bit humorous that Echo was surrounded by staff trying to talk him down.“Excuse me, ladies.” Sharp cut a path through the semi-circle.
“Thank goodness. Think you can talk some sense into him, Sharp?” the charge nurse asked.
Echo’s eyes widened when he spotted Sharp.“Have you come to rescue me?”
“Why are you giving the nurses a hard time, Echo?”
“I’m being treated like a prisoner, dude. The food tastes like slop. They’re trying to force me into wearing a gown, and Vernice here keeps trying to touch me.” He stuck his thumb in the silver-haired, grandmotherly aide’s direction.
She looked mortified as she smacked her gums.“Behave yourself, young man. Hospital protocol states that any patient who can’t stand up to bathe themselves must be bathed by a nurse.”
“You behave yourself, Miss Vernice. Don’t pretend you’re not enjoying yourself,” he shot back.
Her wrinkled cheeks turned bright crimson.
“Pain meds?” Sharp asked one of the nurses. She nodded vehemently.
“How about we go into your room, Echo? I need to talk to you,” Sharp said firmly.
“Fine, but I ain’t wearing that gown,” Echo huffed like a toddler.
As if he knew it was a lost cause, his shoulders slumped some. He strode down the hallway and into his room.
“Sorry, ladies.” Sharp apologized for his buddy.“Show’s over.”
“Tell him if he doesn’t bathe himself we’ll have no choice but to do it,” one of the nurses called out.
“I’ll do my best.” Once they were inside the room, Sharp closed the door and said,“I get this isn’t a walk in the park, but you know you’re only pissing them off and that’s not good for anyone.”
“I heard you got your walking papers.” Echo pulled a sheet around his waist then sat down on the end of the bed.
“Yesterday.”
“You look like you dodged death and lived to tell about it.”
“You can say that again.” Sharp dragged a chair over and straddled it.“How are you feeling? Has the doc said when you’re getting out?”
Echo scraped his fingers down his whiskered jaw.“In a few days. It can’t come fast enough.” He looked tired. Out of the four men shot, Echo had been the closest to death’s door.
“I know the last time we talked you said you didn’t remember anything from the day of the ambush. Has anything changed?”
Echo thought about it then shook his head.“Nah. I remember sitting at the desk at the office, heard a noise and then felt the sting. I flipped the desk, drew my gun and started shooting. Other than that, I draw a blank. How did the meeting go? I figure that’s why you’re here.”
“Delta asked for us to lay low. Give the bureau an opportunity to investigate. As of right now they’ve disassembled the team due to risk factors.”
“Really?” Echo burst into laughter.
“That’s a better reaction than most of the team gave.”
“That’s because I’ve been dealing with bureaucratic bullshit longer than some of those boys have been off their Ma’s tit.” Echo was the oldest member but could still run faster and carry more than any of them. He was a beast. Any other man getting shot three times would have succumbed to their injuries.
