Page 70 of Twisted Revelations

32

Laura

My hand clung to Beverly’s as D examined the small knot that had formed on the top of her head. Her hair hid it, but D found it and did a thorough check before cleaning it.

He shined a light into her eyes, checking her pupils before he conducted a follow-the-finger-test that I’d seen doctors do. To say that these men impressed me was an understatement.

Whether they knew it or not, they had unveiled a different class of men. I’d learned more about the opposite sex in my short encounter with them than I’d learned throughout my life. There was much I’d closed my mind to, so much I’d not taken the time to understand.

“I’ll keep my eyes on you like a hawk for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours,” D informed Beverly, causing her to giggle. He placed his hands to either side of her chin and examined her, turning her head left and right.

“If you feel nauseated or faint, I need you to let me know right away.”

“I will.”

He glanced in my direction and allowed his gaze to fall to my limp arm. “You’re next.”

“Okay, Doctor D,” I replied playfully.

As soon as he touched my arm, I winced and fought not to cry out in pain. As long as there was a steady flow of adrenaline pumping through me, I’d not given into the pain. Now, it felt like my arm had been ripped out of the socket by Cujo.

D poked and prodded my shoulder to the point I wanted to punch him in his face. He squinted and smiled at me like he knew what I was thinking. When his smile dropped and he took on a more serious expression, I tensed.

“What’s wrong?”

“You can take a lot of pain,” he pointed out, lifting his gaze from my arm to meet mine. “Your arm is dislocated,” he confirmed as he kept poking at it. “What’s going to hurt worse is when it goes back in,” he muttered with a grimace, his gaze locking on mine.

“Just get it over with,” I replied to his look.

He pointed me to the largest area of the empty wall at the foot of Dax’s setup. I stood in place as a bout of nervousness hit me at the anticipation of the pain I was about to face. D turned me, positioning me so that my good shoulder was parallel to the wall. I squinted in confusion. Shouldn’t it be the other way around, I wondered as though I knew anything about popping a shoulder back in place.

Beverly was right there with me, standing against the wall a few feet in front of me, her face etched in concern like she sensed my pain. Dax tensed on the table, glaring at D and me. His brother had gotten him prepped and ready for surgery, using what I assumed was an imaging device to pinpoint the bullet’s location. He’d refused whatever pain-reducing drug he was offered, and I understood why.

D’s tall frame loomed at my hurt side. He set his hands in place at certain areas of my lower arm and elbow, making me flinch and writhe in pain. “You ready?” he questioned, glancing down at me.

“Hell, no!” I replied, making him smile. There wasn’t a quick jerk and lift technique like I’d seen on television. He moved only my lower arm, lifting and twisting it in a way that it appeared he was about to break it. When he’d gotten my arm well over my head, a loud pop rattled my bones and I swore my entire skeletal frame shifted before my body vibrated.

I swallowed a scream when the pain struck, causing me to clamp my legs together to keep from pissing all over myself. Body shaking, my eyes remained closed until the pain subsided enough for me to move again.

Immediately, my fist on my good side tightened before I aimed it at D, who stepped back a few paces, laughing.

“Hold your ammunition, killer. I think I got it back in first try.” The teasing smile on his face remained. “Can you move it?” he inquired, moving closer. After a deep sigh, I shrugged, easing my shoulder up before I rotated it in super slow motion.

“Lift it,” D ordered as he assisted, placing his hand under my elbow. My smile grew wide when I was able to lift it without shitting bricks. These damn men… My lips pinched into a tight smile. Where were they when I was growing up?

“Thanks, D,” I voiced with sincerity before my eyes landed on Bev. Her smile was as wide as mine. Automatically, my gaze brushed past my newly-connected shoulder and landed back on Dax. He was lying flat, but his stressed eyes were on me.

No one in the room had mentioned that all of our injuries were my fault, a testament of not only their care but their compassion for an asshole like me.

As D secured a scarf around my neck, my gaze remained on Dax’s. We’d done a bang-up job of hiding our affair, but we were likely blowing our cover tonight.

“I’m going to put you in this sling for a little while to keep your arm sturdy and ensure it sets right,” D informed. I nodded my confirmation.

Once D was done babying my arm, I inched across the floor and stood to the opposite side of the bed as Rick who had a scalpel in his hand. All the tools needed to extract the bullet from Dax’s side were aligned on a surgical table next to the larger table he was lying on.

Rick glanced at me and down at Dax who was reaching for my hand. I gave it without question, releasing more of the secret I’d vowed to take to my grave.

When the blade was placed to his skin, his gaze remained locked on mine as all the horrors of hell flashed on his face. He was doing this without pain meds, and it dawned on me when the blade sat at his skin he was remembering his torture, how he’d been sliced to pieces until he’d lost his mind.

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