Alpha Male Romance(19)

He also had two broken and three cracked ribs. None in any danger of puncturing anything important, but they were going to make breathing even more of a bitch than his swollen throat and damaged lungs would.

The rest of the burns ran down his left cheek, jaw, neck, across his shoulder, back and chest, down his side to his hip, tapering off about mid-thigh. He also had pieces of wood and metal embedded in him, adding to the risk of infection.

I took out each one, disinfecting as best I could. The burns were debrided and cleaned. His clothes cut off, the process of removing the fabric from the burnt skin nauseating. Dressing the wounds took extra skill and care since we had to set the bones too. Otherwise, he'd need them to be re-broken so they could heal properly.

I tried talking to him softly the whole time, encouraging him to hang on, telling him that he was getting the best care possible. I didn't know anything about him, but I told him to think of his family, of the people he loved, how they would want him to fight. I wasn't sure if he heard me, but I hoped he did. His eyes flickered open a few times, revealing a shade of blue that was beautiful despite being bloodshot. I didn't know if he saw me, but I tried to smile, to tell him that we would take care of him.

When we finally finished, I was exhausted, completely wrung out emotionally and physically. I leaned against the wall, fighting the urge to sit down. A glance at Dr. Fellner told me she felt it too.

She broke the silence first. “Was he from your brother's unit?”

I shook my head. “I don't think so.” I took a slow breath before adding, “I know he's not the only military patient I've ever seen, and my brother wasn't...burned, but...” I wasn't sure how to explain.

“Sometimes, one of these men or women come in, and it doesn't matter what the injury or the age or even the gender. Sometimes it just hits you out of nowhere.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I just saw him and it was like looking at Logan even though there's nothing about this that's similar. They don't even look alike.”

She put her hand on my shoulder. “Why don't you take a break? I'm sure you left some things downstairs. Why don't you go down, get them, ask if anyone's found his family yet?”

I nodded again. “Thank you.”

She was partway out the door when she stopped and looked at me again. “And if they haven't, why don't you go ahead and give it a try. Go out to the base if you need to.”

“I don't want you to get in trouble,” I protested.

She gave me a quirk of a smile. “My husband's family donated a lot of money to the hospital over the years. I doubt they'll fire me over letting a nurse do some slightly unorthodox things.”

I managed a partial smile in return. “Thank you.”

As the door shut behind her, I took a moment to close my eyes. I'd never asked for special treatment because of Logan. After all, I was far from the only person in the hospital to have military connections. But at the moment, I was glad that Dr. Fellner had granted me the extra privilege. I needed some time to clear my head.

I started to head down to the ER, trying to remember what I might've left down there. The last few hours or so were a blur. Then I caught a glimpse of my reflection in one of the windows and realized that I needed to change into clean scrubs if there was even a chance I'd be going out in public.

I ducked into the changing room and pulled off the shirt and pants that were both covered with more bodily fluids than I wanted to consider. I found scrubs in my size and pulled them on, then headed to a sink to wash my face and smooth out my hair.

Feeling slightly more refreshed, I headed down to the ER. I remembered that I'd left my purse down there. I'd tossed it without a second thought, but now realized that hadn't been a smart thing to do. I was usually smarter than that, better than that, but something about that soldier, seeing him there, threw me. I didn't know why or what it was about him, but I knew he’d be one of those patients I'd be personally invested in until he left. And one I knew I'd wonder about even after he was gone.

“Hey, Malachi,” I greeted the ER desk clerk. “I was down here earlier.”

“I heard,” he said with a grin, his white teeth flashing against his dark skin. “Also heard you jumped right in.”

I cringed. “Dr. Furia isn't getting in trouble for letting me, is she?”

“Naw.” His Texas drawl was thicker than mine and it always made me smile. “Since the patient headed up to you guys anyway, no one's saying boo about it.”

“That's good.”

“He gonna make it?” Malachi's smile disappeared.

A lump formed in my throat, surprising me as much as the burning in my eyes. “It's hard to say. I've seen people with worse injuries pull through, but I can't say it for certain. It's going to come down to how hard he fights.”