Changing Times (2 page)

“How do you suggest I do that? I don’t have any antibiotics,
no sutures, not even a bandage. What the hell can I do that is going to be more
effective than a hospital? Are you insane?”

The taller man made a motion with his head and the other man
ran out of the room. He was back almost instantly with what looked like a tray
of instruments and bandages. Carly slanted a look at the taller man, who simply
shrugged. His somewhat sheepish look was out of place, but it told her more
than his words.

“It was as easy to bring what you would need as it was to
bring you. Your boldness was a bonus for us tonight.”

“Bonus, my ass!” Carly muttered as she cut the injured man’s
shirt away and inhaled sharply at the sight that met her eyes. She examined the
entrance wound on his abdomen and searched for an exit wound. When she couldn’t
find one, she looked at the tall man. “We have to get him to the hospital. I
have to get an X-ray. The bullet is still inside him.”

“You don’t need an X-ray. He can tell you where the bullet
is. His body is trying to fight it and you have to help him by removing it.”

“I can’t remove it without an X-ray. What do you mean, his
body is fighting it? And there is no way he can tell me where the bullet is.
What is wrong with you people? A man could die here if you don’t let me do my
job right.” She tried to speak slowly and distinctly, but knew her frustration
was coming through. Was this big guy that dense? How many times could she tell
him his friend needed a hospital?

“Doctor, no one is going to die here tonight if you do what
we brought you here to do.” Her head jerked up to meet his steely brown eyes. “You
are here and we have what you need. You won’t hurt him any more than he has
already been hurt. Just do it. Easy, Tony. Doctor, you must hurry.”

Carly knew she had already lost valuable time arguing. She
had no idea when he’d been shot or how much blood he’d lost. She hurried to
help hold the man down as he struggled to sit up. Those oddly bright green-gold
eyes focused on her face in a most disconcerting way. Then he spoke.

“It burns. It’s near the skin on my back, not too deep under
the skin. Get it out.” Quiet but intense, the words were spoken through
clenched teeth. The distinct patois of New Orleans from his voice sent another
shiver snaking down her back.

Carly shook her head as she moved around behind him. She
examined his back and could see a faint bulge beginning just above the
waistline of his black jeans. She gently touched the bright red area. He sucked
in a breath of pain. Carly muttered “sorry” automatically. The shorter man
moved in beside her as Carly probed around the faint bulge with her fingers. He
fell back at her practiced “you’re in my space” look. She’d used it on enough
interns to know its effectiveness.

It was obvious that something outside the norm was happening
here. Carly shook her head. She had never seen anything like this before. Carly
looked at the taller man, who had turned his head to watch her.

“I don’t know what you want me to do. If we were in the ER,
I could deal with this.” How could she get these men to understand that their
friend needed the quality of care her hospital could provide? Carly briefly
considered using the scalpel as a weapon. However, she knew she couldn’t
overpower all of them and who knew how many others were in this place. The tall
man’s voice lashed out at her.

“Cut him open and get the bullet out before it has a chance
to poison him any more. We don’t have time for this.”

“Just cut him open?”
Barbaric
.This guy wanted
her to just slice someone open? “I am not Dr. freaking Quinn and this is not
the frontier!”

“The bullet is working its way out, Doctor, but by the time
it comes out of his back, he’ll be dead. If he passes out, his body will stop
fighting the poison. Cut him open and get it out.” Tall Man’s intensity grabbed
her attention and she knew he spoke the truth. She had to do something.

Carly raised an eyebrow at his tone. He simply stared back
at her. His eyes had an odd gleam of silver too. In fact, all three of these
men had odd eyes. Carly took a deep breath as she stared at her patient again.

The injured man’s head fell forward again as he whispered, “It
burns.” Carly took a deep breath. She snatched an antiseptic pack from the tray
and wiped a broad swath of his back with it. She knew his flinch was from the
chill of the swab. She glanced at the supplies next to her and picked up a vial
of medicine to give him a painkiller, but the tall man shook his head.

“Don’t sedate him. His body will stop fighting the poison if
you do.”

“I can’t just take a scalpel to his back.” She knew her
voice reflected her feelings about that particular idea.

“You have to or he will die right here.” The harsh crack to
his voice caused Carly’s temper to rise.

She started to mutter under her breath and the two men
standing near her smiled, even though she didn’t think they could understand
everything she was saying.

“Barbaric…insane…my ass…doctor…butcher…damn. Quinn…idiots…”
Carly continued to mutter as she picked up a scalpel to make an incision from
the top of the bulge to the bottom. She flinched with her patient as the
scalpel bit into his back. He moaned softly as she applied slight pressure to
open the incision she’d just made.

Blood welled at the incision and Carly watched in amazement
as the muscle in his back contracted as she held the incision open. It almost
looked as if his body were trying to expel the bullet.

She didn’t think she said it out loud, but her patient
replied, “I am, Doctor, I am. Get it out now!”

Carefully probing with forceps, she felt the bullet. She
tucked the forceps where she guessed the bottom of the bullet to be.

It came out with such force that Carly thought she should
have heard a pop as it landed in her palm. She’d been right. You couldn’t work
in ER for very long without being able to tell something about gunshot wounds.
This was definitely a small-caliber bullet, probably a .38. The bullet was
misshapen and heavier than she’d expected it to be. That’s when she remembered
the tall man saying something about silver.
Weird
.
Who used silver
bullets
?

The injured man’s whole body suddenly relaxed and the other
two staggered slightly under the additional weight. If the stool hadn’t been
helping to support his frame, he would have gone down. Moving quickly, Carly
cleaned the incision she’d just made on his back. In amazement, she watched the
wound stop bleeding almost immediately.

This is definitely out of my league
.She
glanced at the men again, then went back to work. After applying a butterfly
closure to the incision she had made, Carly put a dressing on his back, then
moved around to examine the entrance wound again. The men put their friend on
the bed in the room now that the bullet was out. She assumed that his already
passing out meant the crisis was over.

Then the tall man shoved a bottle at her. The label read
EDTA.

“This treats heavy metal poisoning.” She immediately looked
around for an IV stand before remembering where she was. “I’m not sure how much
to give him. What does he weigh?”

“Roughly one eighty, give or take.” The smaller man spoke
for the first time since they’d entered the house. The growl was gone now that
she’d helped his friend. Carly automatically added another fifteen pounds in
her head, adjusting the dosage accordingly.

“I don’t suppose you have a pump? This has to be given
intravenously.” Carly didn’t evince any surprise when the shorter man wheeled
the necessary equipment into the bedroom. Before she could put the needle in
the injured man’s arm, the taller man had taken her hand in a viselike grip.

“Let go.”

“Wait, you have to listen. EDTA can cause a severe allergic
reaction, anaphylactic shock. We have the antihistamines ready, but you have to
know in case it happens to him.” Tension showed in the lines of his forehead.

“That’s rare.” With a mutinous grimace, she tried to pull
her hand from his grasp. “Now let me do my job. That is why you kidnapped me,
isn’t it?”

With a soft sigh, he released her. “It’s not rare in our
community. Just watch for it.”

Wiping her hair off her forehead with the back of her hand,
she set the IV and turned the pump on. Carly watched her patient closely.
Seeing no signs of an allergic reaction within the first twenty minutes, she
nodded to the other two men. “Quit hovering and get him somewhere he can rest.”

The shorter of the two men immediately started bustling
around the room, pulling pillows out of the closet she hadn’t noticed until
just now and helping the injured man get more comfortable on the bed. The
taller man simply stood and watched.

Eventually, with the injured man settled, the other two
turned to Carly. She stepped over to the bed to examine the entrance wound. The
tall man stood at her shoulder and when she looked up at him, he moved closer.

“Why did the incision I made start to heal so quickly, yet
this is still an open wound?”

“It is a long story, Doctor. Tony has a very specific
metabolism with an aversion to silver. Since the bullet was silver and entered
his body at a violent pace, the wound will remain open for a while.” He watched
her reactions to what he was saying.

“Your scalpel is not silver and it was not a violent thrust
into his body. Silver poisons the blood, slows healing and makes a wound very
painful. This would heal on its own, but it would take time and infections are
possible because of the silver poisoning.”

“What can I do to help him now?” Carly pushed aside the
incongruities, the impossibilities to focus on the here and now.

“Just clean it. If he needs stitches, go ahead and put them
in.” The man nodded at a new set of instruments on a table. Carly hadn’t even
seen them arrive. The smaller man was as stealthy as any operating room nurse.

“If you knew so well what needed to be done, why didn’t you
do it?” Her challenge evoked no surprise.

“I’m not a doctor. If the bullet hadn’t been silver, we
wouldn’t have needed your help. You’re better equipped to deal with the metal
poisoning.” He paused. “You have access to the painkillers he can take as soon
as the silver is out of his system.”

Carly took a deep breath and shook her head. She sat back.
I
’
m
going to have to do this
.With her game face on, she picked up a
needle to suture the wound. She jumped slightly when she realized that the
injured man had regained consciousness.

His intent stare unnerved her. The thought crossed her mind
again that he was gorgeous, then she shook her head. She carefully deadened the
area around his wound. He actually watched her put the stitches in his abdomen,
and when she was finished, he sat up slowly.

“Thank you.” His voice flowed like a soft breeze against her
skin. She noted with clinical detachment that the pain was fading from his face
as quickly as the gray color. She took another look at his hair. As she’d noted
before, it was long and pure black. Not flat black, but black with blue
highlights. This wasn’t color from a box.

“You’re welcome. Are you going to let me go now?” Her
frustration surged to the top again as she faced the other two men.

“Is Tony going to be okay?” The shorter man spoke quietly.
His voice was surprisingly deep and would have been more suited to his taller,
heavier friend.

“Honestly? I don’t know. He’d have a much better chance if
he were in a hospital with access to antibiotics and better supervision.” Carly
absently rubbed her hands together, then realized she was still wearing the squeaky
gloves. She removed them carefully, tossing them into the trash can by the bed.

The taller one took a deep breath. “I hate to do this, Doctor,
but perhaps it would be better for all of us if you stayed until later this
morning. I won’t force you. You have certainly done more than enough already.
There are several rooms here, and if you’re hungry, I’m sure we can find
something for you to eat.”

“So you’re compounding the kidnapping by keeping me hostage?”
Carly’s voice rose slightly as she got to her feet. She put her hands on her
hips as she glared up at the taller man.

“What on earth are you thinking? You’ve kidnapped me and now
you’re holding me against my will? For how long? Or do you plan to kill me?
After all, I’ve seen your faces. I could identify you if it came to that. What’s
the story here, guys?” Carly glared from one man to the other and the taller
man raised his hands in supplication.

“And you.” She turned back to the man who had been injured. “You
should be in the hospital. The bullet is out, but what about lasting damage
from whatever you were poisoned with?”

Her patient shrugged. He looked at the other two men. “No
one is going to hurt you, Doctor. Thank you for helping me.”

Again, his voice ran velvety against her skin. Carly
shuddered slightly. “I don’t quite know how to take the three of you. You’re
not bums. You’re all fairly well-dressed, well-spoken and seem to be well-educated.
You don’t strike me as run-of-the-mill kidnappers. What is going on? Why couldn’t
you come to the hospital?”

The three exchanged glances and the tallest man spoke again.
“Had we come to the hospital, there would have been some embarrassing
questions. We know that all gunshot wounds have to be reported to the police
and, to be very honest, we wanted to avoid the attention.”

Carly shook her head and expelled her breath forcefully. “Well,
hell. If you’re going to kill me, let’s get on with it.” Her voice shook
slightly, to her chagrin.

The two unhurt men smiled. Her patient simply watched her.
The shorter one nodded his head toward the door. “Follow me, Doctor.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Carly didn’t budge. “You
think I’m going to follow you like a lamb to the slaughter? No effing way,
fella.” Her mood flamed hot.