by L. A. Boruff
“I mean…” I licked my lips, trying to get my voice back to a semblance of normal. When I spoke again, I still sounded husky, languid with pleasure. “I wouldn’t say no to a repeat.
Grem got up. He found a sanitary wipe and cleaned himself up before tossing it into a nearby trash can. His intensity had abated somewhat, but his eyes were still hard when they locked with mine. “You’ll be in the middle next time.”
Heat twisted through me. I raised my eyebrows, staring up at him. “You think so?” Although that did sound like a lot of fun… “That sounds awfully intense.”
“Guess I’ll have to show you.” His fierce grin seemed almost like a promise.
Chapter Three
I slept in the middle of our blanket nest on the floor. Grem said it was because I was smallest, but I didn’t care. It was nice being snuggled down between them, listening to the steady drum of rain on the roof. Sleep came surprisingly easily, despite the fact that it wasn’t the most comfortable surface I’d ever slept on.
It was still dark when I jolted awake. My heart leaped in my chest as I peered around the dim room. There’d been some kind of loud crash. I couldn’t see anything out of place, but since the only light came from the bulb beside the door outside shining through the window, everything was shrouded in shadows.
Ray sat up, using the portable light he’d grabbed from the ambulance to scan the room. My eyes followed the light’s path, but I couldn’t see anything that could have made that sound. Grem had also awoken from the noise, instantly alert.
I registered yelling and screaming cutting through the storm, though I couldn’t make out anything distinct. I got to my feet, hesitating before pulling my clothes on. I’d regret it if I needed to turn into a bobcat – but I’d want hands if I needed to be a nurse.
As soon as Grem wrestled the door open, I slipped past him into the rain. My hair was immediately soaked, as were my clothes, but I was only barely aware of it. Lit by the spill of light from outside the building and silhouetted by the sputtering glow from inside, I saw what had made the crash.
One of the trees that had swayed so energetically in the wind had fallen on top of one of the other buildings. That was where the screaming came from. “I think there’s people trapped inside!” I called, so not only Grem would hear me, but so would Ray still inside the office. I dashed through the puddles dotting the soaked ground to the building.
Chuck was already there. He stood by the hole in the side of the building, talking to someone who looked like they had a nasty gash on their face, his portable light trained inside. Their words were clipped and short as they talked about getting people out.
The hole was dark and intense, branches and debris sticking out of it. “Is anyone trapped under there?” I called, not really addressing anyone in particular.
“Yes!” I heard in return, the voice strained with panic or pain. Or maybe both.
My stomach lurched. “Shit.” I looked over my shoulder to where Grem stood just behind me. “You think we can move it?”
“Ray and I probably can. You should be in there to move anyone who needs to be moved.” He motioned to the door. “It’s too big to get out of here, but we can give you a few seconds.”
He was probably right. Where was Ray? My eyes darted back toward the office, but he hadn’t come out yet. I turned my attention to Grem. “Let me know when you’re ready to move it.”
“Yeah.” His eyes scanned over the tree, probably trying to figure out the best way to get it done.
I took a moment to grab the first aid bag from the back of the ambulance, then joined Chuck. “Can I have that?” I asked, motioning to the light in his hand. The light inside didn’t look steady, and I didn’t want to get in there and realize I needed more.
He frowned. “You can’t go in there. It’s not safe. Doug went to get the truck, and we’ll chain up that tree and move it out of here.”
I shook my head. “I’ll be fine. They’re going to move the tree, and I’ll need to see to whoever’s caught in there.”
He set his free hand on his hip. “I can’t let you go in there.”
“Are you going to stop me?” I challenged. The man he was with looked like he needed stitches, but I needed to triage all possible patients first. It looked like I was in for a busy night.
Chuck hesitated, but he handed me the light. I quickly got the door open and went inside. The overhead lights were on, flickering every now and again, but they weren’t much good around the tree.
It looked like a bunkhouse – a wide room with blankets and thin partitions up for privacy between the beds. I could smell blood as I moved through to where the roof had collapsed under the tree. I shone the portable light at it, peering at it to try to see what was going on. Someone was stuck under it, and someone was stuck under what looked like half a bed that was stuck under the tree.
“Hey,” I said to them in a soothing tone. “My name’s Courtney. My friends are going to pick up that tree, and I’ll get both of you out of there. Just sit tight.”
I tried to assess them both as best as I could from as far away as I was. I didn’t dare get too close – the branches looked sharp and heavy, and I wouldn’t do anyone any favors if I got hurt while I was trying to help.
The young woman under the tree was pale, breathing shallowly. She’d probably broken a couple ribs. The man under the bed frame was almost gray, his face drawn with pain. It looked like his arm was crushed. They needed more medical attention than what I could provide from the ambulance – maybe we’d be bringing them back with us.
“Kitty-cat,” Ray called from outside. “We’re gonna move this thing. You ready?”
“Yeah.” I stole as close as I could and set the bag down, opening it so it was ready. The man under the bed was closer, so I’d pull him out first, then the woman. One of them was still bleeding, judging by the sharp, coppery scent curling into my nostrils, but I couldn’t tell who.
The building creaked and branches swished as the tree lifted up and away. I slipped my hand under the bed and tugged. It was a solid wooden frame, but I made enough space to pull the man out. His arm did not look good.
“Can you move?” I squatted down to rest the heavy thing on my thigh so I could have my hands free.
He tried to put his hands under him and cried out, snatching one back to his chest. The other still worked, and he managed to pull himself out to a clear, dry part of the floor.
“Stay there,” I told him. He didn’t appear to be bleeding, which meant it had to be the woman. I snagged a bandage from the kit before I approached her. She had a deep cut across her stomach. I’d have to get closer to hear how she was breathing, but from the looks of it she was able to breathe okay, she was just in pain. I really hoped that was the case.
I pressed the bandage to her stomach, the gauze soaking through as rain pelted us through the hole in the ceiling. “Can you hold that on there?” Her grip wasn’t very tight, but it was better than nothing. The portable light went in my mouth so I could hook my hands under her armpits and pull her to safety. I eased her down on the floor beside the man. “Clear!” I called.
The tree settled again with a chilling sense of finality. Ray hurried in to join me, gray eyes moving over both of them. “What can I do?” he asked.
“Grab a fresh bandage and hold it right here.” I motioned to the woman’s stomach with my head. “Where were you?”
“Sent a message to the clinic down in Southwest, to see if they could get a boat up here. They said not until the waves die down, so it looks like…” He trailed off as he rummaged through the bag.
“We might have passengers,” I finished quietly. It would be faster to take them up the Mountain, but the hospitals there had been completely gutted. I wasn’t sure they’d be able to treat them there. That was probably a discussion to have later, though. For right now…
“Maybe. It’ll depend on how the water is in the morning.”
I gave them both a shot of mentin to eas
e the pain. The narcotic worked quickly, leaving them both much less tense. It was easier to get them patched up first, then move them to the clinic, so I worked as quickly as I could. Ray held the light for me, standing nearby and moving it where I needed it.
There wasn’t much I could do for the man’s arm. I immobilized it and mentally set a regimen for mentin, but that was about it. The woman needed stitches and again, mentin and rest. Grem helped me get them gently moved to the clinic, on mattresses pulled from the bunkhouse. We couldn’t sleep there anymore, but that was something to consider when we were done.
Chuck and the man he’d been talking to hovered by the door, watching my every move. I looked critically at the wound on the other guy’s face. It still seeped blood, but I was more worried about something else. “Isn’t there supposed to be someone else here?”
Chuck glanced around like he’d be able to see the missing man, and concerned green eyes came back to me. “Doug. He’s not back yet.”
Ray came to stand at my side, close enough that my shoulder brushed his chest. The storm raged on outside, howling through trees and pelting rain against the side of the building. “We should go look.” His hand settled between my shoulder blades.
I knew what he meant. He wasn’t just talking about going outside and yelling and looking around with the portable lights. I nudged his side with my elbow. “Bet I hear something before you pick up a scent.”
He answered me with a smile. “You’re on.” He opened the door, stepping back to hold it with his body.
It was second nature to strip down to nothing and let my body take over. It hurt, changing into my furrier form always hurt. Muscles and bones stretched and shrank, tendons popped and snapped. The only reason I did it, I kept doing it, was that the agony was over almost before it began. In the blink of an eye my perspective shifted. I was closer to the ground, four paws on the floor, the pain already a distant memory.
Ray was bigger as a wolf than I was as a bobcat. His tail fanned the air, and he ducked his head to lick my ear.
Chuck and his bleeding companion had watched, both slightly bemused as we’d gotten naked, but they backed away from us now that we had fur and sharper teeth. Living in East with other shifters and orcs who didn’t care, it was easy to forget that some people didn’t like shifters.
That wasn’t even close to my biggest concern at the moment. I stepped out into the rain. I’ve never liked the feel of rain matting down my fur. I shook on reflex, but it didn’t really help. Ray nudged me with his nose, and I playfully snapped at him. He knew how I felt about the weather.
He paced a few steps away and lifted his head, no doubt trying to pick up a scent. I went the other way, around the side of the building where the sturdy wall blocked out some of the wind. Ray’s most heightened sense was his sense of smell, but mine was definitely my hearing. The ears sitting on top of my head swiveled as I filtered through the noise of the rain, the wind rustling branches against each other.
I heard something, something that stuck out as not quite right among all the sounds of the storm. I started toward it, loping across the muddy ground.
It got clearer the closer I got. The blare of a vehicle’s horn cut through the night – maybe the truck that had been mentioned. I ran as quickly as I could across the slick earth, ducking under branches and through shrubs.
The truck’s rear lights were like a beacon, but I couldn’t see the vehicle itself until I got much closer. It had slid down an embankment, stopped only by the tree the front end was wrapped around. Rain drummed across the top of the vehicle and in the bed at the back. The lights were on, reflecting off the tree to show someone inside – presumably Doug. Doug was very still.
I didn’t know how the hell I was going to get down to him and get him back up, but I needed to. The truck was at an angle. It was heavy, but it probably wouldn’t be too long before the weight of the sodden earth and the wind would start it sliding further down. I couldn’t see the bottom of the embankment in the dark, but I had a hard time believing Doug would survive it.
If he hadn’t already died.
I cried out for Ray, my call almost a piercing scream. I needed to get moving. The gate on the back of the truck looked like I could grab it maybe from the top of the hill, but there was a chance the slope wouldn’t hold me and we’d both just slide down.
Adrenaline churned through me. I’d probably be fine. Maybe.
Changing back into my human form was never as easy, like my body wanted to stay a bobcat. Too bad bobcats didn’t have opposable thumbs. I planted my heels deep in the muddy ground and reached forward. My stomach lurched, heart in my throat as I grabbed for the back of the truck. Not quite close enough. I inched down the hill, setting my feet in as far as I could until my fingers closed over the cold, wet tailgate.
I heard a noise behind me, a body moving through the bush. Ray’s snuffle was a welcome sound. “Can you grab my waist?”
“Hold on, kitty-cat,” came the steady answer. Warm hands grasped the sides of my waist, making me feel a little more solid on my feet.
We pulled it back up the hill. I slipped once and almost went down, but Ray kept me up. He steadied me as I yanked on the vehicle until at last we got the vehicle to the top of the embankment.
I turned to see Grem standing there, waiting for us. Without a word he wrenched off the truck’s front door. After I reached in to check and make sure Doug was still alive, Grem got him safely extricated from the wreck and we headed back to the camp.
Chapter Four
Chuck wouldn’t meet my eyes when we got back to camp, even after I dried off and put my clothes back on. We got Doug settled on another mattress on the floor. He was probably concussed at the very least, but there was nothing more we could do for him there. That was a little frustrating. And the storm hadn’t let up at all – there was no way to get him out.
I stood from checking him over and faced Chuck. “What would you do if we hadn’t been here?” Not accusatory, just curious. None of the patients seemed critical at present, but they all definitely needed more intensive care.
“Waited out the storm and driven them up the Mountain.” His lips pressed into a thin line. “You won’t let us have mentin, so it wouldn’t have been pleasant.”
I exchanged a look with Ray, who just shrugged. I’d used what had been in my first aid kit so I wouldn’t use up their supplies, but there hadn’t been any in what we’d delivered to them. I’d figured they just hadn’t needed any, but… “Do you have medic training?”
“No.” Chuck set his hands on his hips, and his eyes finally came to mine, almost a challenge.
“Get some. Or have one of your people get some, and I’ll see if we can get you some mentin. It can be fatal in the wrong dose, so you need to know what you’re doing.” I gestured to the supplies we’d brought. “You do what? Set bones? Stitch wounds?” There were bandages, suture kits, non-narcotic painkillers, a few other basic things. “You’re pretty far away from a hospital to not have a medic.”
“We get people in and out too much.” He nodded to the mattresses on the floor, the prone patients. “They’re all going to have to be replaced.”
“So that’s why you do it. Unless you move in and out too?” I raised my eyebrows. He didn’t seem to have an answer for that. “Right.”
“They’ll send a boat up for your patients as soon as the storm clears,” Grem said. He must have gotten in touch with Von, or maybe Ray had sent another message to Southwest.
That was good to hear. We certainly didn’t have room in the ambulance for three patients. “I’m going to get some sleep.” Not that I was sure I could sleep, but rest probably wouldn’t be a bad idea. And I wasn’t going to do it in the office-clinic. It was getting awfully crowded in there. There were a bed and padded seats in the back of the ambulance. It would do – even if I ended up sharing with Ray.
With one final look around the room, I grabbed the blankets and pillows we’d brought in and headed out into th
e rain. My shoes splashed through puddles as I hurried to the ambulance and opened up the rear door to climb inside. I had to yank it closed once I was inside. The bed was big enough to hold an orc, so two moderately-sized shifters wouldn’t be too much of a problem. Too bad there was no room for Grem. I smiled at that thought.
I wasn’t ready for sleep yet. I settled on one of the benches lining the wall and let out a long breath. The night had been a lot more exciting than I’d really expected, and I needed some time to decompress.
The door opened, but instead of Ray’s dark hair, Grem’s broad form came into view. He pulled himself inside and shut the door behind him, and immediately the small space seemed even smaller. He settled on the bench next to me, his hand settling on my back. “Bit cramped.”
“Yeah. But it’s either that or in sleep in there.” I gestured to the door. There was just enough light coming from the various machines in the back to be able to make it out. “Ray and I talked about it. It’ll be squishy, but we’ll be both able to fit back here.”
“Hm.” His fingers hooked around my waist and he tugged me up into his lap. “Not much room for an orc.”
“That’s true. But you’re new. We’ve fucked before.” I settled back against the wall of his chest. His shirt was damp, but so was mine. Everything was damp.
“So should I leave and let you sleep?” His fingers stroked back and forth over my hip, almost tickling me.
“I’m too amped up to sleep.” Wrestling with the truck had given me plenty of adrenaline, and it hadn’t all drained away just yet.
“Yeah? Bet I can do something about that.” His hand inched upward until his fingers trailed along the side of my breast.
I reached up to rest my arm behind his neck, arching my back. “I bet you’re right.”
He cupped my breast, his thumb stroking back and forth over my nipple. It had peaked from the cold rain, so it was no trouble for him to find even through my clothes. The sensation was muted by the fabric, but hints of pleasure still darted through me.
