s [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

sure what he's in here for, but I don't think it's too serious. When they
can't find his blood, they'll just draw more."
"Thank you," he said.
She grinned impishly. "Don't mention it! That's what family is for!" She
suddenly hopped up to lean over the rail and kissed his cheek. "See ya!"
And she was gone, dashing away.
Cautiously, Ukiah checked the vials. The purple-topped vial held a small
salamander, twisting in the tight confines. The tiger-striped-topped vial had
a praying mantis. He freed both of his blood creatures and held them loosely
in either hand. He felt their tiny pricks of anxiety at being separated from
him. With a sense of relief, they reverted back to blood and seeped into his
skin. For a few minutes, his hands felt slightly bloated and hot, and then the
extra mass redistributed itself, surging through his bloodstream to where it
could be put to best use. Ukiah tucked the vials away before the next round of
poking and prodding by the hospital staff could start.
***
Ukiah asked for something to eat but was refused on the ground of possible
internal injuries. Finally they let Max in to see him.
"Please," Ukiah begged, "tell me you've brought me something to eat."
"Would I let you down?" Max produced lukewarm French fries from his jacket
pocket.
"Oh, bless you." Ukiah winced in pain as he levered himself upright. As Ukiah
wolfed down the fries, Max pulled two double bacon cheeseburgers, a handful of
candy bars, and a bag of trail mix from his
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various pockets. "Thank you. Thank you."
"You're welcome." Max, in a flourish, added a bottle of root beer to the stock
of food.
"Here." Ukiah pressed the empty blood vials on him. "Get rid of these
someplace safe."
Max frowned at the labels. "You let them take blood? How did you get it back?"
"I couldn't stop them. Jared's little sister stole them for me. She's a candy
striper. She believes I'm family."
Max laughed and tucked away the vials. "I'll take care of them."
"Where's Kraynak?" Ukiah asked.
"He went back to the campsite to pack up Alicia's belongings. He's driving her
straight home when we find her."
As an unspoken rule between them, it was always "when" and never "if," even in
the bleakest cases. Ukiah took a deep breath as he realized that his shooting
changed Alicia's disappearance into something more insidious than simply being
lost and possibly hurt. Max's hesitation indicated that Max knew that Alicia's
rescue had crossed the line from likely to doubtful.
Max looked away, refusing to put the change into words. "The doctors want you
to spend a night for observation."
"I'm fine," Ukiah said quickly, and got a scowl from Max. "Well, I'm getting
there."
"Yeah, I know. After you eat this, though, you're going to fall asleep until
tomorrow. I rather you'd stay here than try to get you moved back to the motel
before you zonk out."
Ukiah admitted that he had a point.
"It's weird," Max said, "but it's a hell of lot easier seeing you in here,
knowing now that you're virtually indestructible. It used to be that every
time you got hurt, I'd go through this massive guilt session and think about
calling it quits."
"Quits? Dump me as a partner?"
"Don't give me those puppy-dog eyes. The worst part was having to call your
moms and tell them what happened," Max said, and shuddered.
Ukiah discovered how much it hurt to laugh. "You're going to call them now?"
Max considered. "I don't think so. You're not their little boy anymore.
Besides, we know you're going to be all right don't we?"
Ukiah nodded. "I'm fine. I'll be back on my feet tomorrow and back to normal
in a day or two. My moms are having their first vacation in six years. Might
as well not alarm them."
"On the other hand, I have already called Indigo."
Ukiah burst out laughing, rolling into a ball against the pain. "Oh, please,
don't, that hurts!"
"She was not happy. If this was anyplace on the East Coast, she'd be on her
way."
"I wish she was here." Ukiah polished off the second double bacon
cheeseburger.
"So she can watch you eat and sleep?"
"I'd feel safer," Ukiah admitted, yawning. "Do you think there's a chance that
the shooter will come after me here?"
Worry flashed across Max's face and was controlled. "I don't think so. You
can't ID him. Even in a town this small, it will take him a few hours to learn
you don't have bullet holes in you, but still most people
wouldn't be fit to walk for another week or so. I think you were shot just to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]