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Behind me, Claire coughed, and it sounded so painful that I winced.

“Fine,” I shot back. “We’ll help you with whatever you want. Kimmy, too. Just help her. Please.”

I hated that we were reduced to begging this asshole for anything, but I’d do it on bended knee if it meant Claire would survive this. Worse, he seemed to know that, because he gave a nod of acknowledgement, then moved aside to let us in.

Chapter 33

John

The cabin that Leo used as an infirmary was small, with a metal exam table in the middle that’d been polished till it shone. Nearby was a smaller metal table with a gleaming set of surgical tools. Along the wall were shelves with various bottles and jars of medicine, and there was a bare single bed by the back wall. Despite how derelict the rest of the village seemed, the infirmary was scrubbed clean, and it gave me hope that he actually knew what he was doing.

“Get her on the table,” Leo commanded, taking control, and with Cade’s help, I carried the stretcher over to the exam table. When I slid my arms under Claire to lift her, she groaned softly, her cheeks still beet red with fever. When I moved her onto the table, her entire body was so clammy that she was initially cold to the touch, even as her skin burned under the sweat. She shivered violently, and I wiped her brow with my hand, smoothing her hair out of her face. My chest was suddenly so tight that it hurt.

“Everyone out except Kimmy and John,” Leo ordered next, nodding at Cade and Asha. “There’s no room for anyone else.”

Asha stood by the door, biting her lip. If I hadn’t known better, I’d have said the traitorous harpy looked worried.

“Come on, darling,” Cade murmured to Asha, taking her hand. “Let’s get you something to eat. We’ll check in later.”

He led her outside, where Dom was standing guard over us. As if we’re going anywhere with Claire in this state.

I helped Kimmy unwrap the blankets we’d bundled Claire in, and then strip her upper half. Leo loaded another syringe full of liquid.

“I’m going to give her a shot of morphine for the pain,” he said. “It won’t get rid of it, but it’ll help.”

After injecting Claire, he gathered a long, thin, clear piece of tubing out of his medical kit. He was muttering to himself as he uncoiled it, then handed it to Kimmy.

“You’ll insert the tubing,” he told her, then looked to me. “The morphine may induce partial sedation, but she’ll still be awake, and she’ll still feel some pain. John, your job will be holding her as still as you can, alright?”

Fuck, no, I thought, but as much as I didn’t want to do it, I also wouldn’t subject Claire to being held down by a stranger.

I swallowed hard, bracing myself. “Yeah.”

“Good. Kimmy, I’m going to make the incision now. Be ready to use the surgical clamp to hold it open for the tube. I’m going to try to control the bleeding in the meantime.”

We got in position, with me at the head of the table, holding onto Claire’s arms, and Leo and Kimmy on her right side. Leo carefully felt over Claire’s side for the right spot, and then, with a flash of his scalpel, he made a long, clean incision.

Claire’s reaction was instant: her eyes flew open and she squirmed. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused; she was half-delirious with fever. My chest felt like lead as I held her in place. Blood immediately flowed out from the open wound, and Leo soaked it up with a clean cloth.

Kimmy was ready with the surgical clamp, positioning it at the incision and pushing it gently inside. Claire gave a harsh cry, and I had to hold her tightly against the table as she fought me. I closed my eyes against the horrifying, desperate whimpers that she made. I was going to break apart.

“Push, Kimmy,” Leo ordered grimly. “Harder than you think. We need—”

He was interrupted by another one of Claire’s cries as Kimmy pushed harder on the tube. Every sound she made was like another crack through the centre of my heart.

“I know, baby,” I murmured shakily as Claire burst into dry, painful sobs. She’d mostly stopped struggling; her strength was failing. “It’s gonna be okay. I promise.”

I dropped a quick kiss against her forehead, but she didn’t seem to register it. Her pupils were blown wide, and her eyelids fluttered.

“You’ll hear a small pop when you breach the chest cavity,” Leo was saying to Kimmy.

Kimmy pressed again, and sure enough, there was a popping sound that turned my stomach. She and Leo positioned and inserted the tubing through the incision, causing Claire to cry out again. Blood and fluid seeped into the tubing, and Leo directed the end of it into the bucket he’d placed on the floor.

I’d seen some gnarly-ass things in my life and had never lost it before…but right now, I was in serious danger of barfing. The drip, drip, drip of Claire’s blood into the bucket almost did me in. I took a long, steadying breath.

“Well done,” Leo said to Kimmy. “Now, we suture it in place.”

He took over, making neat, clean stitches around Claire’s wound, then packing it with bandages. She’d calmed somewhat, though she still shivered and made little whimpers that physically hurt me.