Page 62 of Her Tempting Protector

“Thank God,” she breathed when she saw that the kit was still in place. She untethered it, pulled it out of the truck bed and sprinted back to the door she’d left open.

“Don’t you ever fucking do that again,” Cullen yelled over Adam’s crying.

There wasn’t time for a pissing match, so she ignored him. Carys swung the med kit up onto the little available space in the already crowded backseat. She knew what she needed, it was a matter of getting to it in time.

The other back seat door slammed open. Carys looked up and saw a steely eyed Cullen standing there. “Put me to work, Doc. Adam’s fine where he is.”

“Apply pressure to the wound. I think her abdominal aorta is leaking, tissues probably weakened by infection.” She tossed over some gauze as she dug down to the bottom of the kit. Dr. Nazer had helped to pack the kit, but she had put in the QuikClot packets. Her darn bloody hands were so slippery she was having trouble feeling for things.

She gasped with relief as she pulled out the two packages. She tore the first one open with her teeth and looked up.

“Ready?” she asked Cullen. He nodded.

He lifted his hands and removed the gauze from the bloody wound, and she stuffed it with the combat gauze, getting right in there next to the aorta, just in case. She continued to apply it until she could see that the hemostatic agents in the QuikClot were doing their job and stopping the bleeding. It wasn’t a cure-all, but, God willing, it would last long enough to get her to the hospital in Khartoum.

She looked up and saw that Cullen’s white robes were now covered in blood, so was her light brown robes, but at least it blended in a little better.

“Take off your thobe. If we’re pulled over, we’re going to be in worse trouble than if you’re in your uniform. Can you get the tight pants and soccer jersey?”

He nodded and closed his door.

Carys efficiently bundled up Shada. Once again, the mother was out cold. She took her blood pressure which was terribly low. She switched out the bag of saline, which was all she could do at this point, and once again buckled her into the car.

She shimmied out of the backseat, dragging her medical kit with her. She started to turn to see what was happening with the others along the side of the road. She couldn’t resist, if she could help, she was going to help.

“Ah. Ah. Ah.” A mammoth chest covered in red blocked her view. “Get into the car, Carys.”

“But—” she started to protest.

Cullen tipped her chin up until she stared into his steely blue eyes. “Get in the car. It’s not safe out here. Adam and Shada need you.”

She closed her eyes. Cullen was right. She needed to prioritize. But maybe if she—?

He snagged the kit out of her hands, pulled open the passenger seat door. “Pick up Adam, he’s scared as hell. You can’t leave him like that, can you?”

She saw the baby where he was squalling, his arms waving in his makeshift bed on the floor of the truck. All thoughts of other people along side of the road left her for the moment.

“Get your butt inside,” he commanded as she picked up the baby.

He shut the door behind her after she sat down. She rocked Adam, trying to get him to settle, waiting for Cullen to get into the driver’s seat. It took minutes for her to realize that he wasn’t coming back. Where was he?

She turned around in her seat and saw him crouched over the man who was passed out beside the road. Now she was ready to open her truck door, his eyes shot up to look at her. Even from forty yards away, she could see his command. She was to stay where she was. She peeked over the seat to look at Shada and held on tighter to the screaming baby who needed to be fed.

“Lyons!” a voice roared.

That was when she noticed the blue Toyota truck and Raiden Sato.