Page 33 of Aftermath

"Bite down on this." Austin placed a few strips of fabric that he'd twisted together between Cam's teeth. They were both on the floor, Cam's head in Austin's lap, and it was time to take out that damn bullet. Well, Cam insisted it was. Austin was torn.

Austin couldn’t describe his own pain; it was too great, too consuming. He was dizzy with it, and he was fighting against infection. Nevertheless, it had been almost a day now, and Cam was getting worse.

A fever meant that your body was struggling—working to beat a virus…or some foreign object that simply didn’t belong in a man's shoulder. It meant your immune system was functioning. But there was no way of knowing whether you'd be able to win or lose. In Cam's case, Austin was worried. Not because he had a fever, but because he complained over the cold—when in reality, it was still humid and hot down here. Cam's teeth were chattering, which meant there was a long way to go.

Austin remembered one time Riley had been down with the flu. After a couple days, she'd begun to sweat profusely, and she hadhatedit—said it was icky and gross. But Austin's mother had explained to her it was a good thing: Riley's little body had beat the infection, and she'd be back to normal in no time.

Unless Cam's fever went down soon, there was a big risk his body would cave from fatigue and shut down. Though, this was only if there was, in fact, an infection. For all Austin knew, Cam's fever could be caused by the bullet wound itself.

"You sure about this?" Austin asked for the hundredth time as he pulled out a pair of pad-tipped tweezers. "If there's nerve damage or an artery's been hit, there's nothing I can do once the bullet is out." He'd watched enough TV to know that much. "Cam—" he cupped his cheek, forcing him to look Austin in the eye "—do you understand what I'm saying? You can bleed to death."

"My fucking choice," Cam gritted out, the sound muffled by the strip of rope between his teeth. "Get that damn bullet outta me."

Sighing heavily, Austin removed the temporary dressing Cam had applied yesterday. It didn’t bleed too much, and he was glad to see there was neither discoloration nor too much swelling.

"On the count of three," he mumbled, but as he said "one" and listened as Cam released a breath, he gently slid the tweezers inside the wound.

Cam cried out through clenched teeth that clamped down harshly on the fabric in his mouth. Every muscle in his body tensed up. But Austin kept going. Holding Cam still, he continued until the rounded tips of the tool came in contact with something metallic. It was a silent littlesnickthat Austin merely felt through the tweezers.

"Almost, buddy." Austin's brow furrowed in concentration, and he managed to pinch the bullet on his second try. A few beads of sweat trickled down his temples; meanwhile, Cam was shaking and his face was pale.

It was a miracle Cam hadn't gone into shock yesterday, but now Austin feared it was happening right this moment. Smoothly removing the bullet, Austin dropped it on the floor and immediately started to clean up. He spared no alcohol, and he used plenty of antiseptic cream before he sealed the wound with sterile pads and medical tape.

"It's done, Cam," he whispered and removed the makeshift rope from Cam's mouth. "It's all done." The only response he got was a weak nod as Cam's eyes fluttered closed. "No, stay with me." Austin carefully pulled him over to the blanket he'd rolled together earlier to form a long pillow. Because he'd feared this. Austin had feared Cam would either go into shock or bleed out. And if any of that was going to happen, Austin needed to stay close. "Can you open your eyes?" He made sure Cam didn’t put any pressure on his shoulder.

They both lay down on the hard floor, but it was at least warmer than the cots, and Cam needed heat. It was survival instinct that kicked in again, so Austin unceremoniously drew the second blanket over them and scooted close enough for their bodies to touch.

"Look at me." Austin palmed Cam's cheek and gently brushed away some moisture under his eyes. And at last, Cam forced his eyes to open, causing Austin to breathe out in relief. "You're going to be okay. You're not bleeding a lot at all, okay? That’s good news."

"F-fuc-ckin' c-cold," Cam exhaled, his teeth still chattering.

Austin nodded and moved even closer. "We'll get that temperature up in no time, I promise." Truth be told, he knew little to nothing about this. He'd gone hiking a lot with his dad when he was younger, so he knew a thing or two about patching up a wound, but nothing serious. Treating a shock victim…that was for doctors, for Christ's sake.

Wanting Cam to get warmer as quickly as possible, Austin tucked Cam's head under his chin and held him close to his body. In turn, Cam burrowed into Austin's heat and tried to get his muscles to relax. Maybe it was shock; maybe it wasn’t. It could be the fever, but it didn’t really matter when both things required warmth.

Both men were in an indescribable amount of pain, but exhaustion won in the end, and they fell asleep.

"You were so goddamn stubborn about that bullet," Austin croaked.

He blinked back tears, thinking about what-ifs, which was never a good thing. It was the main reason he couldn’t be honest with his parents. Maggie had already lost one son, and every time she saw Austin now, she drove herself to tears with what could've happened. Therefore, he acted as if life was good—or at least better. Good enough.

"I didn’t bleed out," Cam reminded him. "It worked."

"But what if—"

"Stop." Cam grabbed Austin's jaw and planted a firm kiss on his lips. "Don’t think like that." His voice softened, and there was a small smirk in place. "You'll give yourself more grays."

"Piss off." Austin's head dropped to the pillow again, and he ran a hand over his hair—with very few grays in it. "You could let me sleep instead. I'm so fucking tired."

Cam tsked. "Such language for Mr. MBA." His smile touched Austin's forehead. "I distinctly remember a time where you wouldn’t letmesleep."

Oh, Austin remembered, too. He'd never forget. But at least this memory was on the lighter side.

"Drink some more, but do it slowly." Austin held up the tin cup of water to Cam's mouth.

Perhaps a few would think it was an act of kindness when their captor—no, screw that; he was a damn torturer—delivered food to them without demanding they put on their cuffs first. But Austin and Cam didn’t think he had a kind bone in him. He wanted his victims to suffer, which they definitely were, and Austin supposed the asshole also knew what the men could handle. Right now, for instance, it would be nearly impossible to get around if they couldn’t use their hands. So, this was the second day Austin and Cam had received food and water, yet they were allowed to keep what was left of the medical kit, and they didn’t have to restrain themselves.

Cam was recovering at a snail's pace, but at least he could sit up—with help. He was weak, and the fever was still there, though he was more alert.

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