Page 28 of Bad Medicine
Except good ol’ Irving, he never reported them missing to the state. So every month, without fail, Irving received his checks from the government for the seven kids he and his wife were so graciously taking care of. And, it’s not like the social workers ever checked on them. As far as they were concerned, no word simply meant no work for them, so that was enough.
“That’s right,” I said smugly as Irving rubbed the back of his neck. “I know all about your shitty scam. So we’re gonna make a deal. You leave me in charge of the kids, and I keep my mouth shut. I’ll take enough money every month to keep us all fed, and you get the rest to stay gone and leave us all the hell alone.”
Irving narrowed his eyes at me, considering.
“But one time, Irving. One raised voice, one bruise, one tear shed by any of these kids, and I talk. The gravy train stops with me, you piece of shit. Take it or leave it.”
He took it.
“That’s it?” Sway asked incredulously, his sharp question dragging me out of my memories. “All she did was spill some juice? What an asshole.”
“Yeah,” I replied, watching as the two officers had a huddled discussion while they gestured to the Audi. Granted, they couldn’t know I wasn’t Enzo, the tint on the windows combined with the dark of the night making it difficult to see the driver. But if they’d called in the plates, they knew enough to know they didn’t want to be bothering me, no matter how badly I was fucking up traffic. “He was an asshole. But I handled it.” I looked at him then, seeing the dawning comprehension in his eyes.
“You ever need anything handled...” I said, meeting Sway’s eyes over the console, I let the weight of my gaze express more than my words ever could. “You call me, yeah?”
Sway swallowed, his Adam’s apple prominent in his throat, before he nodded jerkily.
“Yeah,” was all he said before opening the door and darting down Fremont Street as fast as he could.
Taking the few minutes I needed to find a place to park the car, I went with the only option Sway had left me.
I followed him.
Chapter twelve
Mia
Iwasexhausted.
There really was no other word for it.
I had been on my feet for the last twelve hours, and there appeared to be no end in sight.
An emergency room was often crazy, people coming in with all sorts of maladies.
Some nights were bad.
Some nights were worse.
And some nights were absolutely horrific.
Tonight was one of those nights.
“Dr. Carmichael?” The voice was hesitant, and I immediately knew who it was. Nurse Candice had been walking on eggshells around me ever since we had made awkward eye contact as she scurried out of that darkened room, Dr. Edwards hot on her heels.
I could have told her not to worry about it; what she and Elliot did in their spare time was of no consequence to me.
“Can you please come take a look at the patient in bed five? I know you said that he was cleared for discharge, but his O2 sats started dropping, and I didn’t want to release him until someone had checked him over again.”
“Sure thing,” I said with a smile I barely had the energy to maintain. Dropping off the chart I had been holding with Donna at the desk on my way by, I followed Candice across the ER to bed five and stood back while she pulled open the curtain.
Sitting on the bed was a boy, about sixteen, his face pale and his eyes wide with panic.
“Jacob,” Candice said kindly. “I brought Dr. Carmichael back to see you. You wanna tell her how you’re feeling?”
“Hi, Jacob.” I was grateful to Candice for dropping the reminder of his name. I was just with him an hour ago, but so much had happened in that time; I was lucky I remembered my own name, never mind everyone else’s. “Can you tell me what’s going on.”
“Just getting hard to breathe again,” he wheezed, and I frowned. Smoke inhalation was a delicate matter at the best of times; adding in fumes from burning fuel and extreme high heat, and it was a recipe for disaster for the poor kid’s lungs.
