Page 53 of Flash and Bang
“He’s a very good partner,” Jarrett said. He glanced over at Thayne.
Thayne was tempted to take out his badge and show it to her but he just smiled.
“Well,” she said sweetly before turning back to Jarrett, “I’m here to take your vitals and give you some pain meds if you need it. They tell me you rolled down a mountain. You must be sore.”
“I tell him he’s a pain in the ass all the time. Iguess he tried to go legit,” Thayne said with a grin.
“Hey,” Jarrett said, sounding offended.
Vera took his vitals and then asked Jarrett his pain level. Thayne was a little surprised when he answered with a five. He was pretty sure those ribs and the rest of him hurt a lot more than a five out of ten. His own ribs hurt like a bitch and the doctor down in the emergency room had given him a shot of Tramadol which took the edge off but he could still feel it. “Do you think you could use some pain medicine?” She reached into her scrub top and pulled out a syringe.
“Naw, I’m okay, really,” Jarrett said. “Ya got any Tylenol?”
Nurse Vera frowned a little as she put the syringe back in her pocket and walked over to the computer chart. She typed something into the machine, staring at the screen for a moment. “Yes, I can give you some acetaminophen. Let me go get it. I was sure you’d be in a lot more pain so I brought the strong stuff.”
“That’s okay. Just a couple Tylenol is fine.”
She nodded her head and walked out.
“You sensitive to drugs?” Thayne asked.
“Me? Nope. Jes don’t like to be out like themthings do to me. I need to be able to open my eyes and don’t like to feel loopy. That’s all.”
“Because if you actually let yourself be taken care of for once, you might turn into a pumpkin. I get it,” Thayne huffed.
“No, it ain’t that, smart-ass. If someone is tryin’ to kill us, I don’t think it would be prudent to relax and let my guard down until I know for sure we’re safe, Thayne. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
Thayne snorted. “How very Sam Elliot of you.”
Jarrett flashed him a gorgeous smile. “Roadhouse, right? Love that damn movie.”
“It’s one of my top five of all time,” Thayne answered. “Patrick Swayze and Sam Elliot? Fuck. That movie gave me jack-off fantasies for years.”
Jarrett laughed and then grabbed his ribs again. “Stop it. I cain’t laugh. Hurts too much.”
Thayne loved Jarrett’s drawl and it always deepened when he was under stress. It was sexy as hell. “Sorry. Okay, you lie back and get some rest. I’ll stay awake and stand guard. If anyone hairier than Vera comes close, I’ll take them down with extreme prejudice.”
Jarrett smirked. “My hero.”
Vera came back in the room and waited until he’d taken the medication. After marking it in the computer chart, she left. Jarrett closed his eyes and Thayne sat back in the chair. He pulled out his phone and thumbed through it, thinking hard on the shit that had transpired during the day. For the life of him, he couldn’t get the thought out of his head that the SUV had government plates on it. It just didn’t make sense. But the fact that Jarrett’s father was a highly placed CIA official made things even more complicated. He wondered if Jarrett’s father could be behind all the accidents. Thayne’s gut told him no but who knew. If the guy truly was a homophobe, it might make sense that they were both targets. He sure as hell didn’t like a target on his back again. Having his lover in danger was even scarier. He glanced over at Jarrett’s sleeping form. The man was a true enigma if there ever was one and didn’t that just make him even more sexy.
****
A doctor came in bright and early the next morning. Thayne sat up as the doctor walked over to Jarrett’s bed. “Good morning. I’m Doctor Nelson, the internal medicine attending physician.” He reached out a hand and Jarrett shook it.
“Mornin’, Doc. When can I leave?”
The doctor smiled and then looked over to Thayne, ignoring Jarrett’s question. “Good morning.”
“Hi. I’m Thayne, Jarrett’s partner.” He stood up and shook the doctor’s hand.
“Well,” he said, turning back to Jarrett, “I’d love to sign you out right now but I can’t. I took a look at your MRI this morning and you have some fluid in your abdomen. As best I can tell, it’s blood seeping from somewhere below the diaphragm and I don’t like that. If it were in the lungs I’d think your broken ribs caused it but this is in your abdomen.”
“What?” Jarrett asked. He was trying not to sound alarmed but Thayne could hear the strain in his voice. As for himself, that sounded really bad.
“I want to examine you. Please lift your gown.” He looked over at Thayne. “Can you step out of the room?”
“No. Let him stay,” Jarrett said immediately.