Still, she needed to learn to keep her goddamn mouth shut. Why provoke a snake? Except that viscerally it felt good and made her smile inside. Take that, Simon.
She sat up and eyed the stack of papers before her. She was in no mood to tackle them right now but a couple of things couldn’t wait. She dug back in.
Ten minutes later, Poppy looked in. “A Bobby Cain just called. Said he had some info for you.”
She glanced at her phone. None of the lights were blinking. “He’s not on the phone?”
“Said they were on the way over. He just wanted to make sure you were here.”
CHAPTER 33
Buck removed the bandage from Dennie’s wound. Thankfully, it still looked clean. A little redness, slight swelling, but no true evidence of infection. A borderline miracle considering the situation.
“I’ll clean this again,” Buck said. Dennie gave him a groggy nod. “Might hurt a little but I’ll get it done as quickly as possible.”
“Go ahead,” Dennie said. “I can handle it.” His lips were dry, his tongue thick from the pain meds and sedatives.
Buck worked quickly, finally applying a fresh bandage. “All done.”
Dennie had dozed, so he said nothing.
“What’s the story, Doc?” Dalton asked as he walked in the room. He held a cup of coffee. “He doing okay?”
“Better. But not out of the woods by any stretch.”
“When can we move him?”
“If you mean all the way to Memphis, it’ll be a while yet.”
“Seems to me he did okay rambling around the hills. Now that you’ve fixed him up, I’d think traveling would be safer.”
“Yeah, well, that was then, this is now. He’s been opened up and has had a kidney taken out. Moving him could lead to significant bleeding and he’s lost a lot of blood already. Here, unlike in a hospital, I don’t have anything to replace it with.” Buck waved a hand. “Bottom line is that he can’t really afford to lose any more.”
“So, when?”
“It’s like I said before. A couple of days at best,” Buck said. “That’s if all goes well.”
Dalton’s expression reflected his exasperation, and anger. “Are you pulling my chain?”
“What do you mean?”
“Dragging your feet on all this. Trying to buy time.”
“Why would I need to buy time?” That rocked Dalton back a bit. Good. Buck continued, “You brought me here to help Dennie and that’s what I’m doing. As best I can under the circumstances. If you think you can do a better job, then go ahead.” Buck nodded toward Dennie. Dalton’s eyes narrowed; his jaw pumped. “Dennie’s best chance to get through this is to let me do what I’m good at and for you not to make any rash decisions that could put him in jeopardy.”
Dalton hesitated as if considering what Buck had said. He probably wasn’t used to being told what to do. Wasn’t he always the guy in charge? But right now, Buck could sense his uncertainty. Something that made Dalton uncomfortable and something Buck might be able to use to his advantage.
Finally, Dalton spoke. “I’m heading into town. You need anything else? For Dennie?”
“An ambulance to take him to the hospital.”
“You’re a funny guy.” Dalton stepped closer, now next to Dennie’s bed, his dark eyes almost physically piercing. “But don’t try anything funny while I’m gone. Jessie might seem nice and all but trust me, he’ll do what’s necessary.”
“I’m sure he will.” Buck didn’t break away from Dalton’s gaze, refusing to give him the ground between them. “Besides, what could I possibly do? He has a gun and I have no idea where I am.”
“This is a small town. Bet you know your way around pretty good.”
“I’ve been here barely a week. I haven’t even figured out where to take my laundry yet.”
Dalton hesitated, and then nodded. “I won’t be gone long. Make sure my brother’s okay.” He walked out of the room.
A minute later, Buck could hear Dalton talking to Jessie. Their voices filtered through the AC duct. Buck had used this before to eavesdrop and when he inspected the layout earlier he saw that the grate, high up near the ceiling in the bedroom, was directly across from a similar one in the kitchen. This connection made their conversation amazingly clear. He moved closer.
Dalton: “I’m going to call our guy and bring him up to speed. See what he can do to help here.”
Jessie: “Our guy in Memphis or the one local?”
Dalton: “Both. We need to know what the cops around here know, what they’re doing, and get things set up in Memphis for when Dennie can travel.”
Jessie: “Sounds good.”
Dalton: “Not sure how far I’ll have to go to find a signal.”
Jessie: “There’ll be one in town.”
Dalton: “Yeah. But I need to talk with our guy before I go rolling in there. You just never know what the cops know.”
Jessie: “How could they know anything? I mean, we didn’t run across no one.”
Dalton: “Problem is, witnesses pop up in the strangest places.”
Jessie: “I guess.”
Dalton: “But if all is okay I’ll slide into town and get supplies.”
Jessie: “We got lots of food. The cupboards are full of all kinds of stuff.”
Dalton: “Couldn’t hurt to have more. The doc said we’ll be here a couple more days.”
Jessie: “Get me some Cheetos. I love Cheetos.”
Dalton: “I’ll take care of the supplies. You stay focused on the situation. Don’t let your guard down. I think our doc is craftier than he seems.”
Jessie: “Don’t worry. I got this covered.”
Dalton: “Keep it all calm. But if he tries anything, don’t hesitate to kill him.”
Jessie: “What about Dennie? If I have to shoot the doc, what happens to him?”
Dalton: “We’ll cross that bridge when and if we have to.”
Jessie: “Okay.”
Dalton: “I mean it. Don’t take this guy lightly. Don’t blink if push comes to shove. Take him down.”
CHAPTER 34
Dalton climbed in the SUV and cranked it. He sat, staring through the rain-slicked windshield. His mind sorted through everything that had happened over the past 24 hours, trying to make some sense of it. It
