Divide & Conquer (Cut & Run #4)(29)
Author: Abigail Roux

“That was kind of stupid of him, but I still dont get it.” “Hes a f**king monster—hes got to be like six and half feet tall and eats nothing but steroids and babies.”

“Dude.”

“Hes like Moby Dick and Im Captain Ahab,” Pierce continued with relish. “Third-year AP English,” Hannah grumbled.

Graham frowned. “Did you finish that book?”

“No, why?” Pierce answered distractedly.

“No reason.”

Pierce nodded, looking smug. “Im gonna kill him,” Pierce said as his eyes lost focus.

“Wait, what?” Hannah exclaimed, sounding just as alarmed as Graham was.

“Come on. Weve got work to do,” Pierce said to Ross, and the two of them left together, strutting out of Grahams kitchen. Graham and Hannah shared a look. Graham wasnt sure when it happened, but somewhere along the line, the bombings had become more important to Pierce than the robberies. And now he wanted to kill someone?

Graham frowned as Hannah bit her lip and looked away. Neither of them had the nerve to buck Pierce, and they both knew it. WHEN Ty returned less than an hour later, just after the lunch rush, he proceeded immediately up to the fifth floor, punched in the code hed seen the doctor enter to get access to the secure area, and walked straight to Zanes bay, hoping hed be back from the scan. The last time Ty had suffered holding still for one of the damn things, it had only been about ten minutes, all told.

When Ty arrived, there were two doctors—neither Dr. Jameson— and a nurse already in the bay. He hung back, practically vibrating with the need to get information and see how Zane was doing. Then he saw Zane slowly turn his head away from the door toward one of the doctors, who was talking to him in low tones. Zane was awake.

Ty held his breath and stepped into the bay. The nurse must have seen the movement out of the corner of her eye, because she turned to look at him in alarm.

The doctor turned as well. “And you are…?”

Ty merely flipped his badge open to show it to the doctor. He could be an officious ass too. The doctor wasnt impressed. “Unless youre Special Agent Garretts family, you shouldnt be here, sir. Ive been informed of no guard assignment.”

“Consider yourself informed,” Ty said to him in a low voice. “I must insist—”

“Ty?”

At Zanes soft word, the doctors and nurse turned back to their patient. Ty stepped closer to the bed, looking at Zane with a mixture of relief and guilt. “Hey,” he responded weakly.

Zanes hand shifted and his chin turned, but he just blinked lazily and stared out into the bay with unfocused eyes. “You okay? You were in the truck,” he said. The words were so garbled it took Ty a few beats to decipher them.

“Yeah,” Ty answered carefully as he studied Zane. He knew that look. It took him a long moment for it to register, but he knew it. It was the same one his great-grandmother had always had when hed been little, staring past him as she listened to the sound of his voice. “You cant see,” he blurted.

“Excuse me,” one of the doctors interrupted. “Special Agent Garrett, is this man okay to stay with you? Do you know him?” Zane blinked slowly. “Hes my partner,” he said, the words coming out a little more clearly, though still labored. “Tell him. He was in the truck.”

“Tell me, my ass. He cant see,” Ty grunted to the doctor as he pointed at Zane accusingly. The second doctor spoke. “You are correct, Agent…?” “Grady,” Ty told the man in annoyance. “Why cant he see?”

“Ty,” Zane said softly, the tone clear, asking Ty to calm down and let the doctors explain. The first doctor flipped a page on the chart. “As we were just explaining to Agent Garrett, there was a lot of swelling from the blow to the head. While most of it has subsided and weve confirmed there is no further internal bleeding, we think there was enough to form a few blood clots. We started him on the appropriate drugs, and in a couple of days, well run another CT scan to determine the extent of the damage.”

“The clots are very near the optic nerves, possibly even inside them,” the second doctor said. “Thats why he cant see.” Ty stared at them, trying to decide if he was justified in hitting one or both of them. He didnt suppose he was. “Clots,” he repeated. “So its not… permanent, right? It can be fixed?”

“We chose a very successful drug for dissolving clots,” the first doctor said. “Once we have a chance to repeat the CT scan and run a retinal exam, well have a better idea, but I would say its only temporary and wont require surgery to resolve it.”

Through this conversation, the nurse was changing out an IV, and Zane didnt even flinch as she set in another port. “Can I get you anything, Mr. Garrett?” she asked. “Are you in any pain?” “Headache. Ill live,” Zane slurred.

“Well, Agent Garrett, try to get some rest,” the first doctor said. “You may find it easier to just keep your eyes shut. I hesitate to cover them until we know more about your condition. Well be back to evaluate you in a few hours.” With that, the two doctors nodded at Ty and left.

The nurse slid the call button cord inside the curve of Zanes arm. “If you need anything, just buzz, and Ill come running. My names Bree.” Then she left them alone.

Ty stood in place, uncertain of what to do. He couldnt fight the feeling that this was all his fault somehow. If hed just gone in with them….

“Stop it,” Zane murmured.

“What?” Ty asked defensively.

Zane turned his face toward Ty. “Stop beating yourself up. Are you okay? You were in the truck,” he repeated for the third time, his voice low and exhausted.

“You really do have a concussion, huh,” Ty murmured. The heavy chair hed sat in earlier had been put back in its corner, so he moved to the bed instead and perched on the edge. “Im sorry,” he offered lamely. “I should have been in there with you.”

Zane shifted his hand against Tys thigh. “Bothd be here.” His tone conveyed that it would be a bad thing.

Ty didnt respond other than to lower his head and look at Zanes hand. “Does it hurt?” he finally asked.

Zane grunted. “Headache. Ill live.” Ty would have smiled at the absurd repetition, but he knew Zane couldnt help it after that hard of a knock on the head. He nodded silently, belatedly remembering that Zane couldnt see him. “You cant see anything?” he asked tentatively. “No shadows, nothing?”