Cleats in Clay (24 page)

Tuck frowned as if he wasn’t sure how to answer. “Freezer landed on it,” he finally said.
“Fuck,” Hawk muttered. “Which one was it? I’ll go shoot it for you.”
“Ya idiot.” Tuck chuckled. “No need for that.” He patted Hawk’s arm. “You better get back downstairs before they start lookin’ for ya.”
“Okay,” Hawk said, his eyes glued to the bundled wrappings on Tuck’s hand.
Odis stepped up and grabbed the billowy side of Hawk’s gown-shirt. “Let’s hurry, before Klyve throws ya out.” He pulled Hawk back toward the door and started dragging him out.

“I’ll come back later,” Hawk promised.
“In the morning.”
“Okay, mornin’,” Hawk agreed as he stepped out the door. Tuck visibly exhaled when he saw his brother step out of the ICU

into Gina’s arms. “Sorry,” he said to Bobby.

“Why are you apologizing?” Bobby asked as he held Tuck’s hand again. “Hawk obviously loves you.”
“He doesn’t handle emotion well. Never has. He just growls and stomps around like a wild bear. It can be embarrassing.”

“Better that than a brother who won’t even look at you,” Bobby replied.
Something in the tone of Bobby’s voice grabbed Tuck’s attention. It was just the slightest tremble—a quiet thing, easily unnoticed, that hinted Bobby was speaking from a place of painful experience.

Klyve came in before Tuck had a chance to ask about it. Walking to the charts, he threw a glance at Bobby. “Time’s up.”
“Okay.” Bobby smiled at Tuck. “We’ll be out in the waiting room. I’m trying, but I doubt I’ll be able to drag Odis out again.”

“See ya, stud.”

After Bobby left, Klyve smirked over at Tuck. “That little guy of yours sure has some big-assed balls. Had to rescue him with a stapler.” He went around to Tuck’s right hand and slowly opened up the bandages.

“A
stapler
?” Tuck asked.

“Square plastic, gun shaped, looks like a Taser. I thought yer brother was gonna chew him up.”
Tuck chuckled. “Odis is like one of those Jack Russell dogs. He fergets he’s a half-pint.”

Klyve carefully examined Tuck’s fingers. “He’d have got his own blows in, I’m sure. But you tell that brother—”
“Hawk,” Tuck told him.
“You tell Hawk if he ever acts like that again, he’s not comin’ back.

I’ll lock the door on his ass.”
“He should be all right now that he knows I’m not dyin’.” Klyve nodded as he began rewrapping the hand.
“How is it?” Tuck asked.
“Doing well, I’d say. Good color. We can prob’ly throw a cast on it

tomorrow, sad to say.”
“Why sad?”
Klyve walked over the chart and made his notes. “Because you

won’t hafta be in ICU anymore. They’ll put you in a regular room or maybe even throw ya out the door altogether.”
“Oh.”
After putting away the chart, Klyve looked at him. “It’s not often I get guys I actually like hangin’ out with around here.”

Tuck just kind of half smiled, not sure how to take the compliment. He thought it might be nice to have Klyve over for a beer someday—it seemed like they could be good friends. Then he remembered about the house. “Shit.”

“What?”

 

“Could ya send one back for a sec? I fergot to ask if they checked

Odie’s house. It’s in the burn zone.”
Klyve hesitated, then smiled slightly. “Let me finish my rounds first,
and I will.”
“Thanks,” Tuck told him as he left.

A
FTER
finishing his rounds, Klyve returned to the central station to give the various room monitors a once-over. He glanced up toward the waiting room and saw Bobby and Odis on the couch. The two guys were cuddled up next to each other in the empty room in a strong embrace.

As Klyve stood up, something in his heart melted a little bit. He forgot all about being the tough nurse as he crossed the threshold of the ICU area and walked up to the men. Odis pulled away quickly when he realized someone was approaching. Klyve smiled. “Why don’t you come back a minute. Tuck said there was somethin’ he needed to ask about.” Bobby looked over at Odis. “You go.”
“No,” Klyve cut in. “Both of you. Hurry before I change my mind.” Both men jumped to their feet and followed Klyve back to room

two. Klyve motioned at the door. “Hasta be quick, though. My relief comes in at nine, so ya gotta be out by then.”
“Okay,” Odis said as he walked in.
“Thanks,” Bobby said and turned before the door closed.

Tuck grinned up at the sight of both of them coming in. They rushed to the left side of the bed and pushed up close as Tuck wrapped his long arm around both of them. “Hi, guys.” They held the strangely awkward hug a minute before pulling back.

“Hey,” Bobby said. “The nurse said you had a question?”

Tuck glanced at Odis, then looked back to Bobby. “The house. Did ya check the house yet?”
Odis nodded. “It held up. Just some cracked windows. The garage is a goner, though.”

“Probably only take a couple of days to repair the windows,” Bobby added. “The house can be fixed before you get out of here.”
“Don’t know about that,” Tuck said with a smile. “Klyve said I’ll prob’ly get a cast tomorrow, then I’m outta the ICU.”
“Really?” Odis asked with enthusiasm.

“Really.”

Bobby reached out and ran his hand through Tuck’s hair. “And what about after that?”
“Not sure,” Tuck admitted. “They’re still bein’ dodgy about answers.”
Bobby nodded. “Still great news, though.” He glanced over at the time stamp on the EKG monitor, which showed 2056. “We better go, Odie. Don’t want the new nurse throwing us out.”
Odis hugged Tuck’s neck. “Get some sleep,” he told Tuck as they left. “We’re goin’ back to the B and B.”
Bobby threw him a kiss before the door closed.
“Good night, boys,” Tuck called out after them. He settled back into the bed, relieved to see Odis in such good spirits. Maybe Tuck could fall asleep now, for just a few minutes.
H
OURS
later, the night nurse let herself into room two to do her rounds. Tuck didn’t stir. He continued snoring softly in his bed. The nurse glanced over the monitors, checking for any abnormalities. Not finding any, she went to the right side of the bed and unwrapped some of the bandaging on the hand. The color looked good both on the skin and in the nail beds of each finger.
Glancing up to make sure Tuck was still asleep, the nurse retrieved the sensitivity reflex tool from her pocket. The small spiky wheel was affixed loosely inside the long handle, similar to a pizza cutter. The wheel spun like a miniature boot spur as the nurse ran the pointed spikes over the tip of Tuck’s index finger. The finger jerked back slightly. Same for the second finger. When she ran the wheel over his ring finger, though, it didn’t move. Also no response from the pinky finger.
She put the reflex tool back in her pocket and bandaged Tuck’s hand again before making detailed notes in his chart. He still snored, unaware, as she let herself out.

T
UCK
fidgeted his legs in the bed when Klyve came in the next morning after shift change. “Please, can’t I get up or somethin’?”

Klyve smirked as he set down the fresh pitcher of water on Tuck’s nightstand. “Good mornin’ to you too, sunshine.” He checked over the monitors and reviewed the charts.

“Oh, mornin’, Klyve,” Tuck said once he remembered his manners. “I’m ’bout to go outta my mind with boredom. Can I at least get a TV or somethin’?”

“Maybe.” Klyve tried not to show any concern as he read over the night nurse’s notes. “Most of the people who visit me here aren’t hardly conscious,” Klyve said as he went around to the bandaged hand. “But we do have a roll-around set. I’ll see about gettin’ that TV in here for ya.”

“Thank you.”

After unwrapping Tuck’s hand, Klyve examined it. “What’s that time stamp on the EKG say?” he asked, getting Tuck to turn his head away.

“It says 9:11.”

After pinching Tuck’s pinky slightly with his fingernails, Klyve was disappointed to see no reaction. He had been hoping the night nurse might be wrong. He wrapped the hand up again. “Behave yourself and I’ll be back soon.”

“I’ll try,” Tuck grumbled.

Klyve nodded with a smile as he left room two, but it quickly fell off his face as he rushed over to the monitoring station. With it being Sunday morning and all, he might have a tough time getting hold of Tuck’s doctor. That thought didn’t slow him any as he grabbed for the phone.

O
DIS
slipped in not long after Klyve left. “Mornin’, bonehead.”

“Hey.” Tuck’s face lit up with a grin. “Great to see ya, Odie. Did ya happen to see a TV in that hallway?” he asked as Odis approached the bed and kissed him.

“No. Was I supposed ta?”

“Hopin’, maybe,” Tuck replied. “Klyve said he’d see about gettin’ one.”
“Oh. I didn’t see Klyve out there. Maybe that’s what he’s doin’.”
Tuck looked over Odis. “At least ya got some sleep, looks like.”
“Yep, and I even ate some breakfast.”
“Asshole,” Tuck grumbled. “They still haven’t fed me yet.”
“Yer kidding, right?”
“Well, they have these protein bar things that are as bad as army rations, but no
real
food.”
Odis kissed his forehead. “I’ll send Bobby in and see if I can’t find Klyve and have a little talk with him about that.”
“And the TV,” Tuck added as Odis left.
He bounced his leg in the bed until Bobby arrived. “Hey, stud.”
“Hey, Tuck,” he said. He rushed up and smothered him with a kiss.
Tuck pulled him close and smelled the sandalwood shampoo in his hair. “Is the house really okay?” he asked when he pulled away and looked at Bobby for the truth.
“Oh yeah, just some broken windows. With the house being built like a concrete bunker, the fire couldn’t really get at it.”
“Good, good.” Tuck tried to rise and peek out through the glass. “Where’d they go now?”
Bobby squeezed his hand. “Calm down. You’re starting to sound like your brother.”
“Oh fuck you, I am not,” he said a little harshly. Hearing his own tone, he took a deep breath. “I’m just bored and want outta here.”
“I know, but you have to get your cast first. So be nice to the hospital people.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Tuck agreed, pulling Bobby in for another kiss. The twitch in his groin caused a strange painful sensation that made him stop short.
Bobby nearly jumped back. “What’s wrong?”
“Damn catheter,” Tuck grumbled. “Guess I can’t do any
real
kissing either.”
“My, aren’t we a grumpy Gus this morning.”
Tuck scowled at him. “You would be too, endurin’ all the shit I gotta deal with.”
“Dial it down a little,” Bobby said with calm sincerity. “I know all this must suck big-time, but don’t take it out on everybody else.”
Tuck dropped his gaze. “Right.”
Bobby nodded. “I’m sure I can find Hawk’s number. I’ll call him in here and have him sit on you or something if you can’t behave.”
“Don’t do that. I could do without all his drama again today.”
“Okay. But I’m keeping it an option,” Bobby threatened as he moved in close and hugged Tuck around the neck.
Tuck flinched again. “Maybe we shouldn’t do that.”
Bobby pulled back. “Sorry. We missed our threesome last night.”
“Don’t remind me. Did you and Odie?”
“No, we both pretty much passed out right after crawling into bed.”
“Busy day?” Tuck asked sarcastically.
“Just a little. Odie’s house almost burned down, and some bonehead went missing and scared us half to death.”
“How long was I…?”
“Over four hours. They didn’t tell you?”
“Nobody tells me shit here,” Tuck grumbled, then paused for a deep breath. “Other than me and Hawk, I don’t even know who else was even hurt.”
“Josh and Humpty came in, but they didn’t even stay overnight.”
“Humpty? You mean Hampton?”
“Yes. Why can’t I ever remember that guy’s name?”
Tuck nodded. “Oh, I do remember Gertie mentioning them yesterday. Who else?”
Bobby shook his head. “Didn’t hear of anybody else.”
Pulling him closer, Tuck lowered his voice. “What exactly happened?”
“The only answer I’ve heard is ‘we’re still piecing it together’. So you’ll hafta ask somebody else. I’m sure with the casualties, they’ll do a thorough investigation.”
“
Casualties
?” Tuck sat up and scowled. “Nobody ever fuckin’ said
shit
about—who died?”
“Both the Thornson Brothers and Travis.”
“Thursons,” Tuck corrected. “And Travie, Carl Travie?”
Bobby nodded.
Tuck collapsed into the bed. “Oh Loki’s nuts. That poor kid. He was only twenty-two. Just came on board less than a month ago, right out of the academy. Fuckin’ shit.”
Bobby gave his hand a comforting squeeze. “Sucks.”
Tuck bowed his head. “How…?” he finally asked.
“He and the brothers were inside the kitchen, near where they think the explosion happened.”
Tuck bolted upright. “
What
?” He gave Bobby a hard stare. “Did you say inside the house?”
“Yeah.” Bobby nodded.
“Fuck no,” Tuck barked. “This.” His brow crinkled. “It isn’t adding up.” He looked over and saw the confusion on Bobby’s face. He leaned forward and used the sheet and his finger as an imaginary whiteboard. “The house was basically a square.” He traced one out as he explained the game plan. “Hawk and I were covering the back porch, on the east side.” He indicated it with his finger. “Josh and Hampton were covering the south windows. Carl and one of the DEA guys were on the north bedroom windows. The rest were going to burst in the front door at the west with a surprise ambush.”
Bobby nodded that he understood so far.
“So how did Carl end up
inside
the house? And how’d he even
get
there? He didn’t slip by Hawk and me, I can guarantee that. And it seems unlikely he could have gotten past the gang of officers at the front door.”
“What about the DEA guy on the north side with him? Maybe he knows something.”
“Shit, I don’t even remember a name. I was still kinda ticked off about getting dragged out and wasn’t really paying attention.”
“I’m sure somebody knows who it was,” Bobby offered. “Who drew up the game plan?”
Tuck nodded. “Fenton. I
need
to talk ta Fenton.” He glanced over at Bobby. “Did ya bring yer cell phone in?”
Bobby shook his head. “Left it in the car. They have a real bug about letting them back here.”
Tuck glanced around but didn’t see any pens or paper. “Shit. Check the nurse’s station?”
Bobby slipped out and came back a minute later with a Post-it pad and a pen.
Tuck took them and scratched out a number. “Please, go call him now. I need to know what in Valhalla’s goin’ on.”
“I’m sure they also realize something’s fishy.” Bobby hated seeing that look of frustration on Tuck’s face. “I’ll go call right now.” Bobby gave him a quick kiss before leaving.
“Thanks.” Tuck leaned back and tried to ignore all the beeping noises and relax.