Page 20 of Storm Warning

The boy wrinkled his nose. “It has a doctor and nurses, the same as all the others.”

That raised another red flag in his mind. He smiled and nudged the boy gently with his elbow. “This clinic is special.”

“What’s different about it?”

“I’m not spoiling the surprise. You’ll have to wait and see.”

Soon, Sorenson’s men parked the SUVs behind the clinic and helped unload gear. The operatives filed into the clinic, most heading toward the kitchen.

Andre and Noah turned toward Sorenson’s examination room. Riley and Violet trailed after them.

“Where are you going?” Christopher’s voice rose as his gaze locked on Andre’s. “You’re not leaving, are you?”

“The doctor is waiting to examine our wounds. He’ll want to talk to you, too. I think you’ll like him. Sorenson is an interesting guy, and he has a son about your age.” Not a lie. The doc loved kids and had a great bedside manner with them. Injured operatives, however, received his surly bedside manner. “Why don’t you come with me? I’ll introduce you to him. If you’re quiet while we walk to the exam room, you might hear something cool.”

Christopher looked puzzled but walked with Andre and Noah. Halfway to the exam room, dogs started barking nearby. The boy stopped, his mouth gaping. He looked around. “I hear dogs. Are people allowed to bring their dogs to the clinic?”

“The dogs are my main patients in this clinic.” Sorenson smiled at the boy. “You must be Christopher. I’m Ted Sorenson.” He shook Christopher’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Want to come into the exam room while I look at Andre and Noah?”

He nodded.

“Good. I have a chair just for you.” He pointed toward a cushioned chair set off to the side. “Want to try it?”

“It looks nice.”

“This is the most comfortable chair I own.” The doctor patted the seat. “Try it out and tell me what you think.”

Christopher sat down and smiled. “I like it.”

“Excellent. Now, you sit in that comfortable chair while I check Violet’s patchwork job.” He turned his attention to the two men. “Who gets the prize for the most serious wound?”

Andre sighed and raised his hand. “That would be me.”

“Then I’ll look at Noah first, then give my complete attention to you, Marsh.”

“Yes, sir.” Wonderful. Not. Worse, he couldn’t whine about having to obey Sorenson’s orders because he wanted Chris to cooperate with the doctor. Nice way to box himself in.

“Sit on the exam table, Mann. Let’s see what kind of injury you have.”

Noah stripped off his shirt and remained still while Sorenson removed the bandage with which Violet had covered the operative’s injury.

After poking and prodding the bullet wound for a few minutes, Sorenson gave a curt nod. “Nice work, Violet. Mann, keep the wound clean. Change the bandage every day. Are you on antibiotics?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Keep taking them until they’re gone. Take pain meds every six hours as needed. You’re free to go. No work for a week.” The doctor swung his gaze toward Andre. “Your turn, Marsh. I thought I told you last time you were in here that I didn’t want to see you again.”

“You did, Doc. I tried to stay out of the line of fire. It didn’t work out the way I thought it would.”

Sorenson snorted. “So you zigged when you should have zagged.”

“Pretty much.”

“Let’s see how much damage you’ve done to yourself this time.” He motioned for Andre to remove his shirt and glanced at Riley. “You’re injured as well?”

“No, sir.”

The doctor was silent a beat, then gave a brief nod and shifted his attention to his patient. “Stretch out and make yourself comfortable, Marsh. You might be here a while.”