Page 36 of Wild Temple

His grin faded.

“You don’t want to cross him,” Jack warned, looking at Rafi in the rearview. “It doesn’t end well for people.”

Fear crept into Rafi’s eyes. “Okay. I’m on your side. I am Team Tyson.”

He’d say anything to save his ass right now.

I asked, “Who’s the man behind the Black Opal?”

“I just know the guy at the door,” Rafi said. “Lars.”

Probably more bullshit. He knew a lot more than he was letting on.

"How well do they know you?”

Rafi squirmed. “They will come looking for me. I need to get to my house and protect my family.”

"Where do you live?" I asked.

"About 15 km inland. Rent is too expensive here.”

It was pretty cheap, all things considered, but pricey compared to the average salary on this island.

Rafi didn’t wear a wedding band, and I couldn’t tell if he was full of shit or not.

"You better call your friend and get the medical supplies I need in a hurry. After we take care of this girl, we'll go back to your place and make sure your family is safe."

Rafi frowned, pulled his phone from his pocket, and dialed his friend.

21

Ididn’t figure the hospital was a level-one trauma center. It was in a small, dingy building that looked like it might be able to help set a broken bone or treat a mild infection. If you needed major surgery, you were probably out of luck. You’d need a transfer. Good luck with that in the rainy season with washed-out roads. Though, with the growing city, the hospital would have to grow with it.

The place was overcrowded, understaffed, and supplies were limited. The most common thing they treated around here were injuries from a moped crash—flip-flops, wet pavement, and no helmets made for some pretty nasty situations. Their trauma ward was probably pretty competent in that department. Head injuries wouldn’t be uncommon.

Rafi’s guy met us in an alley behind the hospital. He’d loaded the goods into a plastic drawstring bag. He wore royal blue scrubs, and his nervous eyes glanced around as he approached the van. “I could get in a lot of trouble for this, Rafi.”

“It’s for a good cause,” Rafi assured.

“Let’s see the money.”

I flashed the cash. “Let’s see the goods.”

He opened the bag, and I peered inside. It was all there. Everything I’d asked for—bags of IV fluids, supplies, sanitary wipes, medication. Enough to get Kelsey through the worst of it. I was about to hand over the cash when the guy pulled the bag away.

“Price has gone up.”

I glared at him.

“This stuff was hard to come by. They got cameras on that shit now. I had to make some deals.

“How much?”

He gave me an adjusted price.

“That’s twice what we agreed!”

“Take it or leave it.”