Badlands Witch (Cormac and Amelia 2)

“Mr. Bennett, do you remember being shot?”

Oh yeah. He remembered that.

“Bullet hit your left shoulder. You’ve just come out of surgery. Everything’s fine, but you’ll be out of it for a while. Just rest, all right?”

“Amelia. . .”

“Amelia? Is that someone we should call?” The nurse seemed concerned that she might have missed something.

I am here.

He chuckled. “No. . .she’s already here.”

“Oh yeah,” the nurse chuckled. “You’re on the good drugs, aren’t you?”

Satisfied, he dropped back into the haze.

Ben came in not long after he’d been wheeled into a private room. His cousin, pushing forty like Cormac was, rough brown hair, shadows at his eyes clearly indicating he’d missed sleep. Cormac tried to figure out if he’d had enough time to drive here from Colorado and who might have called him to tell what happened, but that was all just a bit too complicated right now. Ben looked him over, in the bed and hospital gown, IV bag dripping into him, monitors clicking away. He sat heavily in a chair and folded his hands in front of his face.

“You didn’t have to come here,” Cormac said. His voice sounded kind of vague. A lot more than saline was dripping out of that bag, he suspected. He knew he ought to be in pain but he didn’t much care at the moment.

“Jesus.” Ben looked away, chuckling through his scowl. “You almost got Kitty and the Junior League, too. I talked her into staying home. But you should call her.”

Maybe he could just lie here a moment, not thinking of anything.

You owe Kitty a call.

Yeah. Okay. Later.

“Still—”

“Yes, Cormac, I had to come here. Practically our whole lives I’ve been waiting to get a call from the cops telling me you’re. . .that something had happened. Now here we are. It really did.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“You ever going to tell me what happened?”

“Maybe. . .maybe later.”

“And how is Amelia?” Ben and Kitty knew about Amelia and that whole history. They practically treated her like one of the family, which was weird if he thought about it too much. Then again, they were werewolves. They knew weird.

How are you, Amelia?

Tell him I am doing quite well now that the trouble is past, thank you, and it’s very kind of him to visit.

“She’s fine.”

Cormac. . .

“She says it’s very kind of you to visit.” Cormac shifted, trying to sit, then gave up. The needle in his arm was starting to itch. So was his shoulder, which was swathed in bandages. “Maybe it’s just as well you’re here. The cops are probably wanting to talk to me.”

“Yeah, I already met your Detective Nielson. Sensible woman, there.”

He chuckled. “She tell you what they’re charging Durant with?”

“A handful of breaking and entering and theft charges for her shenanigans at the dig site. Attempted murder for shooting you, and murder one for Professor Walker.”

“Not vehicular homicide?”