Home > Ryland's Reach (Bullard's Battle #1)(8)

Ryland's Reach (Bullard's Battle #1)(8)
Author: Dale Mayer

“Well, I know that the alerts have likely already gone out,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean anybody in my group knows.”

She frowned at him.

“Please,” he said, his voice steady and low. “It’s important.”

 

 

Chapter 3

 

 

Just something in the tone of Ryland’s voice worried Tabi, as she walked down the hallway, hoping she would find her room soon. As a sailing enthusiast, she had a very good sense of internal navigation, but this ship was giving her fits, and she’d already had to backtrack several times. But she was determined to see if her phone would work. His words had already been enough to send her hustling out of there. But the doctor had again asked her on the sly if she was available, in case he needed a hand.

“Absolutely,” she said, “but don’t you have a half-dozen people here ready and able to do this?”

“Maybe,” he said, “but we’ve also got two down in sick bay. And this isn’t something I want to start with somebody green.”

“Got it,” she said. “If you need me, I’m there.” She just hoped that it didn’t happen. It was one thing to be a surgical nurse in her nice perfect hospital, with a system that she understood, versus being here, dealing with something that was much more an off-the-cuff emergency surgery. But, because it was an emergency, she would help in any way she could. That didn’t mean it would be easy though.

Finally she stopped and stared at the room in front of her. She thought it was the right one. She quickly unlocked it and stepped inside, relieved when she saw her personal belongings on the bed and only hers. She hadn’t even considered that she could be rooming with a second person here. This was not a world that she wanted to live in. And, therefore, it wasn’t something that she touched on very often.

She walked to her phone, where she’d taken it apart and pulled out the battery, so it could all dry. Checking it, she realized it was pretty dry to the touch and popped it back together. She turned it on and actually had power. She quickly dialed the number Ryland had given her and waited for someone to answer.

“Identify yourself.”

Surprised for a moment, she replied, “I’m Tabi Sutherland, calling on behalf of Ryland Roscoe.”

There was a short silence on the other end, then he asked, “Where is he?”

“We’re both aboard a US naval ship,” she said. “Their plane was blown out of the air, and he and Garret managed to survive long enough for me to pick them up on my boat. We were heading toward the navy ship, when the weather came up. I have since lost my boat and am on board the naval ship as well.”

“Condition?”

Almost like a military drill, his clipped tone gave instructions for further information. “Garret is bad,” she said, not mincing words. “Likely internal injuries. They’re still assessing him. Ryland also has probable internal injuries, but nothing requiring surgery. He’s got several fractures, multiple stitches, and a dislocated leg, knee, and ankle, but he will survive. I believe his forearm on the right side is fractured, and he has several cracked ribs. In addition, he has some vertebrae damage, but he’s not talking about that.”

“That sounds like Ryland,” the man said, relaxing slightly. Then came another hesitation. “No sign of a third man?”

“If you’re asking about Bullard, Ryland said to tell you there’s been no sign of him that we’re aware of, but the Coast Guard is searching.”

“Damn.”

“He said something about you and the rest of his team needing to know that,” she said. “They’re getting excellent care right now.”

“Got it,” he said. “Do you have a location?”

“I can give you where we were,” she said, “but I can’t tell you where we are now because I don’t know our ship’s longitude and latitude.”

“We’ll find it.”

“If you say so. If you’ve got a way to get us off of here, you may want to pull some strings and make it happen. You also need to watch your backs, Ryland says. He thinks you might be in danger.”

“We’ll handle it. And we can get you off,” he said easily, “but we don’t want to cause any more damage to our friends’ condition by doing so in the meantime.”

“Then wait,” she said. “At the minimum, we need to find out how badly hurt Garret is.”

“Right. And we have your number,” he said and quickly repeated it back.

She frowned and nodded. “Yes, that’s quite true.” She added, “I’m a surgical nurse just recently out of Perth. I was on holiday on my boat.”

“We appreciate you picking up our friends,” he said, his voice much warmer. “Your good deed will not go unnoticed.”

She laughed. “And neither is anything required,” she said. “I just want to get home safe and sound.”

“Understood. We’ll stay in touch.” And, with that, the voice at the other end of the phone disappeared.

She put her phone on Vibrate, just when a knock came on her door. She almost wanted to groan because, so far, this place had been people upon people. She wouldn’t say anything, but the whole point of her holiday was to get away from it all. She opened the door to see the same petty officer waiting for her. She smiled up at him. “Is it dinnertime?”

“It is, indeed,” he said with a smile.

She pocketed her phone and said, “I’ll keep this with me, unless I’m not allowed or something.”

He shook his head.

“Good,” she said. “I contacted Ryland’s friends at his request, to let them know where he and Garret were. I’ll need to see him again after dinner.”

“If you remember the way, you can go right after dinner. And ask the doctor about times when the sick bay is open, so you’ll know when you’re allowed to be there,” he said with a cautionary note.

“Right,” she said. “I don’t know how anything on board works.”

“And nobody expects that you should,” he said, “but, if you have any questions, feel free to ask, and I’ll do my best.”

“Right,” she said. “I appreciate the dry clothes.”

“Even with the wet feet?” he asked, looking down at her shoes.

“Well, at least they’re canvas,” she said. “By morning, they’ll probably be dry.”

“If you give them to me,” he said. “I’ll make sure they dry overnight. We can toss them in the dryers.”

“I imagine your washing machines here are a fair size.”

“They’re huge,” he said. “Also lots of them.”

“I imagine so,” she said. “I appreciate the dry clothes and the fact that I’ll be getting my others back. A good night’s sleep will show me a whole different world.”

“It will, indeed,” he said. “And hopefully the squall will have passed as well.”

“I was calling it a squall when the winds came up,” she said. “I think we’re well past that now.”

“It is pretty rough out there,” he said.

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