Grave Intentions by Lori Sjoberg Read Free Book Online Page A

patient. Her clinical nature took charge of the situation, forcing out all thoughts of bare skin and taut pectorals. She paused long enough to gauge the full extent of his injuries and map out a plan of attack. Might as well work on the larger pieces first, she decided, starting with the rusty chunk of metal lodged in the skin between his ribs.
    “Easy now,” she murmured, forcing her voice to remain level, soft, calm. Poor guy. He had to be in a world of pain. No wonder he was yelling earlier. “I’ll do this as gently as possible, but it’ll help if you try not to move.” Using more force than she originally thought necessary, she wrenched the first jagged piece from his chest.
    Jaw clenched, he cursed under his breath.
    “I’m Sarah, by the way,” she said without looking up, her focus locked on an inch-long piece of green glass embedded just above his left biceps. She gripped the shard with the tips of her fingers; the toned muscle twitched as she gently eased the glass from his skin. Hopefully, there weren’t any splinters left behind or he’d end up with a nasty infection. “I live next door in 4325.”
    “David,” he replied through gritted teeth, his voice tight with strain. He let out a low grunt when she pulled out another chunk of glass, this one just above his sternum. Blood welled up from the open wound, sending a rivulet of crimson trickling down his chest. “Sorry about the noise, but it hasn’t been one of my better days.”
    “How did this happen?” she asked again, her gaze shifting to the circular gash on his chest beneath the right pectoral, the blood still flowing freely. With each ragged breath more blood poured from the wound, the sight making her question the wisdom of volunteering to play doctor.
    His fists clenched and unclenched when she began working on the next piece of shrapnel, this one embedded deep in his shoulder. “Long story.”
    “I have time.” And feeling queasy, she needed the distraction. One of the reasons she’d forgone medical school was her weak stomach for open wounds. Good thing she hadn’t eaten dinner yet, or she would have lost it by now.
    “Explosion,” Adam said from behind. He knelt down beside Sarah and handed her a bottle of rubbing alcohol. The rest of the supplies he set on the floor beside her.
    “What kind of explosion?”
    “Uh, it’s kind of embarrassing.” Adam flashed her a sheepish grin. He averted his gaze and busied his hands by arranging the supplies into orderly rows. “You see, we were trying to build this potato gun and things sort of . . . got out of hand.”
    Well, there was an answer she hadn’t been expecting. Sarah turned her attention away from David long enough to shoot Adam a quizzical look. “Potato gun?”
    “Yeah, potato gun. You know, you can make one out of PVC tubing and a can of hair spray. But we wanted to make a really big one, with a really big punch to it, so we traded hair spray for propane and . . .” His cheeks puffed out while he made an outward motion with both hands.
    “And it blew up on you?” He had to be joking.
    Adam nodded, dead serious. “You got it.”
    Just her luck. She’d moved next to a couple of frat boys with destructive tendencies. Next time they’d probably blow the roof off their apartment and get the entire building condemned.
    She shifted her focus back to David, determined to get him the medical attention he so obviously needed. “You’re lucky none of these went too deep. But I still think you should to go to the hospital.”
    David shook his head, his pale eyes crinkling with pain. “No hospital. A good night’s rest and I’ll be right as rain.”
    “But you’re white as a sheet. And you’ve lost an awful lot of blood. You probably need stitches and a tetanus shot.”
    “I’ll be fine.” He managed a weak smile. “While my employer pays well, he doesn’t provide much in the way of benefits.”
    “Oh.” She nodded in understanding. “No health