Kallen's Atonement Read Online Free PDF Page B

Drake’s made Kallen want to vomit.
    He let out a quivering breath as he tore off the offending gloves, tossed them into a nearby bin, then went over to scrub his hands. He didn’t stop until his skin was red and raw. Even then, he still couldn’t get the visual of Drake’s blood out of his mind.
    Kallen rested his head against the wall. Why was this affecting him so much? He didn’t like Drake—right? The Tiger meant nothing to him, so he shouldn’t be this worked up over him.
    Kallen bumped his head several times against the wall, as if he were trying to beat some sense into himself. Oh, who was he kidding? He cared for Drake, a lot more than he was willing to admit even to himself.
    He heaved in a big breath and looked over to the empty spot where Drake’s cot had been just moments before. Now all that was there were dirty bandages and pools of blood. Left with nothing to do, Kallen went over and began to clean them up.
    He was halfway through when Ash came up to help him. They worked in silence for a few moments before Ash asked, “Hey, you okay?”
    “I don’t know,” Kallen replied honestly. “I know I shouldn’t be this upset since we just started to get close, but a part of me worries that if he dies…”
    He trailed off, unable to finish the rest of the sentence. Ash reached out and grabbed his hand. “It’s going to be okay.”
    Kallen gazed up at his friend. “Can you promise that?”
    When Ash didn’t say anything, Kallen gave a rueful smile. “I didn’t think so. I saw his wounds, too. I know how bad they are. The Raven could have easily nicked a major artery or organ. He may not make it. All I can think about is all the times I was mean to him and pushed him away, just because I was stupid and afraid of getting hurt. All he was trying to do was be nice to me, and I couldn’t accept that.”
    “He understood, Kallen.”
    Kallen shook his head. “He shouldn’t have to. Once again, I fucked things up. It seems I excel at that kind of thing.”
    Ash reached out and gave Kallen’s shoulder a firm shake. “You have to stop being so hard on yourself.”
    Suddenly, it all became so clear to Kallen. The way he could protect Drake and prove his worth to the cast and the coalition. “I want you to start training me to be a field medic.”
    Ash looked at Kallen as if he’d grown a second head or something. “Are you crazy? There is no way Doc is going to release you to go out into the field.”
    “He won’t have a choice. They are screaming for more field medics. Plus, I’m nothing but a glorified orderly here. Out there, I could actually do some good.”
    The more Kallen thought about it, the better he thought the idea was. He already knew how to shoot and fight thanks to his former pack training. So he was already halfway there. He knew his basic EMT. So it wouldn’t take long to train him at all. He could be field ready in a couple weeks tops.
    Ash still paused a moment. “You’d have to get Mitchell to okay it.”
    “I’m sure he would. He knows more than anybody how bad they need field medics, plus it would help cement my place in the coalition.”
    “You do have a point there,” Ash conceded. “And they could pair you with me for a while until you got used to being out there on your own.”
    “You go chat to the doc about it, while I go talk to Mitchell,” Kallen said, already heading for the door.
    “Wait? Why do I have to talk the doc about it?”
    Kallen gave a knowing smile. “Because he’ll never tell you no to anything.”
    Kallen went running to Mitchell’s office and caught the Jaguar just as he was about to leave.
    Mitchell stopped, his hand on the door, a frown on his face. “Has something gone wrong with Drake? Is his surgery doing okay?”
    “I don’t know. The last time I checked, it was still touch and go. That’s not what I came here to talk to you about,” Kallen said.
    “Then what did you need? Has somebody been bothering you?”
    If Mitchell only