Chapter 49

As soon as they were in the apartment, Jake got his pain pills, popping two of them, as well as an antibiotic. When he came out of the bathroom, Russ was standing in the bedroom doorway.

“Let’s get this over with, then we can figure out what you’ve got that we can fix for supper,” Russ said.

“As a proposition, that lacks something,” Jake retorted with a brief smile.

“How about, strip and let me look at you.”

“Better, but…” Jake unbuttoned his shirt and with Russ’s help took it off. Then he lay down on the bed so that Russ could change the dressings on his back. “Are they all right?” he asked when Russ had taken off the old bandages.

“Yep. No redness or swelling. I think by tomorrow you won’t need any except over the ones with the stitches.”

“Yes!” Jake would have pumped a fist, except lying on his stomach made that damned near impossible.