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“Careful,” I barked as one bent to pick up Martin. I looked at Gage. “He needs medical attention.”
“He’ll have it.” He nodded to his man.
I barely trusted myself to speak as the door shut behind us. I steeled myself as I stood, determined to be brave. But as I approached his desk, the scent of blood overwhelmed me.
“If I wanted him dead, he would be dead,” Gage said as if reading my thoughts.
It was a fact and a warning rolled into one. One order was all it would take, and I would be the next body carried out of here.
I ignored the warning. “You maimed him!”
“I did not touch him.”
“You allowed that bastard to maim him.”
“MacAlister.” His lip curled on the name. “He has a taste for cruelty, but custom dictated I allow him to step in. It’s hard to explain.”
“Try impossible.” I shook my head. “You could have stopped him.”
“Perhaps, but if you knew the crime that man committed, you would be reaching for the knife yourself. However, you didn’t come here to condemn my customs. You came to make a deal.” He sat back in his chair, completely unconcerned with the bloody mess before him. “Let’s hear it.”
“You already know why I’m here,” I said through gritted teeth. “My brother.”
He shook his head. “But now you’ve had time to consider your offer.”
“Channing owes you something. Money, maybe?” I took a deep breath. “I came to pay it.”
“Channing sent you?” he asked, a little surprised.
“No.” I gave him a cold smile. “As I told you, he’s in the hospital, and after that, he’ll be in jail. So it might be easier to work with me than him.”
Gage lifted a brow. “The hospital doesn’t call the police. If someone there—”
“I called the police,” I interrupted. “And they suspended me for doing it. I’m sure once you call them, I’ll be fired.”
“Doctor?”
“Nurse.” I squared my shoulders.
He studied me closer. “I should have guessed from your medical theatrics. Unfortunately, your brother has sealed his own fate. I can do nothing.”
“What?” It exploded out of me. I’d just watched this guy order someone to cut off another man’s hand. I didn’t buy that excuse for a second. It was just another twisted game.
He continued, “Channing should have followed orders.”
Something reckless took hold of me. I lurched a step forward and pointed to the blood on his desk.
“Orders like that?” My voice shook, but I was past caring.
“He broke the rules.” For a moment, he almost looked apologetic, but I knew better than to trust that. “Channing stole food. He didn’t deny it. Not that it would matter. He is guilty, and there’s nothing I can do.”
My mouth dropped open. “Food,” I repeated. Even after what I’d witnessed, I refused to believe that…to believe anyone could be so cruel over so little. “He stole food, and you’re going to kill him for that?”
“Kill?” Gage looked up at me, his tone shifting to bitter amusement. “I have no plan to kill Channing. Is that what he told you?”
Not exactly. “Well, he’s already been shot.”
“The shooting was a misunderstanding.”