Chapter Fifteen

Tess

The men let themselves into her hospital room.

Her first question was, “Where’s Mojo?”

“He stayed with Enrico’s colleague in their vehicle,” Goose told her.

Levi didn’t say anything, not even hi.

Dressed in a hospital gown, there was an IV flowing saline into her veins.

As the team found places to stand, Tess looked from one to the other. My god, what feats of strength and courage they’d displayed today. Following a signal, racing up a mountainside, applying their skills, then getting her down and to the hospital, it was a miracle.

They were a miracle.

“Why are you crying?” Enrico stepped forward. “Are you in pain?”

With her fingers wrapping the edge of her sheet in tight fists, Tess shook her head.

“You're afraid?” Enrico was grasping.

Levi pulled Enrico away and said quietly, “She's crying because we were kind.”

“ Kind ?”

“We're helping her. Kindness is the only thing that makes Tess cry.”

Enrico posted his hand on his hips and tipped his head. “Silently?”

“Yup, silently.”

Enrico turned his gaze to the ground and was quiet for a long minute. When he finally looked up to catch Levi’s gaze, he said, “That is some heavy shit, brother.”

“Yeah. It is.”

Tess could hear it in their voices that they had a deep understanding of what that meant. Coming from their backgrounds in the military with brothers and sisters who experienced things that rewired their brains, she felt they wouldn’t judge her or press her for more than she could give.

For some people, life would always be a wrestling match with the past.

But Levi was wrong when he leaned into the word “only.” Tess remembered vividly the stream of tears she shed that gathered all the feelings in her body when she accepted Abraham’s marriage proposal. Those feelings from that day still felt raw.

The appearance of one of the two doctors conferring on her case relieved Tess of the need to deal with the awkwardness of Levi knowing something that intimate and sharing it with a near stranger.

Could they be strangers after what had happened today?

No. Impossible.

“Enrico,” this doctor said, a wide smile brightening his face as he held out a hand for a shake, “all is well?”

“For me, yes. Good to see a friend is taking care of a friend.” Enrico held out a hand toward Tess.

“How are you feeling?” The doctor moved around to peer at her face. “Would you turn so that I might inspect the wound?”

“Uhm.” Tess blinked at Levi.

Levi turned his face to the wall, and the other men followed his lead.

Lowering the head of the bed and pulling the sheet to the side, Tess held the back of her hospital gown together so she wasn’t mooning the man while he checked the wound site.

“Yes, good. I see no changes. You can turn over again.”

Tess situated herself before calling out, “I’m covered,” so the men could turn back around.

“My nurse is arriving with the results of the lab work.” He circled her bed and moved to the chair in the corner. Pressing his feet together, he let his legs fall to the sides. A metal chart hung from his hand between his knees.

Tess thought that he looked tired and was probably on his second shift of the day.

He smiled at Tess. “You are not the first American woman I have spoken with this week about snakes. I had an American woman visit me the other day. She brought a picnic with things that I had never tried before. There was a dish called deviled eggs and another that was called Texas caviar. Most interesting.”

“Another bite?” Enrico asked, his brows furrowed with concern.

Tess thought there was a lot to his worries. There were life and limb dangers to people and that meant mounting emergency interventions. But too, Namibia had three main industries, and tourism was the most important one. If word of tourists dying from venomous bites spread, an already difficult economic environment would worsen.

“No, this woman, she was doing research. I think perhaps she was a travel blogger.”

“Tell me the story,” Enrico smiled.

That was a phrase that Tess loved to hear in southern Africa, “Tell me the story.” Gathering for stories was an important part of the culture.

“This woman was interested in learning about tourist encounters with our wildlife and what they could expect if something should happen to them as they roamed around the country.”

“You told her that the hospitals are few and far between?” Enrico asked.

“I did and also that we can’t fly antivenom out to people. They need to have it in the hospital because an allergic reaction can be every bit as deadly as snake venom.”

“I was in the south at Sossuvlie climbing Big Daddy,” Tess said. “The nearest hospital was four hours and forty-nine minutes away.”

“That is quite a precise drive time,” Enrico said. “Did someone need the hospital?”

“No. I looked it up as the result of a conversation about wearing flip-flops to the bathhouse.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I guess my point was that five hours with a venomous anything bite is dangerous. But, excuse me, I’ve interrupted your story about the blogger.”

“Yes. Yes. She asked me an interesting question. You will enjoy this, Enrico. It is a question that is both far-fetched and yet—” He waggled a finger near his ear as if there was a subject to contemplate. “A question that has planted itself in my mind to be mulled. Here in Namibia, in the winter, during the night, it is typically too cold for reptiles to be out. Some days are warm, and they might wake enough to sun themselves.” He opened a hand toward Tess. “As your zebra cobra seems to have done. But, typically, from June to September, the reptiles rest.”

Levi pushed his hands into his pockets and pressed a shoulder against the wall, listening.

“This is not true for several of our more venomous snakes. For example, for the black mamba, it is mating season. The male snakes are out seeking a female. The female, she wishes to be found. To this end, the female mamba will secrete a pheromone and leave a trail that the males follow. Sometimes, two males will arrive at the same time, and they will fight. Rising up, they will entwine themselves, each trying to press the other one's head into the sand.”

“Until one of them says ‘uncle?’” Levi asked with a grin.

“Exactly so. The weaker of the two must slither away and allow the stronger one to mate. Knowing this brief backstory, this is what she asked, ‘Is it possible for someone to unwittingly walk along the pheromone trail of a female mamba and get the scent on their boots, go to their lodge room, and look up to find a bunch of male black mambas were chasing her down? And would this person be in trouble?”

The men’s laughter was loud and bawdy.

Enrico clutched his stomach and stammered out between guffaws, “Wow, that’s a vivid imagination.”

When the hilarity quieted to smiles, Tess canted her head. “So? Is it possible?”

“I do not know.” The doctor placed a hand over his heart. “No one has ever posed this to me before. I would like to find out for certain. Would I say possible?” He shrugged with open palms. “Why not? Would I say probable?” He shrugged again. “Since I have never heard of such an event, I think not. Surely, if it had ever taken place, there would be fire stories and songs about it. But when I return to my family’s village, I will ask the elders.”

A nurse came in with Tess’s lab work, and the doctor took a moment to review it.

“This looks to me to be a dry bite.” He stood. “Until tomorrow, I will not jinx these results by saying you were very lucky.” He tapped the folder on her bedtable. “I think you should go to sleep if you can.” He caught Tess’s gaze. “This has been a very anxious situation. But so far,” he tipped his chin down, “you have no signs that concern me. The nurse will monitor you on the half-hour. We’ll draw more blood around five. And we will see what we see.”