41. Lincoln
41
LINCOLN
I hit Arden like a linebacker taking down a running back, the force of it sending a sound of protest out of her. Or was it pain? Panic swept through me. Was she hit? Hurt? Something worse?
I kept her covered as another shot rang out. One of the horses whinnied, something snapped, and then Whiskey was running in the direction of Cope’s property. Hell.
Brutus growled, then barked, and Arden yelled out some order in German. The dog instantly lay down, but the growling didn’t cease. The shots did.
Other than Brutus’s snarls and Stardust’s sounds of protest, the world went eerily silent around us. No more shots. No nothing.
“Linc,” Arden whispered.
“Not yet,” I clipped. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was waiting for. Another shot? Pounding hoofbeats, letting us know the shooter was fleeing? It certainly wouldn’t be the sound of sirens, not out here.
That’s when I heard it. The faint sound of an engine. If I hadn’t been focused, I would’ve missed it. But it didn’t sound like a car. More like a dirt bike or an ATV .
Still, I waited.
When the sound of the engine disappeared, I rolled off Arden, my hands instantly roaming over her in search of injuries. “Are you okay? What hurts?”
Arden started to nod, but then all color drained from her face, her skin bleaching white.
“What? Where are you hurt?” I didn’t see any blood.
“I’m okay.” Her throat worked as she swallowed. “But you’re not.”
It was as if her words sent feeling zinging back through me, and with it came the pain. A burning sensation took root in my side, and I glanced down. Blood bloomed on the lower right side of my torso.
It couldn’t be that bad. I wasn’t passing out or struggling to breathe. But the pain intensified as if to argue that point.
Arden was already moving. She hauled up the pack that had taken the brunt of our weight and began pulling items out of it. As she grabbed what looked like a phone, she cursed. The screen was smashed. She tried hitting a couple of buttons before giving up and moving on to something else and calling to Brutus. “Freigeben.”
The dog ran over, licking her face and then mine. He was fine. No injuries. Just pissed as all hell on our behalf.
“We should move,” I said, wincing with the words.
Arden sent a scathing look my way. “We’re dealing with your wound, and then we’ll move.”
My gaze swept the campsite and the surrounding landscape. I saw no signs of movement, but that didn’t mean someone wasn’t out there, waiting. “How are we going to get home with only one horse?”
Arden winced. “We’ll have to walk. Stardust can carry the supplies.” She began pulling things from the first-aid kit. “Whiskey’s smart. She’ll run home. We just have to hope Cope or Sutton see her and send help.”
If they didn’t, the hike would take us all day. Who knew what could happen in that length of time?
“Lean against the tree and pull up your shirt,” Arden ordered.
I did my best to shift back, the pain flaring, bright and fierce. I didn’t miss Arden’s panic as she saw my pained expression. Forcing a smile, I tried to keep my voice light. “You know, I really don’t think now’s the time for you to get lucky.”
“You’re not funny, Cowboy.”
I leaned against the tree, wincing. “Come on, I’m a little funny.”
Arden didn’t laugh. Instead, she pulled some hand sanitizer from the kit and squirted some into her hands, rubbing them together. Then she donned gloves. “Lift your shirt.”
I did as she ordered and cursed. There was definitely a bullet wound. “See? Not that bad. It’s practically a graze.”
Arden’s gaze lifted to mine, fire flaring there. “You’re not helping.” She maneuvered so she could see my back, as well. “It looks like the bullet went through. That’s good. But you’re still bleeding. I need to clean the site and then pack the wound.”
“Why does something tell me that’s not going to feel like sunshine and rainbows?” I asked.
“Because it’s not.” She reached for a small bottle of hydrogen peroxide. “I’m sorry.” And then she poured it over the wound.
A strangled noise left my mouth, and Brutus growled in response.
“Stay with me,” Arden said, shifting so she could get to my back. She didn’t wait for me to say I was ready, she just poured the peroxide there, too.
I didn’t make a sound this time, but I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek—so hard I tasted blood. That probably wasn’t the smartest move given the fact that I needed all the blood I could keep in my body. But there was nothing to be done about it now.
“Okay. Lean back,” Arden instructed, helping me rest against the tree.
Pain pulsed through me, and my breaths came in shorter wheezes now. But Arden didn’t stop. She rifled through the kit in search of something before cursing. Then she pulled something out of a zippered nylon bag.
I blinked a few times, trying to clear my vision. “Vicious,” I mumbled. “What do you think I’m going to do with a tampon?”
Arden squared her shoulders. “You’re not going to do a damn thing, but I am going to plug your wound. ”
I gaped at her. “With a…tampon?”
“That was how they were first invented. To plug bullet holes in the eighteenth century.”
“Should I be scared that you know that?”
“Hey,” Arden huffed. “I read.”
She removed the tampon from the wrapper as I watched skeptically. But it wasn’t as if I had a better idea. Arden’s gentle fingers prodded the area around the wound, studying it. Then she looked up at me. “This really isn’t going to feel good.”
“Should I ask for the bourbon and a strap to bite down on like in the Westerns?”
“Linc. Please stop joking.”
I saw it then, the true terror Arden was trying to shove down. “Vicious,” I whispered, pulling her to me.
Arden’s forehead dropped to mine, and she trembled against me.
“I’m going to be fine. You’re going to patch me up, and then we’re going to get the hell out of here,” I assured her.
She pulled back a fraction, searching my eyes. “I think I should leave you with the rifle and Brutus. I’ll take Stardust and ride for home as fast as I can.”
“No.” There was a slap to that single word, a finality.
“Linc—”
“No.” I put even more force behind it the second time. “We stick together, you and me.”
Those gray-violet eyes glistened, and Arden’s jaw clenched with the struggle of holding back tears. “Don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I’m pretty partial to you, as well. So, why don’t we stick together and watch each other’s backs?”
Arden nodded, a slight tremor in the movement. “Okay. Because I’m gonna be really pissed if you die on me.”
I chuckled and instantly regretted it. “Don’t make me laugh.”
Arden winced. “Sorry.” Her gaze swept over my face. “Ready to get the worst of this over?”
I swallowed hard. “Ready. ”
She pressed a kiss to my mouth and then stayed there for a second. “Close your eyes. That way you won’t know it’s coming.”
I did as she instructed and focused on breathing. There was rustling, I felt Arden’s fingers around the wound and then, without warning, blinding pain. The kind that stole your breath and made the whole world disappear around you.
All I could do was breathe—try to grab hold of air, over and over. Just as I caught that precious oxygen, pain flared in a fresh wave of white-hot agony. I kept breathing.
Some part of me was aware of Arden bandaging the sites, and then the pain dulled as if I could feel the disconnect between my body and mind.
“Drink this.” Arden wrapped my hand around a small bottle.
“I hope it’s bourbon,” I croaked.
“You get home without giving out on me, and I’ll give you all the bourbon you want.”
My eyes flickered open. No bourbon, but the last of the orange juice. Probably not a bad idea to get a little sugar in the system. I tossed it back. “Hope this isn’t leaking into my gut.”
“Not funny,” Arden growled.
“Easy, Vicious,” I said, grabbing her hand. “Look where I was shot. Barely more than a graze. I doubt it hit anything vital.”
Arden glared at me. “If you’re not right, I’m kicking your ass.”
“So grumpy when emotions are involved.”
She rolled her eyes. “Do you want to try to stand, or do you need more time?”
I glanced at the sky. We were getting close to midday, which meant we needed to move. “Let’s get me up.”
“Okay. I want you to grab hold of my shoulders. I’m going to use my weight to lift you. Do not tense your stomach muscles.”
I nodded, looping my arms around Arden. But even that caused a fresh wave of pain.
“Three, two, one.” Arden leaned backward with all her might.
My mind went blank. It was as if all the nerve endings were rioting, and everything just checked out. But maybe that was better, a mercy.
“Linc.” Arden’s voice, with just that hint of rasp, brought me back to the here and now. She pressed a hand to my cheek. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, needing a second before I spoke. “I’m good. I’ve got this.”
She studied me, not looking all that sure of my words. “Okay. I’m getting Stardust, and then we’ll go.”
I just kept breathing, Brutus at my side. “You like me, don’t you?”
The dog looked up at me, and I swore he let out a begrudging huff.
“Don’t worry. I like you, too. Even if you are a cockblock.”
“Should I be concerned that you’re talking to my dog as if he’s going to answer you?” Arden asked as she crossed to me, rifle in hand.
“He makes himself understood,” I argued.
One corner of her mouth kicked up. “That’s true enough.” She bent to give Brutus a scratch. “You’re looking out, aren’t you?”
Brutus pressed into her hand in answer.
As Arden straightened, she scanned our surroundings. “Let’s go.”
I frowned. “Don’t you need a lead rope for Stardust?”
She shook her head and made a clicking sound. Stardust moved right in our direction, packs in place.
“I’ll be damned,” I muttered.
“She likes to stay near her people. Plus, it’s better if my hands are free. Just in case.”
I knew what she meant. In case someone was waiting on our path home, and Arden needed to use that rifle in her hands.
“Let’s move.” The urgency of the moment bore down again as I started walking. Each step brought a new flare of pain, just like each rustle in the brush had me tensing. I just had to hope like hell that whoever had taken those shots was long gone.
Our progress was slow at best, and we had to take a longer route to stick to the edge of the tree line in hopes of protection—or at least something to dive behind if the shooter reemerged. But Arden was right, Stardust plodded along right behind us, and Brutus stuck to my side as if sensing something had happened to compromise me.
We were quiet as we moved, both of us continually scanning our surroundings. Stardust noticed it first. She shifted, letting out a soft whinny.
The rifle was instantly braced against Arden’s shoulder as she swept the landscape in front of us. Movement flickered, and then a figure emerged from the trees, a gun leveled at us.