Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
ADAM
The bark of the tree I leaned against felt rough on my back, but the pain just below my ribs grabbed most of my attention. I gasped for air, sinking down to the ground, and pressed firmly against my side. Deep breaths, I reminded myself.
My vision blurred.
Do not pass out.
I had to hope the arsonist chose to continue running rather than sticking around to finish the job.
I chuckled darkly to myself. I finally get the girl and now I might die alone in the woods.
It was my own stupid fault. But all I saw was red when the fucker appeared at the tree line, like he was gloating over his latest success. Or taunting us.
Blood covered my hands when I pulled them away. That wasn’t good, and I knew I needed to keep the pressure steady, but I also needed to assess the wound. It didn’t feel like the bullet penetrated, but I’d never been shot before, so I had no idea what that felt like.
I lifted my shirt, feeling around and scrutinizing the area. A long sigh slipped through my lips. It was just a graze. Still, I would need to get it cleaned and bandaged. I took in another deep breath and applied pressure to the wound.
After making sure the arsonist wasn’t in sight, I got to my feet and started limping slowly back the way I came. Fatigue spread through my body within minutes, and I questioned if I could make it.
Fear enveloped me as movement through the trees caught my eye. Had the fucker hung around waiting to see what I would do? But my panic quickly morphed into relief as Dylan came into focus.
He glanced down to where I held my bloody side, and his jaw visibly clenched as his gaze bore into me. I could only hope he thought to bring a med kit. He shifted to the side and my heart took off running at the sight behind him.
My love.
“Oh my God,” Lyla exclaimed, running toward me. She set the large jump bag down, and with shaky hands, tried to pull my shirt up.
I grasped her hands, stilling her movements. “Look at me, love.”
Her head rose, meeting my eyes. Fear swam in the depths of hers.
“I’m okay. It’s just a graze,” I murmured.
Her shoulders relaxed and I pulled her against my body. She wrapped her arms around me and I couldn’t stop the flinch of pain.
With a huff, she pulled away. “Let me see it.”
I sighed, knowing there was no use arguing with her. Besides, it did need to be cleaned and bandaged, although I was pretty sure it needed stitches, which meant an ER visit.
“Did you get a good look at him?” Dylan crossed his arms over his chest.
I gritted my teeth and shook my head. “The minute I gained distance and got close, the fucker tried to shoot me.”
He glared at me. “Apparently you missed the part where I said don’t be a hero, and he did, in fact, shoot you.”
I opened my mouth to make some dickhead remark, but slammed my teeth together and swallowed down a hiss as Lyla cleaned the wound on my side. I glanced down at her, taking in the look on her face that said she too wasn’t happy about my moment of heroism—or rather, impulsive stupidity.
“Sorry,” I breathed out, mostly directed at her and not Dylan.
She tended to me while Dylan and the officers he had with him continued on, leaving one to walk back with us. Once we cleared the tree line, Zack and the guys spotted us and came running.
“I’m fine.” I waved them off as they tried to disentangle me from Lyla to help me walk to the rig. God, I hated to be fussed over. And if I had anyone’s arm wrapped around me, I wanted it to be Lyla’s.
I flinched as Zack crossed his arms, shooting me a glare, assuming he was also pissed at my stunt.
“I’m okay.” I kept my gaze on Zack. “It’s just a superficial graze.”
A huff of annoyance came from Lyla. “Not the point. It could have been so much worse. And it’s still bleeding and needs stitches.
Nothing superficial about it. Not to mention the risk of infection.
” Her gaze bounced around the group, landing on Jay, who had recently gotten his EMT certification. “Can you drive the rig?”
Owen wanted all of the paid personnel certified before the end of the year. That way we could be an integrated fire/EMS station. Fortunately, Logan and Jay had finished theirs up a month ago, while Zack and Seth were still working on theirs.
Jay nodded. “Yeah, let me run it by the Lieutenant. We got the fire out so we should be good.”
Lyla led me to the back of the ambo, sitting me down and pulling me against her. Wrapping me in her embrace, the pain and everything around us seemed to disappear. Her touch not only calmed my body, but my soul as well.
Instinctively, I knew. Everything would be okay.