Chapter 62
62
ASHER
I peeled Summer’s shirt back to expose the bloody mess of her abdomen. The bullet had hit just below her ribs, near the center but slightly to the left. I wanted to check whether it had gone all the way through but was wary of moving her too much.
I considered removing her shirt completely, but she was lying on the ground and would be cold enough without me taking away the only barrier between her and the snow. I glanced around, my mind working furiously, then remembered the blanket she’d carried out.
I raced over to her discarded things and yanked the blanket from under her clothes, then I retrieved her pants and brought both items back to her. Using the pants as padding, I compressed the wound. Hopefully the low temperatures would slow the bleeding, and between that and whatever I could do, I just had to pray she’d survive.
A murmur of voices became audible in the distance. I glanced up, maintaining pressure on the wound. A group of people emerged from the forest. Nate was in the lead, rushing toward us. Several officers accompanied him.
“She’s injured,” I called to them. “Gunshot wound to the abdomen. Connor is restraining the shooter. She’s bleeding heavily. I need a first aid kit and transportation to a hospital. ASAP.”
Nate paled, his gaze catching on Summer for a moment, but then, like me, he summoned a mask of professionalism and spoke to the officer nearest to him. The officer turned and ran back the way they’d come.
Another of the officers called for an ambulance and the fire department—although I had my doubts the fire engine would be able to get anywhere near here.
Mehrtens hurried to join Connor, a pair of handcuffs ready to go. Robert didn’t struggle as she cuffed him and told him his rights. He just knelt dejectedly, his head low, his shoulders slumped.
“How is she?” Nate asked, hovering beside me. “What can I do?”
I jerked my head toward the wadded up pants. “Maintain compression. I’m going to shift her onto the blanket, so she isn’t lying directly on the snow. In this state, it would be easy for her to succumb to hypothermia.”
He lowered himself to his knees and took over from me the second I let go of the pants. “Is anyone else here? Any other perps?”
“Not that I know of.” I positioned the blanket beside Summer, along the length of her body. At that moment, Officer Patton arrived, clutching a first aid kit and breathing heavily. He must have been the one Nate sent back earlier.
“Put the kit there.” I gestured to the side. “Help me lift her. We need to be careful to move her as little as possible.”
Patton nodded, his expression grim. He wasn’t a trained paramedic, and I’d prefer to have Maia here to help, but we had to make do. I took Summer’s upper half and Patton grabbed her legs.
“On the count of three,” I said, sliding my hands beneath her to stabilize her. “One, two, three.”
Together, we hefted her sideways and onto the blanket, putting her down as gently as we could. Nate shifted around, keeping firm pressure on the gunshot wound. I opened the first aid kit and searched for anything that might be useful. I continued to work, the movements brisk, almost mechanical, as I fought to keep myself calm.
“Fuck.” Connor’s voice. “She’s unconscious?”
“Seems to be.” I couldn’t let myself dwell on it. “How are you all here?”
“I came back this morning to see whether we’d be able to get through to you,” Connor said, watching as I treated his baby sister the best I could. “When I reached the tree that had blocked you in, I noticed it had been cut.”
I frowned, momentarily distracted. “Cut?”
“It didn’t fall without some help,” he explained. “My guess is, your buddy here didn’t want you to leave, so he made sure you wouldn’t be able to get away quickly. It seemed suspicious, so I radioed Nate for backup, but before he arrived, I noticed the smoke. I was worried because you weren’t answering the radio, so I came over on foot.”
“Thank you.” I meant it wholeheartedly. “Without you, we might both be dead.”
Connor glanced up, ignoring my gratitude. But then, emotion always made him uncomfortable. “The paramedics are here. Are you ready to transfer her onto a stretcher?”
Part of me didn’t want to leave her care in anyone else’s hands, but she needed more than I could give her.
“We’ve got her,” Georgie, one of the paramedics, said as they set down a stretcher beside her. She directed us to each take a corner of the blanket and, with her guidance, we lifted Summer on. Georgie gripped one end, and her partner grabbed the other. They lifted the stretcher and began to walk back toward the road.
I fell into step beside them. “Where will you take her? I want to come.”
“An emergency helicopter will be at the medical center shortly,” Georgie said. “She’ll be flown to Christchurch from there.”
Then that’s where I’d go too.
“Have you been hurt?” Georgie asked, scanning me, no doubt noticing the blood that streaked my arms and torso.
“A little graze.” I held out my forearm to show her.
“That will need to be cleaned and bandaged.”
“I know. I can do it myself, as long as I have the supplies.” The wound had bled a lot, but it was hardly more than a narrow cut.
“You can do it in the ambulance. That way you’re not getting in the way during the flight.”
“Thanks.” I’d hoped they wouldn’t argue against letting me come with them. It was frowned upon to allow loved ones to ride along in case they tried to interfere, but they must trust me not to do that.
When we reached the ambulance, they loaded Summer into the back, and I sat in the passenger seat while Georgie passed me a few supplies and drove us to the medical center. She had to go slower than I’d have liked because of the snow on the road and the fallen trees blocking parts of it.
People must have already been out, getting started clearing the roads because a couple of trees had been sawn into pieces and moved aside, and grit and salt had been laid down to reduce the number of accidents.
I cleaned out my wound, layered gauze over it and taped a bandage on top. Only as we pulled into Destiny Falls did it occur to me that I wasn’t wearing a shirt. Biting the inside of my cheek, I reminded myself that my naked torso was nothing any paramedic hadn’t seen before.
Georgie pulled into the medical center and drove around the side of the building to the helicopter pad out the back. The helicopter was already there, as was Max, who was leaning inside to speak to the pilot.
I jumped out and strode over to them.
Max turned toward me immediately. “How bad is it?”
“GSW to the gut,” I told him. “Possibly a through-and-through, but I’m not certain. She’s lost a lot of blood.”
He nodded, his brows furrowed, and thrust a bag into my arms. “This has a change of clothes for both of you, as well as a few spare toiletries I had on hand.”
I cocked my head. “You’re coming with us, right?”
“Yes, but I’ll be busy. I need you to take this and update the family. My phone is in the front pocket.”
“Got it.” Of course, Summer’s parents must know by now. Three of their sons were already involved. Surely one of them had called Heather and Eugene. They’d be frantic. I was surprised they weren’t here, to be honest.
I hoisted myself into the helicopter and slunk away to the back, where I donned a set of headphones. Georgie and Max loaded Summer in, and then Max jumped in with us and shut the door. The pilot spoke through the headset and performed a few last-minute checks. Less than a minute later, we rose into the air above Destiny Falls.
Max’s phone vibrated as we were circling around Destiny Peak. I unzipped the front pocket and pulled it out. Liam was calling. I couldn’t answer, but I sent him a quick message to let him know I had the phone.
Liam: We’ll be close behind. Kennedy chartered a helicopter to Christchurch.
I almost laughed. At this point, Kennedy might as well buy a helicopter with how much trouble the Braddocks managed to get themselves into.
Asher : I’ll keep you updated.
The flight was over quickly. I found myself ushered into a hospital waiting room while she was whisked away to surgery. Max went with her to update the surgeon on her condition. I slumped onto a chair beside a vending machine and watched the minutes tick by on the clock on the wall.
The short time it took Max to return seemed to last forever.
“News?” I asked, bolting upright when he trudged wearily into the room.
“Prognosis is good, but gut shots are complicated. We won’t know for sure until she’s out.”
I groaned and dragged my hand down my face. “How long will that be?”
He grimaced. “Anywhere up to two hours would be my guess.”