Chapter 15
“Cam!” Evie bolted toward Cam, her heart thudding painfully in her chest. What if Kyle killed him?
Kyle had fired so many times she wasn’t even sure how she and Bruno had managed to avoid being hit.
That they’d survived was only because of God’s grace.
She dropped to her knees beside Cam’s body and took a long deep breath before feeling for a pulse.
The rapid beat of his heart was thready and weak.
In the light of the moon, she could make out a dark puddle of blood congealing on his chest. He had been shot!
She couldn’t see how bad the wound was or how much blood he was losing.
“Hold on, Cam, do you hear me?” She balled his shirt up and pressed it over the entry wound on the upper left side of his chest. Exit wounds were usually worse.
Keeping him on his back so the weight of his body would add pressure might help.
Bruno came over to sniff at Cam, then he whirled and trotted toward Kyle’s prone figure in the dirt.
Glancing at her dog, she belatedly realized she needed to make sure Kyle was no longer a threat. Was running over someone enough to kill him? She had no idea. She didn’t want to leave Cam but forced herself upright.
She crossed the yard with trepidation, half expecting Kyle to jump to his feet like some evil killer in a horror flick. Bruno sniffed at Kyle, then sat and barked as if to let her know he was the killer.
“I know, boy. Good job.” Reaching Kyle, she swallowed hard as she saw the indentation from the SUV tire tracks crisscrossing his body. She’d done that. Granted, Kyle had shot at her several times, but she’d run him over.
More than once.
He’d deserved it, she’d only been trying to survive, but somehow that didn’t make her feel any better. She bent to feel for a pulse but found nothing. Her vision blurred as she realized she’d killed him.
Lord Jesus, please forgive me!
On the heels of that prayer, her thoughts abruptly cleared. Kyle was dead, but Cam wasn’t. She rose and turned away, trying not to think about what she’d done. She had no doubt Rueger would be upset at how things had gone down, but that wasn’t her concern.
Bruno stared up at her in the darkness, his eyes gleaming. Pulling herself together, she abruptly veered toward the rental house, knowing she needed to get towels. Her only goal now was to stabilize Cam until the ambulance could arrive.
Ambulance! Dialing 911 with one hand, she entered the house and grabbed a thick towel with the other.
She hurried back outside to press the towel against Cam’s wound as the dispatcher responded.
She quickly hit the speaker button so she could use both hands to apply pressure to Cam’s wound. “What is the nature of your emergency?”
“Gunshots fired, I have one man severely wounded, and I need an ambulance stat!” She rattled off the address. The glimmer of approaching headlights caught her eye. Someone was driving up to the house. Rueger? Maybe. She added, “Please hurry,” before ending the call.
The oncoming headlights helped illuminate the yard.
She squinted against the brightness, her stomach clenching as an unfamiliar man emerged from the vehicle.
He had short blond hair and wasted no time in rushing toward her.
He stopped abruptly when Bruno whirled away from Kyle, planting himself between the newcomer and Evie to protect her.
“Easy, boy.” The man she assumed was Doc held out the back of his hand. She thought she heard a hint of a southern drawl in his voice. “I’m one of the good guys.”
“Friend, Bruno. He’s a friend!” She couldn’t hide her relief. “Are you Doc? Please help, Cam’s been shot.”
Doc gave Bruno a wide berth to join her. He knelt on Cam’s other side. They moved so that the light from his vehicle bathed Cam’s body.
“Hold pressure,” she instructed. “I want to check his pulse again.”
With a curt nod, Doc waited until she moved her hands to apply pressure to Cam’s chest wound. He was bigger than she was, and she hoped adding his weight would help slow the blood loss. She found Cam’s pulse and sent up a silent prayer for God to continue watching over him.
“Only one bullet wound?” Doc asked.
“I think so.” She quickly ran her hands over Cam’s extremities. “He was upright and talking for a while before he collapsed.”
“That’s a good indication the bullet missed vital organs.”
She wasn’t so sure. Chest wounds could be tricky.
Especially since she felt certain the left upper lobe of Cam’s lung was likely collapsed.
“I don’t suppose you have IV fluids handy, huh?
” She eyed Doc as she continued palpating his pulse.
“The ambulance is on the way, but I’m concerned he hasn’t regained consciousness. ”
“Could be from the blood loss or severe pain. Maybe a combination of both.” Doc held her gaze. “You’re a nurse?”
“Yes. I work in the OR.” She stared down at Cam, feeling helpless. “He left the house while I was sleeping to head into the woods. I’m not sure why. Bruno and I came out to look for him when Kyle arrived. He threatened to shoot Bruno if I didn’t get into his police cruiser.”
“Kyle’s the dead guy back there?” Doc asked.
“Yes. He’s a cop and a brutal killer.” She grimaced. “He fired several rounds at me, yet I managed to run over him with the SUV. A lot.”
Despite the grim situation, the corner of Doc’s mouth kicked up in a crooked smile. “Saw that. Good job.”
She winced, trying not to feel guilty for what she’d done.
It wasn’t easy. At the time all she could think about was preventing Kyle from continuing to shoot at her and Cam.
And Bruno. She hadn’t even been sure if running over him would be enough, so she’d backed up to do it again, hoping to keep him down.
If she were honest, her anger had clouded her judgment. She’d been so upset and angry that he’d killed Skye and Jasmine, along with who knew how many others, that she’d snapped. If she could have run him over ten times, she would have.
She could only hope God would forgive her.
“We need those fluids.” She swept her gaze toward the road. “Why is it taking the ambulance so long to get here?”
“I have a medical kit, but no fluids.” Doc regarded her steadily. “Cam’s strong. He’ll pull through.”
She bit her lip and nodded. Before she could say anything more, the faint wail of sirens could be heard in the distance. As if sensing her need for urgency, the shrill sound grew louder and louder as the authorities made good time.
The ambulance would be accompanied by a squad, per protocol. It occurred to her that Kyle’s death may have played a role in the delay. The dispatcher wouldn’t know there was one less police officer patrolling the city.
Would she be arrested? She glanced at Bruno, then at Doc. “If things don’t go well when the police arrive, I need you to watch over Bruno for me.”
Doc’s brow furrowed. “I don’t understand why you’re concerned, even a rookie cop could tell what happened here.”
“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” There wasn’t time to explain, not when the sirens were loud enough to shatter her ear drums.
A uniformed officer emerged from the squad first, staring in horror at Kyle’s body before swinging his gaze toward her. “What happened? Who did this?”
She felt Doc tense at the accusatory tone. She ignored his question. “My name is Evie Tobin. I’m a nurse from Grand Rapids. We have a GSW to the chest here. Where are the paramedics?”
On cue, the ambulance pulled up behind the police car. She took several steps forward, until the cop lifted his weapon. “Stay where you are! I want to know what happened to Officer Abernathy.”
She glared at him. “He tried to kill me and my dog, Bruno. Oh and he shot Cameron Walker. He’s a cold-blooded killer, and I ran over him with the SUV.” She threw out a hand pointing to the bullet-ridden SUV, then turned to gesture at Cam. “We need medical help now!”
The cop looked as if he might argue, but thankfully, the two EMT/paramedics rushed forward with a gurney carrying medical supplies.
Evie stepped back to give them room. As much as she wanted to help stabilize Cam, she understood the young cop wasn’t going to be satisfied until she explained everything.
“Please call Detective Rueger,” Evie said, striving to remain calm. “He’s been investigating the murder of Skye Gray and Jasmine Kramer and is aware of the danger that I’ve been in for the past two days.”
“Don’t move!” The officer held his weapon in one hand and reached up to the radio clipped to his collar with the other. “Stay where you are and keep your hands where I can see them.”
She barely refrained from rolling her eyes. She wasn’t armed, the fireplace poker was lying on the ground somewhere, and she wasn’t a threat. As he spoke to the dispatcher, another car pulled up the driveway. She was relieved to recognize Detective Rueger exiting the car.
Turning away, she moved toward the trio working on Cam. Fluids were infusing wide open as one paramedic placed a pressure dressing over the chest wound.
“Pulse still tachy at 110. Oxygenation is low at 85 percent despite adding oxygen.” The paramedic’s tone was calm. “He probably needs a chest tube.”
Evie bit her lip, watching as they worked over Cam. She stepped closer. “Is there anything I can do?”
Cam’s eyelids fluttered open. “Evie?”
“I’m here, Cam.” She pasted a bright smile on her face. “Doc’s here, and you’re going to be taken to the hospital shortly.”
“Not hurt?” Cam frowned as he looked up at her.
“I’m fine. So is Bruno.” Her smile faded as Cam’s eyes slid closed. She caught Doc’s grim expression and knew Cam’s condition was still tenuous.
“What happened here?” Rueger demanded.
Evie gathered every ounce of patience she possessed before turning to face the irate detective. At least the initial responding officer had holstered his weapon, apparently accepting she wasn’t going to shoot at him.
Or run him over with a car.