Chapter Thirteen #2
Aaron released his hold, but remained close.
Danny fitted Mira’s arm with an inflatable splint, which required first straightening the arm.
Mira cried out and Carter bit the inside of his mouth until he tasted blood, but he never looked away.
He didn’t think she had seen him yet, surrounded as she was by the people tending to her.
Carrie cleaned her head wound and Harper held her uninjured hand and talked softly to her.
They gave her oxygen and wrapped her warmly against shock, and placed an ice pack on her swelling eye.
Then they gently transferred her to the litter for the trip down the mountain.
“There’s somebody here who wants to talk to you,” Danny said, and motioned for Carter to come forward.
He forced a smile, though he had little confidence it was convincing. “Hey,” he said, and rested one hand lightly over the tips of her fingers. They had placed an IV in the back of the hand and he was afraid of disturbing it. “Hey,” he said.
“Hey.” Her voice was a whisper. She tried a smile, but it turned into a grimace.
“How are you doing?” he asked.
“Better now.”
Aaron moved in on her other side. “What can you tell us about the person who attacked you?” he asked.
“Not much.” Her words were distorted, her lip swollen and still dotted with blood. “He was dressed all in black—gloves and a ski mask, too.”
“Was he a big guy? Tall? Heavy?”
“No. He was about my height. Not much taller than me. And not heavy, but strong. He hit me really hard.”
“Did he say anything?”
“Nothing. He didn’t make a sound until Shayla hit him with a rock. Then he grunted.” She turned her head. “Shayla! Is she all right?”
“She’s fine. She’s with another deputy.”
“Is she hurt?”
“Only a few bruises. She said the guy seemed to be mainly after you.”
“I don’t know why,” Mira said. She closed her eyes. “I can’t believe this even happened.”
Aaron stepped back. “You can take her now,” he said. “We can talk to her more later.”
Carter moved out of the way, too, and fell in step beside his brother. “What happens now?” he asked.
“I’ll follow the ambulance to the hospital in Junction. After she’s treated I’ll interview her again and see if she remembers any more details.”
“Maybe another hiker saw the guy running away, or remembers his car in the parking lot,” Carter said.
“Maybe.”
The ambulance was waiting and Mira was loaded in right away. Shayla climbed in after her. Carter didn’t get a chance to speak to Mira again. When Aaron arrived at his patrol vehicle, Carter was there. “I’m coming with you,” he said, his hand on the passenger door.
Aaron said nothing, but slid into the driver’s seat and waited until Carter was buckled in. They followed the ambulance down the mountain, though it soon outpaced them.
“No lights and siren?” Carter asked.
“I won’t be able to talk to her again until the doctors are done,” he said. “Might as well give them some time.”
All Carter wanted was for her to be all right, out of pain and healing.
“So are you two dating?” Aaron asked.
“Not exactly.”
“What do you mean ‘not exactly’?”
“We’re friends. I want more and she says she’s not ready.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“I don’t have a choice.”
“So you think she’s worth waiting for.”
“Something like that.” He slid down farther in the seat. “I hope I’m not making a mistake.”
“Someone sure seems to have it in for her,” Aaron said. “Maybe it’s just as well you’re not too involved with her. It sounds like she’s made some enemies.”
“Is this supposed to make me feel better?”
“Her description of her attacker sounds like the same guy who grabbed Bryce Atkinson,” Aaron said. “I have to wonder if there’s a connection.”
“If it is the same guy, that lets Mitch Anders off the hook,” Carter said.
“It’s not public knowledge yet, but they’re releasing Mitch Anders this afternoon. At least half a dozen people saw him at the school at the time Bryce was being kidnapped.”
“Why did they arrest him in the first place?”
“Someone’s door cam caught the vehicle driven by the kidnapper,” Aaron said. “Same make, model and color as Anders’s. Only the first three letters of the license plate were visible, but those matched Anders’s also. He fit the description Bryce gave, too. That added up to probable cause.”
“Could someone else have driven his car?” Carter asked. “His dad lives with him.”
“His dad can hardly walk,” Aaron said. “I can’t see him manhandling a fighting kid.”
At the hospital, they waited while Mira’s arm was set. “She has a concussion and we’re keeping her overnight for observation,” the doctor told them. “You can talk to her, but keep it brief.”
What was it about hospital beds that made people look so small and vulnerable?
Carter thought as he followed Aaron into the dimly lit room with its soundtrack of beeping machinery.
Mira seemed to float on a sea of green sheets, her dark hair spread out on the pillow around her, her face almost as pale as the bandage across her forehead.
But her eyes were open, and she smiled at him.
“So I didn’t dream you were here,” she said.
“I’m here.” He took her hand and she squeezed it tightly, hanging on.
“How are you feeling?” Aaron asked.
“A little floaty,” she said. “They gave me something for the pain. The doctor says I have a mild concussion. And a broken arm.” She lifted the cast, swathed in pale blue wrapping.
“What do you remember now about the person who attacked you?” Aaron asked.
“He was strong. And fast. Not too tall. Dressed all in black.” One of the monitors began beeping faster. “He wanted to hurt me. I thought he was going to kill me.”
A nurse came into the room and checked the monitor. She laid a hand on Mira’s shoulder. “How is your pain?” she asked.
“Not too bad.” Mira forced a smile. “Getting better.”
The nurse looked at Aaron and Carter. “Don’t upset her,” she said, and left, the soles of her shoes squeaking on the tile floor.
“How is Shayla?” Mira asked.
“She’s fine,” Aaron said. “She only has a few bruises. Her parents picked her up a few minutes ago.”
“Mitch is being released this afternoon,” Carter said. He ignored the scowl Aaron sent him.
Mira’s smile was genuine now. “I’m so glad.” She looked to Aaron, the tense look returned. “Do you have any idea who attacked us? Or why?”
“Not yet. Do you remember anything else about him? His eye color? Any particular odor? What he sounded like?”
“I couldn’t see his eyes. He didn’t smell like anything in particular, and he never spoke.”
“We’re still looking for hikers who might have seen the man in the parking area or on the trail,” Aaron said. He glanced at Carter. “I’m going to get some coffee and I’ll check back with you in a minute. We’ll need to head back.”
“Thanks.”
“That was nice of him to give us some time alone,” Mira said.
He leaned over and kissed her forehead, just to the right of the bandage. “I was so afraid when I saw you lying there on the trail.”
“I know. But I was glad to see you.”
“I hate that I have to leave soon, but you probably need your rest. I’ll come back tomorrow to take you home.”
“I’d like that.”
He started to pull his hand away, but she held on. “I’ve been thinking about how much time I’ve wasted.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was with a man before who turned out to be completely different than I thought. It made me doubt my judgment. I was afraid to be with anyone again. But you keep proving you’re dependable.”
His heart sank. “That’s me. Dependable. Steady. Not at all exciting.”
“I don’t want exciting. I just want you.” She pulled his face down to hers and kissed him. On the lips. Hers were swollen and tasted a little of antiseptic, but he didn’t care. She wanted him, and that was all that mattered.
“Humph.”
He drew back to find the nurse standing at the end of the bed, scowling at them. “I’d better go,” he said.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Mira said, and closed her eyes.
He walked out of the room, though it felt a little like floating. Aaron was waiting in the hallway, a paper cup of coffee in one hand. “All good?” he asked.
“All great.”