Page 11 of Valor (Long Hot Summer: Christian Romantic Suspense #2)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Owen fought an overwhelming sense of dread as he barreled away from the ranger station. He’d known the minute he’d glimpsed the ranger carrying his handcuffs that Doug had ordered his arrest.

When push came to shove, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t stand the idea of spending the rest of his life in prison.

Or maybe he was just a coward.

Realizing his hands were shaking, Owen slowed and made a right-hand turn down a side street. He willed his pulse to settle as he drove around the block. He slowed until he reached the end of the road.

Stopping the truck, he placed the gearshift into park, killed the engine, and scrubbed his hands over his face.

His time with Emily was over. The events of the day rolled over and over in his mind. And the thing that stuck out the most was the way Emily had tried to protect him. She’d yelled at the ranger to stop, pointing out how Owen was in danger too.

Humbling to know how much she cared.

Far more than he deserved.

He sat for long minutes, staring out at the street leading to the ranger station. His earlier exhaustion returned with a vengeance. Maybe bone-deep weariness was the reason he was struggling. Because even as he sat there, he was inexplicably torn between jumping on the interstate to head east, getting as far away as possible before anyone could find him, and going back to make sure Emily was safe until her brother arrived.

There was no reason for him to be worried about Emily’s safety. The armed ranger would protect her.

But he still couldn’t shake the feeling that one of the supposed good guys was involved. Hernandez must have been working with one of the guys in law enforcement. In his mind, he went back and forth between DEA Agent Colin Granger and his police contact, Will Minor.

His gut leaned toward Will Minor as being the bad guy. Owen had called him first after leaving the Double D Ranch. Will Minor had sounded absolutely shocked to hear from him but had quickly agreed to arrange a meeting with Juan Sanchez to get him back into the drug operation. Owen knew Minor was a Colorado cop who worked on the drug eradication task force with Granger.

Yet it was hard to imagine Will Minor driving around the state of Wyoming following him and Emily from one location to the next, especially since he didn’t have jurisdiction.

Then again, what did jurisdiction matter if Minor had no intention of bringing them in? All the cop had to do was kill them, make it look like someone hired by Domingo Hernandez had done the deed before turning around to head back to Colorado.

Yeah, the more he considered the options, the more he believed Will Minor was the guy involved with Hernandez. After all, Owen’s team had included a local cop too. It stood to reason that Will Minor had been just as greedy.

Should he go back to the ranger station to share his suspicions with Doug? Owen didn’t move, paralyzed by indecision. It wasn’t as if he had proof that Will Minor was the bad guy working with the Hernandez operation. And he already knew Doug Bridges was inclined to immediately arrest him while working out the pesky details later.

How much later? Weeks? Months? Years?

His chest hurt, knowing that no matter which path he chose in the next few minutes, he’d never have what he really wanted.

A future with Emily.

He wasn’t sure how it had happened, but he’d fallen in love with her. His feelings had flickered to life, penetrating his icy heart back in January, when she’d cared for his infected wound despite how his men had kidnapped her. She’d been sweet and empathetic, begging him to go to the hospital so he wouldn’t die. He remembered listening while pretending to be asleep as she prayed for him.

Her words had touched him deep in his heart.

Spending the past forty-eight hours with her had only shown him what he was missing. A woman who cared. A possible normal life that didn’t include mingling with drug dealers. Somehow, his desperate thirst for revenge had waned. Emily had been right when she’d mentioned that killing Hernandez wouldn’t bring Oliver back.

He lifted his gaze to the sky, wondering if there really was an almighty God. One who had sent his only son to forgive their sins.

Even his? Owen found that hard to believe.

Yet Emily had insisted that was the case. That once he accepted Jesus as his savior, his sins would be forgiven.

It shocked him how badly he wanted to learn more. To understand what Emily experienced while praying.

Lifting his gaze to the sky, he silently begged for guidance.

After several long minutes, he dropped his gaze, feeling foolish. Did he really think he’d hear God’s voice? No way. He closed his eyes and fought a wave of despair. Then he forced himself to shake it off. He reached over to restart the truck when he saw a black SUV rolling down the highway toward the ranger station.

He leaned forward, trying to get a glimpse of the driver. But the guy didn’t look his way, so he couldn’t tell if he was Doug or someone else.

And if the driver was someone else? He abruptly knew he had to go back. But not driving the truck. He’d go on foot. Without giving himself a chance to talk himself out of it, Owen pushed open the truck door and closed it. Then he ran in a diagonal path back toward the ranger station, approaching from the back of the building rather than the front.

His previous exhaustion faded. Fueled with a new energy, he quickly covered the distance. The black SUV was still in front of him, turning into the parking lot. The driver could easily spot him, but that didn’t stop Owen from sprinting toward the side of the building.

When he reached the structure without hearing anyone shouting his name—or worse, firing at him—he lowered to a crouch and caught his breath. His view of the parking lot was limited now, and he couldn’t see the black SUV. After a long, deep breath, he rose and edged closer to the front of the building.

Peering around the corner, his breath caught in his throat when he saw the black SUV parked next to the green forest ranger truck. But where was the driver? He frowned, wondering if Doug had arrived and was currently inside with Emily and Ranger Campbell.

Then he heard voices.

“I told you Owen is in danger!” Emily’s voice was agitated. “Why would you order Ranger Campbell to arrest him when you knew that Owen had been the one keeping me safe this whole time?”

“Emily, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Doug sounded impatient. “I didn’t tell anyone to arrest Owen, although I can’t lie to you, that is my intent. He’s a criminal, remember? He needs to be held accountable for what he’s done.”

Wait a minute. Owen frowned. If Doug Bridges hadn’t issued the arrest order, then who had?

Owen was about to step out from behind the building when a second black SUV came into view.

And that’s when he knew. The bad guy was the one who’d made the call to the ranger station, maybe even pretending to be Doug. And that same guy was heading here, about to confront Emily at any second.

Not Minor, but DEA Agent Colin Granger!

Owen darted out from the corner of the building, doing his best to cut across the path of the oncoming SUV. “Emily! Doug! Look out!” He shouted the warning as loud as he could. “Seek cover!”

The sound of gunfire rang out just as Owen imagined he felt a hand shove him to the side. He tripped and nearly fell to the asphalt. He was vaguely aware of a searing pain along his right side, but he didn’t stop. He ran until he reached Emily and Doug.

“Granger is—dirty!” he gasped.

Doug had pushed Emily behind him but now stared grimly over Owen’s shoulder. “Get down!” Then louder, he added, “Stop! Or I’ll shoot!”

Owen dropped to his knees as Doug aimed and fired.

The sound was so loud Owen’s ears rang. He covered his head with his hands, as Doug ran around him, shouting commands to the man behind him. He couldn’t hear all the words but understood that Doug was commanding the guy behind him to keep his hands where he could see them.

Not Owen’s hands, he realized. But Granger’s.

It was finally over. Owen tried to push himself into a standing position but was hit by a wave of vertigo. Then he realized the pain along his right side had spread across his abdomen.

For the second time this year, he’d been struck by a bullet. What were the chances? Well, higher than normal if your choices included hanging out with criminals.

“Owen! Are you okay?” Emily’s sweet voice washed over him. And he thought he felt Bear licking his cheek but couldn’t be sure. “What happened? Are you hit?” Her soft hands gently eased him down to the ground.

He wanted to smile and reassure her he was fine. But the gray shadows at the corner of his eyes began to obscure his vision.

Until he was encompassed by darkness.

* * *

“Owen!” Emily had set Bear on the ground to kneel beside Owen’s collapsed body. Her heart squeezed in her chest as she saw the blood staining his shirt along the right side of his body. Frantic, she pressed her hands over the bleeding wound. “Owen, stay with me. You’re going to be okay. Stay with me!”

But Owen didn’t respond. Not even when Bear licked his cheek and nuzzled his neck.

“What happened?” Ranger Campbell came rushing toward her.

“Call 911,” she said. “He’s been shot. We need an ambulance here ASAP! And if you have a first aid kit, bring that out too!”

Campbell’s eyes bulged, and he whirled to head back inside. Despite her warning the ranger that she and Owen were in danger, she suspected the guy had never expected the situation to spiral out of control like this.

“Owen? Can you hear me?” When he didn’t answer, she fought to remain calm. This was her job. As an emergency department nurse, she’d handled much worse. “Doug? I need your help over here!”

“Coming!” Her brother sounded harried.

Emily drew in a deep breath, lowered her head, and closed her eyes. Please, Lord Jesus, spare Owen’s life. Don’t take him from me yet. Give him a chance to recover. To learn about You, Lord, and to do the right thing from this point forward. In Jesus’s name. Amen.

A sense of calm washed over her. She still couldn’t believe he’d come back. While she’d argued with Doug, she’d imagined Owen speeding along Interstate 90 heading to a place no one would ever find him.

Instead, he’d come rushing back to alert them of the danger.

Only to be shot while trying to protect her.

Tears pricked her eyes, but she willed them away. She didn’t have time to cry. She needed to stabilize Owen until the ambulance could get there.

Was there a hospital in Sheridan? She vaguely remembered seeing a blue hospital sign and prayed she hadn’t imagined it.

“The ambulance is on the way.” Campbell sounded breathless as he set the first aid kit on the ground beside her. Bear pounced on it, and she gently nudged the puppy out of the way so she could open it.

“Thank you. Do you have a hospital in this town? Or at least an emergency department?” As she spoke, she found and opened several packs of gauze.

“Yes, we do. Sheridan Memorial Hospital isn’t far.”

“Good.” Lifting Owen’s shirt out of the way, she used the gauze to absorb the blood to examine the wound more closely.

The front of his abdomen sported a jagged-looking wound that was larger than she’d expected. The exit wound? She pushed Owen’s body so that he was partially on his side to get a look at the back.

And found the entry wound.

Ironically, the bullet had gone all the way through his side. But the way the wound was bleeding made her concerned that his liver had been hit. The liver was a large viscus organ located along the right side of the human body. Based on the location of the bullet wounds, she suspected that was the source of Owen’s bleeding.

“What do you need?” Doug asked, coming over to kneel beside her. “Is he going to be okay?”

“Yes.” She refused to consider the possibility that Owen wouldn’t make it. “Help hold him on his side so I can bandage these wounds.”

“I’ve got him.” Doug’s voice sounded grim, and she knew he was feeling bad for how things had gone down. It wasn’t Doug’s fault.

There were so many things she wished she’d done differently. But this wasn’t the time for regrets. She opened more gauze, placing them over the entry wound. “Okay, lower him back down,” she instructed Doug. “We’ll have to use his body to apply pressure on the entry wound.”

“That jerk shot him in the back,” Doug murmured.

“Yeah.” She opened the last of the gauze, the first aid kit wasn’t that big, and pressed them against the exit wound. Then she pressed down hard, using her weight to help stem the bleeding. “Keep an eye on Bear, would you?”

Hearing his name, the puppy galloped over and tried to crawl into her lap. Doug gently pulled the pup away. “I’ve got him.”

She belatedly realized Doug had fired at the gunman who’d shot Owen. She risked a glance behind her. A man’s body was lying prone on the ground, and she could see the blood staining the asphalt. Her heart sank. “Does he need medical help too?”

“Probably not.” Doug grimaced. “I hit him in the chest with two rounds. I don’t think he’s going to make it.”

“I should go over and check on him.” She didn’t want to leave Owen, but she couldn’t in good conscience ignore another injured patient. Even if he was the one who’d tried to kill Owen. “Will you please hold pressure on Owen’s abdomen for me?”

“Yes.” Doug set the puppy down and placed his larger hands over the gauze.

The distant wail of sirens indicated help was on the way. Relieved that she’d have more medical support soon, Emily stood and rushed over to the injured man. The moment she saw his bearded face, she recognized him as one of the cops who’d interviewed her after the kidnapping. She hadn’t really paid attention to his name, as there had been several cops who’d come to talk to her. And really, Doug had been with her during most of those discussions.

Stunned, she knelt beside him and felt for a carotid pulse. It wasn’t there, but she repositioned her fingers in case she missed it.

Eyeing the injured man’s chest, she realized that his injury was not likely survivable. Doug’s aim had been true; both shots he’d fired had entered the bearded man’s chest to the right of his sternum.

Right where his heart would be.

She stood, anxious to get back to Owen. She couldn’t help glancing back at the fallen man one more time.

He was responsible for everything. Yet now that he was dead, she wasn’t sure how Doug would be able to prove it. Even the fact that the guy had shot Owen in the back didn’t mean much. Owen had been involved with a drug-running operation. Not to mention killing two men and wounding two more in self-defense.

Troubled, she returned to Owen’s side. Bear jumped up on her pants leg, so she swept the puppy into her arms and pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

“Well?” Doug asked.

“He’s gone.” She held her brother’s gaze. “Owen shouted about Granger being dirty. Is that him?”

“Yes, that’s DEA Agent Colin Granger.” Doug winced. “I hope you can forgive me, because he’s here because of me.”

She nodded somberly. “You’ve been working with him all this time, haven’t you?”

“Yes. He’s a fellow DEA agent from Colorado. I knew he was interested in Owen back when we caught the rest of his crew in January, when we rescued you from the cabin. Remember how he came to interview you back then? Granger was there and so were a couple of other cops. I had no way of knowing he might be dirty.”

The sirens were louder now, making it hard to hear. “I don’t blame you, Doug. Owen suspected someone was dirty, but all we had was his gut instinct on that. Without proof, there wasn’t much you could do.”

“I could have believed him.” Doug glanced down at Owen. “Especially after he risked his life for yours.”

“Please don’t arrest him.” She spoke fast, as the ambulance would be there at any moment. “Owen is a good man. I’ll explain how he got involved in this later, but please trust me that he’s not a criminal at heart.”

Doug nodded, then his gaze tracked to the oncoming ambulance. There was so much more she wanted to say, but there wasn’t time.

“Here, take Bear.” She thrust the puppy at him. “I’ll work with the EMTs to care for Owen.”

Doug took the puppy, then eased back, giving her room to take over holding pressure. The ambulance driver finally silenced the sirens, but she was concerned that the loud sound hadn’t woken Owen.

Had he lost too much blood? She glanced over at the ambulance, willing the EMTs to get there faster.

They jumped out and ran around to the back of the bus. After grabbing medical supplies, including a portable automatic external defibrillator, the male and female team hustled over with a gurney.

“What happened?” The older male wore a name tag identifying him as Jerry.

“Gunshot wound to the right flank.” She was surprised at how easily she slipped into her role of an emergency nurse. “It’s a through-and-through injury, but he’s lost a lot of blood. He probably has a lacerated liver.”

The younger female EMT’s name tag read Sharon. She set about placing an IV as Jerry slapped EKG patches on Owen’s chest and connected the wires to the external defibrillator. Emily swallowed hard when she saw Owen’s pulse racing across the small screen at a rate of nearly 160 beats per minute.

He’d definitely lost too much blood. She eyed the IV Sharon had placed, then addressed Jerry. “My name is Emily, and I’m an ER nurse from Cody. Will you please run those fluids wide open? I know most ambulances don’t carry any blood products.”

“We don’t.” Jerry gave her an appraising nod as he wrapped a blood pressure cuff around Owen’s other arm, the one that didn’t have the IV tubing attached. “Sharon, I agree with Emily that we need to run those fluids in as fast as possible.”

“Got it.” Sharon quickly opened the clamp so that the IV fluids could run freely into Owen’s veins.

“Thank you.” She was relieved they’d gone along with her suggestion. When Owen’s blood pressure flashed on the screen, her heart sank. “Do you see that? A BP of 90 over 60 is too low. Can you start a second IV?”

“I think it’s better if we get him on the gurney,” Jerry said. “We’re not that far from the hospital. They’ll have blood products there.”

“Okay.” She decided not to waste time arguing. “But I’m coming with you.”

“Fine with me.” Jerry collapsed the gurney, then eyed her and Sharon. “Ready?”

She took Owen’s legs while the two EMTs lifted each side. Jerry stepped around the gurney, then they carefully set Owen down. She held the IV bag as Jerry and Sharon strapped Owen onto the gurney, then lifted it upward so they could wheel him to the rig.

She ran alongside the gurney, then glanced back at Doug. “Meet us at the hospital, okay?”

Doug nodded, cradling Bear in his arms. “Right behind you.”

She nodded and stood off to the side as the EMTs lifted Owen’s now-collapsed gurney up into the back. Jerry leaned over to take the IV from her, clearly intending to stay with Owen in the back while Sharon ran around to get behind the wheel.

Emily jumped up to join Jerry. She took Owen’s hand in hers and prayed as Sharon drove away from the ranger station.

As promised, the trip to the local hospital didn’t take long. It didn’t look as big as the one in Cody, but at least they had one. And she could also see a large helicopter landing pad off to the side, which meant they could send complicated cases to a larger hospital.

When the three of them entered the emergency department, a doc rushed over to join them, and soon they were in one of the curtained bays. “Is this the GSW to the abdomen?”

“Yes. It’s a through-and-through injury, but I believe his liver was hit.” Emily locked gazes with the provider. “His blood pressure is low, and he’s tachycardic. He needs blood and a trip to the OR. That is, if you’re able to perform surgery here?”

“We have an OR suite, but whether we keep him here or not depends on how bad the wound is.” The doc lifted the gauze as the EMTs along with another nurse worked on getting Owen connected to the hospital equipment. Owen’s blood pressure had risen to a whopping 96 over 52 with the IV fluids. “Yeah, I think we can handle this.”

Emily was glad to hear it and forced herself to step back to give the team room to work. To the provider’s credit, it didn’t take him long to make the arrangements. “Let’s get him prepped. We’re heading to the OR in five.”

“What about the blood?” Emily couldn’t help worrying.

“It’s being sent to the OR.” The provider, whose name she didn’t catch, flashed a reassuring smile. “We’ve got this.”

As they wheeled him away, Emily knew Owen’s fate was in God’s hands.

And the only thing she could do now was to wait and pray.