Page 44 of Valor

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.

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