Page 77 of Valor

He forced himself to reach up and touch her hand. “Not me, you.”

Her body stilled. “Lord, help me do this. I’m not hurt nearly as bad as you. If anyone is going to go through shock, it’ll be you. But not if I can stop this.” She bit her lip. “There was a tube of glue in the kit, similar to what the ranger used on me. I’m no nurse, but do you want me to try that?”

That would stop the bleeding, but she would have to clean his wound first or she could be sealing infection in the gash. There was no telling what had been on the knife before her attacker sliced him with it. He took a deep breath and forced his words to be calm and clear, despite the pain and fear that he could die right there on the floor. “It needs to be cleaned first.”

She nodded. “Okay, do you have the strength to hold this while I find something to help?”

He couldn’t nod with the slice to his neck, so he blinked once, and she apparently understood, leaving him to head for the counter once more. Thank God they’d brought him back here. If they’d left him on the side of the road where he’d caught up to her attacker and been surprised by more than one person in the car, he might not have survived.

Heather returned a minute later with paper towels soaked in warm water. She gently blotted at the wound and applied a cold salve. She must have found something she trusted in the kit. He wanted to smile but knew the action would pull and this was the worst possible time to move.

“Hold very still,” she muttered, as she captured her bottom lip in her teeth and shifted her position so she could see better. “You can’t die on me now.”

“Don’t plan to.” He winced as she squirted a thick bead of the liquid stitches over his wound. It started to dry almost immediately and pulled on the surrounding skin.

Heather held her hands away from him, one full of bloody paper towel, the other clean. “I can’t touch it, or I’ll be stuck to you. Now we wait to see if that’s enough to hold you together.” She reached for his hand and slowly, carefully cleaned all the blood.

The tender act did something to his battered heart that had always longed for someone to care for him. He’d never had a mother, grandmother, or even an aunt who was part of his life unconditionally. Deep inside, he’d wanted to be cared for without a catch.

That type of thinking would not help him move on once Heather’s father was back in the picture. She wouldn’t be free to come anywhere near him if she chose Ed or if he told them Allen’s secret. His head pounded as he considered the options. He’d always assumed the issue was what his dad had done, but what if it was something else?

Heather’s soft voice penetrated his unwelcome thoughts. “I think it worked. It’s dried, and the bleeding stopped. It’s a pretty gnarly color though.” She laughed.

He attempted to sit up and regretted it equally fast. “I need a minute.”

She touched his arm, weakly holding him down, obviously intending to keep him from hurting himself. “Please do. I wonder how long we’ll be in here? Take advantage of the time to rest while you can.”

He couldn’t begin to know how long they would have to wait, but he wished he’d taken the time to eat before rushing off to the meeting. “I’m so sorry about this. I’ve seen that same store clerk in here for months and he’s always friendly to me. He must be connected to Oliver and Aaron.”

“Or the guy from the meeting. That was him.”

Allen again wanted to nod, but couldn’t. “He must’ve left shortly after us. I thought Tommy would detain him, at least for a while. That worries me about what happened to him.” He couldn’t call to find out because his attacker had stripped him of his duty belt with his phone and gun.

Heather pulled her phone from her coat pocket and handed it to him. “I don’t think that guy out there wants to be as hands on as the others. He threatened to quiet me down when I pounded on the door, but he wasn’t physical with me to get me in here. He acted like he was doing me a favor. Maybe he’s been paid, but isn’t a part of this completely.”

The theory made sense. “Good.” He took the phone and dialed Jackie at her dispatch phone.

“Hey, Jackie. This is Allen. Have you heard from Tommy?” He would ask for backup after he was sure Tommy was okay.

“Tommy’s phone location is still at the Civic Center. I have had no updates from him in over an hour. I thought the meeting ended twenty minutes ago.”

“Who else is on duty?” His mind grew fuzzier by the moment. He needed something to bring his blood pressure back to normal, STAT.

“Officer Daily,” Jackie replied. “But he’s out on a call. There was an emergency on I90.”

So, he and Tommy were alone, without backup. “Can you try to reach Tommy again? If you do, tell him he’s needed at the Wall Mart. Heather Sundin and I are being held in the breakroom. My weapon has been taken, and I’m injured.”

“I read you,” she answered. “Do you want to stay on the line while I try to reach him?”

He couldn’t keep talking anyway. “No, call this number with an update as soon as you know anything.” He ended the call.

“We’re handling this alone, aren’t we?” Heather adjusted her legs from under her to sit cross-legged on the floor.

“For now, yes.” He prayed Tommy wasn’t hurt and that he could get there before the attacker returned to get what they wanted from Heather. Once they had it, there was no chance the attackers would let everyone go without a fight.

* * *

Heather trudgedto the sink again and washed her hands. They’d stopped shaking, but that didn’t stop her nervous insides. They were in a terrible predicament. Allen was hurt and pale. He’d lost a lot of blood and needed more doctoring than she knew how to give. She had no idea how to fight and couldn’t use a gun even if Allen still had one.

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