Page 5 of Deception and New Direction

The first soundIheard outside was a car racing down the street.Ablack van that sped way too fast for a residential area.

Vince yelled, “Cat!Ruthie!”

It was strained, butRuthie’svoice called out, “Ohmy god, they took her!Theytook her…and just…threw her in the car!”

I saw her crouched down by the rear driver’s side door of her car.Iraced toward her and noticed the blood on her hands and leg asIneared.

“Were you shot?”Iasked, squatting down next to her, trying to move her hands and assess the rest of her body for any injuries just asArchercame up on my side.

“I think so,” she said, breathing hard through the pain. “Myfoot hurts so bad.”

Despite my concern forRuthieon a personal level, myArmytraining kicked in andIbegan a quick scan of her possible injuries.Itlooked like a bullet may have nicked her foot, but there was too much blood to get an accurate assessment.

“Let’s carry her inside.Weneed to stem the blood flow,”Archertold me.

A surge of protectiveness came over me.Idid not wantArchertouching her.Ilifted her up myself, bridal-style, then directed him to call an ambulance.Asmuch asIwanted to run toward the house to get her to safety quicker,Ialso didn’t want to jostle her too much and risk worsening her injury, soIchose to walk briskly instead.

Archer, however, did race inside, so that by the timeIgot to the door, he was there withVince’smom,Susan, and some towels and a first aid kit.Susandirected us to the living room.

“Here, put her on the couch so she can lie back,”Susansaid to me.

“No,I’llget blood all over your couch,”Ruthieprotested. “Justput me on the floor,Jack.”

“Honey, it’s not the first timeI’vehad blood on this couch, and it likely won’t be the last, so shut it,”Susanreplied, directing me to putRuthiethere.

Dash tried to jump onto the couch with her, butSusanswiftly grabbed him and re-directed him.

I wasn’t a medic by any means, but myArmyRangertraining included theRangerFirstResponderprogram, soIknew basic medical care and some essential life-saving techniques to treat injuries and casualties on the battlefield.Thattraining kicked in asIscannedRuthie’sright leg then triaged whatIcould for the apparent gunshot wound on her foot.

ToRuthie’scredit, she didn’t scream or yell in pain.Sheused one of the towelsSusanhad given her and bit down on it asIpressed onto her foot to stem the blood flow.Shewinced, gasped, and moaned a few times whenIwrapped it, but that was it.Myfirecracker was a trooper.

TheEMTsarrived shortly after and began to load her up.Imade it very clear thatIwas going withRuthiein the ambulance, no exceptions.Westill had not yet determined the exact threat andIdidn’t want to leave her yet.

As we rode to the hospital, my mind raced.IknewIwould have to leave her side once we got to the hospital as she would likely be rushed into a room, possibly even surgery.

Archer had informed me the plan was to haveAxelbringSusanandElliedown to the hospital since they wanted to be there whenRuthiewas finished being treated.Diegowas meeting us at the hospital and would help me keep watch over the women whileAxelthen met up with the rest of the guys to help in the search and rescue ofCat.

I felt guilty about not being able to assist withCat’srescue, butIcouldn’t leaveRuthie.She’dgotten under my skin these last few months, and now it felt likeIwas leaving a family member behind.

Upon arrival at the hospital,Imade sureRuthiewas safe, confirming that the police had called ahead and made sure she would have a police detail outside of her room at all times.Anurse took me to a side room, whereIcould wait for news ofRuthie’scondition from the doctor.

AsIwaited forDiegoand word from the doctor,Archercalled again to inform me thatVincehad received news from the kidnapper, making his demands and giving her location.Vince,Archer, andWade, along with the cops, had come up with a rescue plan.

Diego arrived fairly quickly, andIfilled him in on whatIknew.Afew moments later,Axelarrived withSusan,Jenny,Ellie, andVal.

Axel left pretty quickly to go join the others, with a promise to keepDiegoand me informed.Wesat there for what felt like forever just waiting for news ofRuthie.Vince’ssisterJennyand their momSusanspent most of the time comfortingVal, who was understandably distraught at her sister being kidnapped.Elliesat by me and held my hand, thoughIwasn’t sure if that was for my benefit or hers.

Vince’s dad had called to let us all know that they had foundCat, and everyone was en route to rescue her.Iknew between our guys and the police they would get her.Therehad been a collective sigh of relief knowing that she would be back with the rest of us soon.

“Family ofRuthieCampbell?” a man in scrubs and a white coat said from the doorway.

“I’m her mother,”Susanspoke up, clearly lying to the doctor.

I decided to join in for good measure, using the same tacticWadehad used when my sister was in the hospital. “AndI’mher fiancé.”

No one else around us called us out on our lies, so the doctor began detailingRuthie’scondition.

“She’s doing well, all things considered.Thebullet missed her anterior tibial artery, so overall blood loss was minimal.Thebullet went through and through: however, it did nick her talus bone.”

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