Page 33 of Unnatural
The man adjusted himself, letting out a small whimper and then another groan. His naturally tan complexion had lost most of its color. He was going into shock. He met her eyes. “Yes.”
“Were you a part of what happened there?” She saw the young woman’s face, the one by the slide, her expression peaceful as if she’d merely fallen asleep. Autumn’s stomach knotted, and she felt vomit moving up her throat again. She clenched her eyes shut, blocking the vision from her mind.Breathe. In. Out.
“No,” he said, his voice fading. His eyes fluttered, and his hands dropped from where they were still placed on his abdomen. “I tried…I tried to stop it.”
I tried to stop it.He had. She’d seen it. Not only had he tried to stop it, but he’d also taken a spray of bullets in that effort.
There was a drugstore on the corner, and Autumn glanced at the man whose eyes were only half-open. “I’ll be right back,” she said, jumping out of the truck again and jogging to the store. Inside, she bought an over-the-counter sleep medication and the strongest pain pills they had. She couldn’t risk buying bandages and other supplies in the quantity she needed, not here. Her sweater would have to do for now. Thankfully, the man who rung her up barelylooked up from his phone.
Back in the truck, she shook the pills into her shaking hand and then roused him enough to get him to swallow them despite having no water. He did so without complaint, and then she put the keys in the ignition, the truck coming to life with a soft rumble. She only had one more question. “What’s your name?”
His eyes didn’t come open, and for a moment, she thought he’d lost consciousness. “Sam,” he slurred. And then he did black out, his body going limp, head lolling on his massive shoulders.
Chapter Sixteen
Autumn slammed on the brakes, the truck jerking to a stop in Bill’s driveway. “Shit,” she hissed, glancing over at Sam.The jolt of the vehicle hadn’t disturbed him though. He still sat hunched over, his neck bent, head almost resting on his shoulder. Panic spiked, zigzagging through her system. Again, she reached over and felt his pulse. Not strong, but he was a fighter; she’d give him that.Please keep fighting. I’m putting everything on the line here.
She barely remembered anything about their race out of the city, except that she’d gone between glancing in the rearview mirror for the flashing lights she expected behind her at any moment and putting her fingers on his pulse every few minutes, making sure his heart was still beating.If he dies, you’ll go to prison.She might anyway for…what was she doing? Harboring a criminal? Aiding and abetting a crime? He’d been there for some reason. He’d known the shooter. Oh God, she couldn’t consider all the ramifications because she’d lose her nerve about whatever it was she was already too far into. She still couldn’t believe she was taking this risk. She was gambling with everything she had.Everything.
With New York City far behind them, she’d finally pulled off at a rest stop and examined his wounds. The bleeding had mostly stopped, which was a good sign. She was pretty sure she could see one of the bullets right beneath his flesh. She’d need to remove it. The other one appeared to have gone straight through his side, but she couldn’t be sure. His rib was likely broken, and he’d lost so much blood, he was in shock. Not to mention medicated, even if only by over-the-counter products. She’d given him a lot, but his wounds were extensive, and he was a very large man.
Her sweater was saturated with his blood, so she folded it and placed it on the floor.They’ll have his DNA at the crime scene. They’ll test it.Was he in any public databases? She had no idea, but she’d know soon enough. If they were able to identify him, his picture would be all over the news.
Autumn jumped from the truck and ran for the house but pivoted when she saw Bill walking from his shop. She skidded, reversing course as he rounded the corner, his face breaking into a smile that immediately dropped when he took in her face.
“Darlin’? What’s wrong?” he asked, rushing forward. His gaze went to the truck in his driveway momentarily, his brow creasing before he looked back to her, eyes traveling from her face to her feet quickly and then back again. “Are you okay?”
She took in a gulp of air, nodded, and then shook her head. “Yes. No. I mean, Bill, I need your help.”
“With what, honey? What’s going on?”
Autumn pointed over her shoulder at the truck, parked so that Bill couldn’t see the giant, wounded man sitting in the passenger seat. “There’s a man in there, Bill.Theman.”
“The man? Autumn, slow down. What man?”
“The man from the woods. His name is Sam.”Sam. His name is Sam. My moonlight boy has a name!
Bill froze, his gaze darting to the truck again and then back to Autumn. “What? How?”
“I don’t have time to get into all the details. He’s been shot and he needs medical attention. Bill, I need to use the lake house.”
Bill had bought a lake house—really more of a fishing cottage—the year after Allie died. He went in the summers to fish and the fall and winter to walk in the woods and bask in the utter solitude. To seek healing only nature could provide. Of course, just a short time later, Autumn herself had arrived at his door, and his life had been flipped upside down, so he didn’t use the cottage regularly.
Bill’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “The lake house? Wa-wa-wait. You’re going to take a wounded stranger—”
“He’s not a stranger,” she insisted, casting her eyes to the side momentarily. “Exactly. I mean he is, but—”
“I can’t allow it. He needs to go to a hospital.”
Autumn set her shoulders back. “I don’t have time to argue, Bill. I love you more than life, but I’m going to help this man whether you let me use the lake cottage or not. I’m already in deep. I fled the scene of a crime—”
“The scene of a crime!” He gripped his hair, spinning around and then back. “What is happening here?”
“I’m on the run is what’s happening. I might be a fugitive. I’ll explain everything later. But right now, I need medical supplies, and I need a place to hide him. I’m sorry to drag you into this, but…Bill, I need you. Please help me.” She beseeched him with her eyes, and he looked at her for a moment before setting his jaw, looking away, and thengiving one curt nod.
“What’s mine is yours, Autumn. You know that.”
Autumn let out a breath of relief. “Thank you.”
