Page 12 of Deputies Under Fire
She didn’t resist. In fact, she hugged him right back.
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Just dazed. You?”
“Same.” He hoped. The right side of his chest was throbbing like a bad tooth, so he might not actually be injury-free after all.
Rory wanted to keep her in his arms, but he knew that couldn’t happen. He eased back, managed to take out his phone and called Dispatch to request an ambulance, backup and the county bomb squad. Heaven knew how long it would take them to get out here, but Rory wanted a thorough investigation on the cause of the explosion.
First, though, he had to tend to the wounded.
Eden was obviously on the same wavelength because she went to Molly, and Rory went to David. He checked for a pulse and found one. Weak, but the man was still alive. Rory wanted him to stay that way.
There were three ragged-edged boards on David’s chest, and Rory gently pushed them aside so he could check for injuries. Beside him, Eden was doing the same thing to Molly, who was bleeding from what appeared to be a gash on her forehead. That wound in itself didn’t look critical, but it was possible the woman had a severe concussion.
Once he had the boards off David, Rory spotted the blood. It was seeping through the top of the CSI jumpsuit. Not a lot of it, but enough for Rory to know David had been cut or injured by the flying debris. Thankfully, he was breathing on his own, but he still wasn’t conscious, and he didn’t react when Rory tapped his cheek.
“Lou,” Molly muttered.
Rory looked at the woman to see if she had spotted her fellow CSI, but she hadn’t. Instead, she was looking at that massive hole in the barn wall.
Eden’s gaze met his, and he immediately saw the concern in her eyes. Rory was concerned, too, because it was possible Lou had been right on top of the explosive device when it went off.
“I’ll check on him,” Rory said.
Then, he had a debate what to do. He considered telling Eden to get Molly to the cruiser. But that came with risks.
Huge ones.
Because the killer could be out there, waiting for them to come rushing out of the barn. Added to that, it probably wasn’t a good idea to leave David alone. If he stopped breathing, Eden would need to try to save him by starting CPR.
“Be careful,” Eden told him as he moved away from her.
“You, too.” And he gave her one last look before he started across the barn.
It wasn’t a fast trek to go across the thirty or so feet of space, since there were more of those chunks of wood everywhere. Some of the pieces were now sticking up like giant splinters, and if he fell on one of those, he’d have more than aching ribs.
Rory had no choice but to step on some of the debris. He wobbled a few times, regained his balance and kept moving. He tried not to think that there could be a second explosive device.
No. Best not to think of that.
While he walked, he tried to listen for any sounds to indicate the third CSI was alive. Any sounds of the killer, too, but the only thing he could hear was Eden murmuring something to Molly, and the breeze stirring the trees outside.
Rory finally made it to the hole so he could look out, and he saw yet more debris there as well. What he didn’t see was the CSI. Not at first, anyway. Then, he spotted him about five yards away. Bloody and unmoving.
Hell.
Rory couldn’t see any signs of life, and he started through the hole so he could hurry to him. The sound stopped him.
A sound he sure as hell hadn’t wanted to hear.
It hadn’t come from Eden or any of the CSIs, but rather from overhead. The barn roof creaked, and the sound soon turned into something much louder. Much worse.
The roof was caving in.
“Eden!” Rory shouted.
That was all he managed to get out before all hell broke loose. Wood and steel beams came down with a loud swoosh, crashing onto the floor and creating another of those clouds of debris.
