Page 69 of Dangerous Secrets
“Hey, I’m O negative,universal donor.They should hook me up to Delaney.”
Jolene glanced up at him.“We’ll keepthat in mind, big guy.But you’re losing some blood yourself.”Shetook scissors and snipped off his shirt.He’d felt the impact andknown he’d taken a bullet to his shoulder, but as it hadn’thampered his mobility, he’d ignored it.
He kept an eye on the crew surroundingDelaney, trying to get a glimpse of her.More people crowded thenarrow space.His last view was of emergency personnel strappingher to the stretcher, and Sawyer taking one of the grips to carryher out of the mine.
Another trio of emergency personnelworked on Jerod Fetterly.Someone commented, “The bastard’s stillalive.”
Being alive was good.Being alive andsuffering would be better.
Walker wanted the fucker put on trialand held accountable for what he’d done, not only to Delaney but tothe other women he’d raped and tortured as well.
When his shoulder was bandaged, acouple deputies approached with another stretcher he realized wasintended for him.Walker shook his head.“I’m walking out ofhere.”
Stepping out of the cave, he squinted,blinded by the brilliant sunlight of mid-morning.
A loud thumping reverberated over themountain slope.
Once his vision adjusted to thebrightness, he saw the stretcher being hoisted into a hovering blueand white helicopter.Within minutes, with a swirl of dirt anddebris, it was flying west until it disappeared into thedistance.
He felt like his heart had gone withit.
“Here’s yourride.”
He turned to Jolene.“What?”
She pointed to another helicoptercresting a ridge.
Thirty minutes later, Walker was on agurney being wheeled from the helipad into the emergency room of aSacramento area hospital.
He asked every medical professional heencountered about Laney until he was finally told she was at thesame hospital and undergoing treatment.Treatment could meananything, but due to privacy rules, they refused to tell himmore.
It took some doing, but he convincedthe medical team the bullet in his shoulder could be removed usinga local anesthetic rather than putting him under.The proceduretook some time, and he was frustrated beyond belief when doctorsinsisted he stay overnight for observation.
Late in the evening, he was finallywheeled into a hospital room.His left arm was immobilized with asling to keep him from moving his shoulder, plus he was wearing astupid hospital gown.
Nothing made a man feel more exposedthan a gown that bared his ass.He still had no news on Delaney.Heneeded to find out if she was okay.To talk to her.
Hell, just being in the same roomwhile she recovered would be good enough.
The frustration gnawing at himratcheted higher.His phone had gone with Delaney and he had no wayof contacting anyone.He couldn’t even call Sawyer.
He raised the head of the bed, andusing the room phone, dialed the hospital switchboard and asked tobe put through to Delaney Bryant’s room.
He felt marginally better when he gotconfirmation she’d been admitted to the hospital and was given aroom number, but no one picked up the ringing phone.
Dialing his own number got him hisvoicemail.He was considering hurling the phone across the roomwhen the door opened and Sawyer came in carrying a duffel bag and apair of white paper bags emblazoned with the In-N-Out red letteringand yellow arrow logo.
He hadn’t realized how hungry he wasuntil the smell of the best burgers in the state hithim.
Dark circles of exhaustion surroundedSawyer’s eyes.“You look like shit.”
“Back at you, brother.Neither one of us has slept for a couple days.”He held up theduffel bag before dumping it in a corner.“Clothes.”
“Tell me how Laney’sdoing.”
Sawyer put a bag on a tray and wheeledit in front of Walker.“I haven’t seen her, but I ran into Keeleyand Clara in the elevator.Laney’s on her way from recovery to herroom.Report is she came through surgery in good shape.She took aricochet, and it tore up some muscle tissue in her abdomen, butthat’s as far as it got.
“Fetterly knocked her outwith a blow to the back of her head that left her with a mildconcussion, plus she was dehydrated.She’ll need to take it easyfor several days.”
