Their Divine Doctor(Divine Creek Ranch 9)(51)

Emma was afraid for a second that Amy was considering it. Gage was on the other side of the opened van door. Emma saw his shadow on the ground in her peripheral vision. Pointing the gun right at her, Amy cautiously leaned forward to pat Emma down. She stood stock-still waiting for Gage to make his move. Amy’s shoes shifted on the gravel as she half squatted to pat down Emma’s pockets. Gage chose that moment to act.

He stood and gestured silently for Emma to jump into the van as Amy’s head was turned away from him. He held up three fingers, then two, then one. He leaned back to kick the back door hard, a split second after Emma jumped into the back of the van. Amy grunted in surprise as she was knocked away from the van, evidently to the ground. Emma heard shouts and a struggle outside and the blessed sound of sirens in the distance.

Looking around for something to aid in the struggle, Emma noticed a box of large, industrial-sized black trash bags, and a cardboard box that contained several saws and other tools. Her eyes rounded in shock, realizing that if Duke and Gage hadn’t known what was going on, she might have met her end in this van.

Growling, she turned the handle on the back door and pushed it back open. Unfortunately, her appearance was ill timed, and she hit Duke in the face with the other half of the door as she flung them open. Gage and Amy were struggling for control of the gun. Gage was speaking calmly to her, trying to not hurt her. Amy took advantage of his concern for her and kneed him in the balls, threw her weight against him, and wiggled free. Her eyes were wild as she focused on Emma, pointed the revolver, and pulled the trigger.

Gage howled, “No!”

Pain blossomed raggedly in Emma’s chest, and she fell back into the van.

She heard Duke shout, “No!”

“Angel!”

A cacophony of noise surrounded her, sirens, the screeching of tires, the firing of a weapon, and much hollering. It all came to her from a distance even though she knew it was close by. She put her hand to her chest and saw blood when she lifted it. She reached for her medical kit as Duke shouted her name and hurriedly climbed into the van. Her slippery fingers skidded uselessly across the plastic surface of her utility box, leaving a wet, bloody smear.

When she spoke, her voice was nothing more than a whisper over the ringing in her ears. “Duke. Stop the bleeding. Shot.” Stars began to form in her vision, and her hands fell limply to his as he checked her wound. Everything went black.



* * * *



Duke’s heart froze in his chest when Emma’s head lolled to the side and her hands stilled on his. “Emma! Emma! No! Oh, God! Emma!”

He fumbled with the latch on the medical kit she’d been reaching for and got it open. He found what he needed and ripped open a large square gauze pad. Peeling back the T-shirt he’d helped her don that morning after making love to her, he groaned when he saw the bleeding bullet wound on the right side of her chest. He pressed the pad to the wound and looked behind him as emergency responders pulled open the back doors of the van. Two paramedics climbed in beside him, immediately going to work.

He told them what he could, and then one of the men looked at him with all seriousness and said, “We’ll handle it from here. You can ride with us if you want to but you’re going to have to stay out of the way. Your nose is bleeding. Are you okay?”

Duke nodded numbly. “Yes.”

He touched his face and looked at his hands. Emma’s blood and his coated his fingers. He’d forgotten about the pain when the gun had gone off. He crouched and turned to the back opening of the van and climbed down with help from Eli Wolf.

Eli looked over Duke’s shoulder at the occupants of the van and said, “David and Carter are some of the best paramedics in the area, Duke. They’ll take good care of her. Come on.”

Duke turned back to watch the paramedics as one of them spoke rapidly into his radio. He wanted to stay as close to Emma as possible, but Eli pulled him away and said, “I know how you feel, Duke. I’ve been in your shoes. If you believe in God, prayer is your best bet now. Come on. Gage is talking to Hank Stinson. You can ride up front in the ambulance with me.”

Blankly, Duke looked around at the chaos on the front lawn of their apartment building. Gage stood speaking with the sheriff. Two sheriff’s deputies stood near the sheet-covered body of the woman who had tried to abduct Emma. Other law enforcement officers blanketed the scene and diverted traffic through the area.

He looked up at the door to his apartment. What could he have done differently? What if he’d charged the woman before Gage shoved her with the door? What if they’d disarmed her more quickly? God, what if they hadn’t had the windows and balcony screen door open and overheard the entire conversation between the two women? They’d noticed the blue van before and had been curious about it. What if he’d run the plates? They might have had a little warning that Amy was in the area if it was even registered to her. They’d never even known Amy’s last name. Online she was known to them only as “Amyp1620.” He’d missed the signs.