Page 99 of Death Wish

Still clutching her weapon, Jesse ran until the earth fell away. He peered over the side and saw Simone floating face down in a large pool of water. Without hesitation, he threw Sophie’s weapon into the water and leaped in after Simone.

The warm water closed over him as he plunged into the depths. He kicked his way to the surface, grabbed a breath and sped toward Simone’s prone body.

When he reached her a minute later, she wasn’t breathing. “Simone. Come on, baby. Don’t do this. Don’t leave me.”

He turned her over and forced air into her lungs as he kicked to keep them both afloat. No response.

Jesse breathed for her again, then set out for the edge of the pool where he could perform CPR on Simone.

When his feet touched the bottom, Jesse scooped Simone into his arms and scrambled from the water. He laid the woman he loved on the muddy ground and prayed as he forced her heart and lungs to work.

One minute. Two. Three. When at last despair threatened to tear him apart, Simone gasped and coughed.

Thank God. Jesse rolled Simone to her side and held her while she expelled the water in her lungs. When she finished, he rolled her onto her back and smiled down at her. “Hey, beautiful.”

Simone’s smile might be faint, but he’d take it. “Hey, handsome,” she murmured, voice raspy.

“Any more bullet holes I need to know about?”

“Two aren’t enough for you?”

He chuckled. “Just checking.”

“Jesse!”

He glanced over his shoulder to see Sawyer running toward him with Jesse’s mike bag.

“What do you need?”

“Pressure bandages and alcohol pads. We’ll start with that until I can see what I’m working with.” He looked down at Simone. “I’m going to patch you up until I can treat you in better conditions, okay?”

She nodded. Her face pale, Simone shivered.

“You’ll be okay, kid,” Sawyer said as he handed Jesse supplies. “Jesse is the best medic in the business.”

Right now, he wanted to spirit Simone from this jungle and onto the jet to fly her to the best medical facility. As much as he wanted to do so, he couldn’t take Simone to the hospital in Sayulita unless he wanted to end up in jail. The hospital officials would report the gunshot wounds to the cops.

“Is a mug of coffee in my near future?” she asked. “I’m freezing.”

Sawyer glanced at Jesse. “Mylar blanket?”

He nodded. “Over her legs for now. Simone, I hate to do this but I need to lift your shirt. I have to see your injuries and treat them.”

“Do it.” She glared at Sawyer. “No comments from the peanut gallery.”

“No, ma’am. Never. Jesse, what do you need me to do?”

“Get behind Simone. When I tell you, help me lift her to a sitting position. Sweetheart, I’m going to check you for broken bones first, then we’ll take care of your gunshot wounds.”

She nodded.

He wasted no time checking her extremities, then her ribs. No broken bones he could feel although she might have a few cracked ribs from the fall.

Excellent. Could have been a lot worse. In fact, Simone was very lucky she had hit no rocks when she went into the water.

He lifted the bottom of her bloody shirt just enough to see the wound on her side. A through-and-through. Looked like the bullet cut a path through tissue and muscle but missed hitting anything vital. “Help me roll her to the left, Sawyer.” When he did, Jesse examined her back. Yeah, definitely an exit wound. At least he wouldn’t have to dig out a bullet on the jet. “Let’s raise her to a sitting position.”

Sawyer slid his hands under Simone’s shoulder blades to lift her up.

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