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“Excuse me, sir, we need to take a look at her injuries,” a paramedic said from behind Shaker.

He didn’t look happy about it, but he got to his feet and stepped to the side. “Don’t leave her,” he said to me.

“I won’t,” I vowed.

“Hi, I’m Cam. Can you tell me where you’re hurt?”

“I have a gunshot wound to my right shoulder. No exit wound. And I’m fairly certain both of my hands have multiple fractures.”

Cam glanced down at her hands and grimaced. “Yeah, I think you’re right about your hands. Let’s have a look at your shoulder.”

“You’re going to have to cut my shirt off to get to it. I can’t move this arm anymore.”

Cam pulled out a pair of scissors and started cutting Gabby’s top. I wanted to protest, but clamped my mouth shut before I said anything stupid.

Gabby turned her head to the side and whispered, “I have on a tank top.”

I feigned ignorance. “What?”

“I felt you tense,” she said knowingly.

“Well, the good news is you aren’t bleeding excessively,” Cam said.

“And the bad news?” she asked.

“It’s not necessarily bad news, per se, but you were right. You don’t have an exit wound.”

Gabby sighed. “Okay, let’s get this show on the road.”

Cam motioned for his partner to bring the stretcher over.

“What’s the issue?” I asked Gabby.

“The bullet is lodged somewhere in my shoulder. Depending on where it is, I might have to have surgery to remove it,” she explained. “It’s not really an issue. I just don’t want to have surgery.”

“I don’t think anyonewantsto have surgery.”

“You’re wrong about that. There are plenty of people who like having surgery, but I’m not one of them.”

“Are you ready to roll?” Cam asked her.

“Almost,” she said and turned her attention to me. “Where’s Jacob?”

“Right here,” he answered. He’d been hovering a few feet away the whole time.

“Please let Keegan and Papa know my injuries are minor and that I’m okay for the most part. I know how Keegan worries. And will you see if you can get an update on Patch? He’s probably in surgery, or will be soon, but I’d like to know how he’s doing,” she said.

“I’ll call right now,” he promised and leaned down to place a kiss on top of her head. “Love you, Gabby.”

“Love you, too, Shaky Jakey.”

Cam started to wheel her toward the door. “Wait! Make sure she’s taken to a different facility please,” she said and looked down at the woman on the floor.

“I’ll see to that,” one of the officers said.

“Thank you,” Gabby said. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Keegan and Rangerwere waiting on the curb in the ambulance bay. They were by her side before the wheels of the stretcher touched the ground.

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