Page 82 of Poison Evidence

“Volleyball is probably out, though.”

“For a while.”

“That’s okay. I hate volleyball.” Sweat covered her brow and trickled down her neck. She sucked a breath between her teeth. “Getting shot…h-hurts. Even when it’s just in th-the arm.” Her skin had paled. “I feel…dizzy.”

He touched her forehead. Cool. Clammy even. He glanced at the unconscious man slumped on the floor. He needed to tie him up but feared Ivy was going into shock. Her breathing was rapid in addition to the clammy skin and dizziness. He needed to get her out of the cave and to the floatplane, fast. “We’ve got to get you out of here, Ivy.”

“Pack up…pack up CAM,” Ivy said. “And RON. I need to keep them with me.”

Dimitri shook his head. “That’ll take too long. You need to get to the hospital right away.”

“You just want to use it…” She panted with pain. “To find the AUUV.”

He took a deep breath and reminded himself she had good reason to make that accusation. He cupped her face between his hands, the blood on her cheek slick against his palm. “I love you, Ivy. Getting you to the hospital immediately is the only thing I give a damn about right now. You might be going into shock. I need you to try to breathe slower. You need more oxygen.”

She nodded. “’Kay.” She took a long, slow breath. “Not at my best right now.” She winced, and he imagined pain had just pulsed up her arm. “Wonder if labor pains are anything like this?”

“I hope you get to find out in nine months.”

Her smile was more of a grimace, but he’d take it. “Me too.”

He grabbed a fresh bandage from the kit and removed the first one. A glance at the wound showed the clotting agent had begun to work. He wrapped the new bandage around her arm, then fitted a sling around her that held her arm in a snug V-shape against her chest, with her left hand at her right shoulder.

He scooped her up in his arms and headed for the entrance. “Now that the bleeding has slowed, I’m going to pull you through the tunnel.”

“I can crawl.”

He set her down by the opening. “No.” He dropped beside her and lay on his back, then pulled her onto his chest. “Ready?” he asked.

She nodded, and he scooted headfirst on his back, hauling Ivy through the tight space. It took precious minutes to get through the tunnel, but she made it without passing out, and her breathing was steady by the time they emerged. Her pulse had slowed. With the bleeding under control, they might’ve avoided her going into full-blown shock.

Thank God.

He picked her up and slowly descended the steep slope.

By the time he reached the beach, Ulai had the plane close enough that Dimitri could wade out with Ivy in his arms. Ulai helped him position her in the rear seat of the floatplane.

“Stay awake,” Dimitri said, “until you get to the hospital. Breathe slowly. You’re going to be okay, but you need to be conscious so you can tell the doctors what happened.”

“You aren’t coming with me?” Her eyes widened.

He shook his head. “I need to deal with Barrow.”

“You’ll come to the hospital as soon as you can?”

He nodded but deep down suspected he was lying and already hated himself for it. To Ulai he said, “After you get her to the hospital, bring Luke here—if there’s someone who can guard her. She’s still in danger.”

“Will do, Major.”

“I was never an Air Force major, Ulai. I lied.”

“I know. I always knew. You might know a lot about airplanes, but you’re no pilot.” He handed Dimitri a business card and said softly, “Keep in touch.” With that, Ulai waved him away.

Dimitri retreated to the beach and watched the Beaver take off, wondering if he’d ever see Ivy again.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Dimitri returned to the tunnel entrance and pulled out his gun. This was every operator’s worst nightmare—a blind tunnel with a known enemy on the other side.

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