Page 43 of Christmas Ransom

THENIGHTBECAMEa blur of flashing lights and sirens. Carla swam in and out of pain as she was extricated from Davy’s wrecked pickup. She still didn’t understand what had happened. The EMTs gave her something for the pain once she was on the stretcher and they’d stabilized her ankle. She closed her eyes, welcoming the easing of the pain as the drugs did their job.

It wasn’t until she opened her eyes that her terror returned. In alarm, she saw that they were taking her back to the hospital. “No!” she cried and tried to get up.

“As soon as they get a cast on your leg in the ER, I’ll get you out of there,” Davy said. “I promise.”

She closed her eyes, but couldn’t shake off the memory of flying broken glass, the sound of metal screaming and looking back to see that a huge truck had T-boned Davy’s pickup. Worse was the memory of Davy going after the man while she called 911 because she couldn’t help.

True to his word, he stayed by her side even when his brothers rushed down to the hospital to make sure they were both all right. “How are you feeling?” James asked her.

The pain pills had her a little loopy, but unfortunately, she could still feel her ankle. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.”

“It all happened too fast,” Davy said. “I never saw it coming.”

“But you’re all right?” Tommy asked when he saw Davy favoring his left side. Carla hadn’t realized he’d been hurt in the crash. So like Davy to brush it off.

“My body got slammed into the driver’s-side door. The EMTs checked me out. I’m fine.” He touched the left side of his head. “My head apparently connected with the side window. Dazed me.”

“Which explains why you went after the driver of the truck rather than wait for the law,” Willie said.

“Aren’t you guys wanted somewhere?” Davy asked his brothers, but he smiled when he said it. She loved how close they all were. She’d always wished that she had siblings.

Tommy and Willie started to leave, calling back, “Feel better, Carla.”

James had pulled Davy aside. She couldn’t hear all of their conversation, but enough of it to know that the driver of the truck that had T-boned Davy’s pickup hadn’t been found yet.

“This proves that he’s still in town and that he’s going to continue coming after Carla,” she heard Davy say. “He’s waiting for her to return to her house, for me to go back to the rodeo circuit and leave her alone.”

James said something about him being wrong about Debra Watney. She caught the words “model student” and “excellent work history,” then “she left her last job abruptly apparently, because of a family emergency.”

Davy shook his head. He’d been so sure there was something off about the woman, Carla thought as he raised his voice. “Well, someone at the hospital put that note on Carla’s food tray. The killer wanted her to know he could get to her at any time. The only reason he hasn’t is because I’ve hardly let her out of my sight. But clearly he’s not giving up and it looks personal to me.”

James nodded. “Apparently he’s fine with killing you as well.”

“I’m going to find this man if it’s the last thing I do.”

“You’re a rodeo cowboy. No offense, but you have no training for this. Let the feds handle this. Let us see what we can find out. Don’t—”

Davy shook his head. “For whatever reason, he wants her dead. Which means he’ll come for her again. I plan to be ready this time when he does. Nothing you can say will change my mind.”

His brother gave him a hug, whispering something to him before he left.

“How’s our patient?” Dr. Hull asked as he came in as James left the room.

“Sore. My ankle hurts.”

He nodded. “I’ll order you some pain medication. How’s the head?”

“It aches some. I think I hit the steering wheel with it.”

He shook his head. “At least this time you didn’t get another concussion, so that’s good. I’ve ordered you a pair of crutches. Have you ever used crutches before?” She shook her head. “I’ll get you into a walking cast as soon as I can. Knowing you, you won’t like being immobile, but best to take it easy for a while. No stairs.”

“I’ll take her home to her house,” Davy said. “No stairs.”

“I know you’ll take good care of her.” He winked at Carla and left the room.

She looked over at Davy. “How can you take me home? Your truck—”

“I borrowed a truck. I’ve got this.”

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