Page 109 of Rio's Release

A moment later, I see a flash from his gun, and I’m tackled to the ground by Rio. It only takes a moment for me to realize there’s warm fluid on my hand.

Rio rolls off me, groaning and lifts, aiming his gun toward the other side of the street where Carson was standing a second ago. Now I can’t see him, but I can see the blood on my hand, and then I see the spreading stain blooming on the side of Rio’s shirt.

“Oh my God, Rio.”

He’s up on one knee, standing guard over me, his left hand dropping to hold his side.

“Zig!” I shout, and he and Blue come running while the others cover them.

They grab Rio and me and hustle us to the other side of the pickup.

“He needs a doctor,” I say, my body filled with panic. “We have to get him to a hospital.”

Eduardo and a man in a dark suit holding up a badge come toward us.

“Rio,” Eduardo says. “This is my brother-in-law. He works with the New Mexico field office of the FBI out of Albuquerque. Are you hurt badly?”

The man flashes his ID. “I’m Antonio Sanchez. Call me Tony. Tell me what the fuck is going on.”

“Deputy Carson aimed his gun at me and fired. Rio dived in front of me and took the bullet instead,” I say.

The gunfire has stopped, and we hear motorcycles roar off, then sirens wail in pursuit. I see Mauler, Bandit, and Baggerface down on the pavement, spread-eagle, officers standing over them.

The sheriff comes over, looking furious. He pins his murderous gaze on Rio. “This is all because of you, you son-of-a-bitch. Well, we’ve got you now, don’t we?”

Dolly and another business owner I recognize as the man who tried to come out to defend the town with his shotgun both approach us.

“He and his men didn’t start this, Sheriff,” Dolly shouts. “It was that other bunch that took off. These boys came to defend us all. And they were here a hell of a lot sooner than the rest of you.” Her hands slam on her hips.

The other business owner points at Rio. “I saw the whole thing. He dived in front of this woman to save her from the bullet your own damn deputy fired at her.”

“Pete’s right,” Dolly backs him up.

“Where is Carson, by the way?” the sheriff asks, pissed.

“He’s dead. Caught a bullet to the head from somewhere. Hell, there were so many shots fired, I couldn’t tell where it came from,” Pete says.

“Well, goddamn,” Sheriff Torres mutters, then glances at Eduardo’s brother-in-law. “Who the hell are you?”

“Special Agent Antonio Sanchez. We’ve been investigating the corruption in this town. I saw the same thing those two did. Your deputy tried to kill this woman.”

Torres drags a hand down his face. “Christ. Now what? You hauling us all into custody?”

“You and I need to go to your office and talk, but first, we need to get the coroner down here for your deputy and check if there are any more victims.”

“And you need to let my fucking men go. They didn’t do shit,” Rio snaps.

“Get a paramedic down here for him,” Agent Sanchez snaps, jerking his head to Rio.

We can already hear the siren in the distance, and soon, Rio and I are in the back of the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

He’s rolled into the emergency room and wheeled into a bay. A team gets to work on him, and there’s a lot of commotion.

I’m shaking but trying to be strong.

One nurse asks my name, and I’m told they need to check him thoroughly. I’m crowded out and asked to wait in the waiting area.

When I walk through the automatic doors, Zig and the rest of the Saint’s Outlaws are all there. They stand, surrounding me.

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