Page 108 of Bravo

“Hang in there,” I mutter to her as I carefully make my way across the creek. As soon as we’re on the embankment, I lay her down and strip out of my jacket.

Echo rushes over and starts licking her face, whining as he moves around the body. He’s trying to wake her up. I brush the hair from her face, noting a silver cross dangling from her neck. It’s the only jewelry she’s wearing.

Quickly, I cover her with my jacket then carefully raise it and the shirt to check her injury. The black dress beneath the shirt has a hole in the abdomen.

A gunshot wound.

She’s been shot.

How did she get here?

I reach into my pocket, only to discover my cell phone completely dead, thanks to the water. Knowing I don’t have much time, I lift her into my arms, draping her over one shoulder carefully, until I get situated on Bobby and can lay her over my lap.

“Heel,Echo.” I push Bobby into a run, and we race over the ranch. I just hope we get there in time.

ECHO: JANE DOE

I’m moving.

My body is cold, unbelievably cold, and I begin to shiver as I come awake. I’m lying on something, and the first face I see is that of an incredibly handsome man wearing a baseball cap. His jaw is stubbled, his face serious.

Who is he?

Whatever we’re on jolts, and I hiss as pain shoots through my body. The first real thing I’ve felt in the moments since I first opened my eyes.

He looks down at me, and our gazes hold. Beautiful hazel eyes that somehow seem so kind and harsh all at the same time. “Hang in there, okay?” he says to me, his voice deep.

“Okay.” I’m not sure what else to say. Hang in there for what? My body aches, my stomach feeling like it’s full of heavy stones. I manage to tilt my head enough to see blood staining the front of my shirt. Panic thrums through my veins. “What happened to me?” I try to sit up, but the stranger holds me tighter.

His arms feel strong. Good. But the panic mutes whatever comfort he’s trying to offer.

“Stay still,” he orders. “We don’t know how extensive the damage is yet. I’m getting you help, okay?”

I close my eyes and nod, obeying him because lying still is easier than moving.

“Bradyn!” he roars.

“What is it?” a second man calls back.

“Call an ambulance! I found her in the creek. She’s been shot.”

Creek? Shot?

I’ve been shot?

We come to an abrupt stop, which jolts me, and I hiss in pain once more as it radiates up through my body.

“Bradyn called,” a woman says, though I can’t see her face.

“Hold her steady so I can get down,” he says.

Slender hands hold me up while he climbs down then reaches up for me. His strong arms surround me once more, pulling me down off of what I now see is a horse. The man shifts me so carefully I might as well be made of delicate porcelain. He carries me into the house and sets me down on a couch.

People move around me in a blur of movement, but he’s all I can see. The hazel-eyed stranger. He kneels beside me, and his face contorts in anger as he reaches up and brushes wet hair from my face. “Who did this to you?” he growls.

“I don’t—I don’t know,” I stammer. I try to remember, but everything is blank. Everything, except for this man’s beautiful face as I woke.

“What is your name, honey?” An older woman pushes through and presses a clean towel to my abdomen.

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