Page 97 of Montana Manhunt

“Not good. Ambulance is on the way.” She yanked open her mike bag and grabbed multiple packages of gauze and compression bandages.

The injured woman moaned and tried to move.

Violet laid her hand on Lauren’s arm to still her movements. “Lauren, can you hear me?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“My name is Violet. I’m a paramedic. You need to stay still, all right?”

“Is he gone?”

“Who?”

“Attacker.”

Violet ripped open a pressure bandage and tugged the edges together of one of the stab wounds and applied the bandage.

Noah leaned into Lauren’s line of vision. “I’m Noah. Did you recognize your attacker?”

Tears leaked from Lauren’s eyes. “Ski mask.”

“Did he say anything to you?”

“That I deserved to die.”

“Why?”

“Mentioned Bradley.” She shook her head slightly as Violet closed another stab wound. “He knew details we didn’t tell anyone. How did he know?” Lauren moaned again. “Hurts.”

“I know,” Violet said. “You’re doing great. Stay with me, Lauren.”

“Ambulance is here,” Rayne called out from the living room.

“Hear that?” Violet smiled. “More help has arrived. You’ll be at the hospital soon. The medical staff will take great care of you.”

A paramedic and EMT hurried into the room with their bags. “What do we have?” the older one asked.

“Multiple stab wounds,” Violet said. She grabbed her mike bag and moved out of the way.

The medical personnel worked fast to assess Lauren’s condition and prepare her for transport to the hospital. While they worked, a policeman slipped into the room.

“What do we have, Lenny?” the cop asked.

“Stabbing victim. She’s critical. We need to transport her.”

“Who called it in?”

“We did,” Noah said.

“I’ll need to talk to you folks. Let’s go outside, out of the ambulance crew’s way.”

He inclined his head and led his team up the hall and out the front door. Three more policemen were in the yard, blocking access to the SUV.

Grant glanced at Noah, amusement glittering in his eyes.

Guess the police were ensuring Noah and his friends didn’t make a run for it. Didn’t blame them. Noah lost count of the number of times a guilty perp had called to report a crime they’d committed.

The policeman motioned for the operatives to stand near his cruiser, then pointed at Noah. “Name?”

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