Page 53 of JoyRide

“I might have recognized one of them,” mumbled Virgil.

“They recognized you, bro. Soon as they saw you with me, they started firing at you. You can tell me what that was all about.”

“Don’t know.”

“Bullshit.” The pain in my shoulder was ready to kill me but I wouldn’t let Virgil see that. I turned my head and stared at the side wall of the ambulance.

After the ambulances pulled out, I said to Ted, “Two got away on me. They were running through the lot next door before I could shoot their asses.”

“You didn’t notice it, but I went after them and lost them in the trees. We’ll get them with the dogs, Tammy, but we have to finish up the scene first. If you want to go to the hospital, I’ll help Doctor Olsen with the bodies.”

“Thanks, Ted. I’ll go, but I’ll help you first. Did you get the statement from the store owner?”

“Yeah, I got it. Mister Kettle said the kids just drove in and started yelling and hollering and waving their guns around. Nobody else saw much. The customers either stayed in the store or beat it out of the parking lot.”

Cut Bank Hospital.

I parked at the front entrance of the hospital and left the strobes running. Searching though the recently brought in patients, I found Harlan first and he was being wheeled down a long hallway heading for surgery. They had to get the bullet out of his shoulder, and it was going to hurt a lot.

I leaned down to hug him and the orderly had to put the brakes on for a minute. “I love you,” I whispered to him so nobody could hear me.

“Same.”

The orderly started rolling again and Harlan hollered to me, “Stay with Virgil and if he can go home from here, keep an eye on him.”

“I will.”

Harlan’s stretcher disappeared through a set of double doors, and I started to cry. Brushing the tears away, I went into treatment room six to stay with Virgil.

I didn’t realize I was covered in blood until a nurse handed me a towel to clean myself up.

“Were there fatalities at the shooting?” asked the doctor who was injecting freezing into Virgil’s leg.

“Yes. I shot two of the shooters and killed them fuckin dead. Two more got away from me. I’ll go after them tomorrow with the dogs and hunt them down.”

The doctor gave me a stare, but I didn’t know why. I was only answering his question.

“Will Virgil have to stay overnight?”

“No. I’ll fix the young man up with a crutch and he can go home. He’ll be ready in about an hour, Deputy…”

“Bristol,” I said. “Tammy Bristol. I’m going upstairs to see my father and then I’ll be back for Virgil.”

Virgil stared at me and never said a word while I was in the treatment room. After I made sure he was going to be okay, I ran upstairs to check in with Travis. I sat down next to the bed and cried. Couldn’t talk for a few until I got it together.

Travis reached for my hand and pulled me closer to his bed. “It is Harlan, Tammy? Tell me what happened.”

I patted my shoulder to show him, and Travis nodded. “Shoulder wound. Where is he now?”

“Surgery. Virgil was hit in the leg, and I have to go back down to Emerge and get him. He doesn’t have to say overnight.”

“Is Ted at the scene?”

“Yes. He’s with Doc Olsen.”

“Doctor Olsen,” said Travis. “There were bodies at the market, Tammy?”

I held up two fingers. “I shot two out of four, Daddy. Two ran and I couldn’t get them.”

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