Page 66 of Wyoming Bodyguard
Madden lifted himself on his toes to see inside the vehicle. A man he didn’t recognize slumped over the steering wheel with his eyes sealed shut and blood trickling down his face.
Shit.
He didn’t want this asshole to get away but also didn’t want him dead. At least not before he told him why he’d gone after Lily and her father.
The hum of engines approaching caught his attention. Two deputy’s cruisers came to an abrupt stop at his side, and an ambulance wailed behind him. He kept his gaze fixed on the unmoving driver.
Deputy Silver and Deputy Hill climbed out of one car while Deputy Sanders parked and hurried out of the second. All three carried their weapons and wore matching scowls.
“He alive?” Deputy Hill asked, tilting his head to the wrecked truck.
Madden stayed rooted to the spot. “Not sure. He hasn’t moved.”
Deputy Silver walked forward with her gun trained in front of her. “We have you surrounded. Put your hands up. No sudden movements.”
Deputy Sanders rounded the hood of his cruiser and walked down the grassy embankment on the side of the road. He moved methodically, weapon in place, and managed a peek inside the broken window. “Eyes closed. Lots of blood on the seat.”
“Is he dead?” Madden asked.
“I’m reaching in a hand to check your pulse,” Deputy Sanders called out to the unresponsive man. “You have three guns trained on you. Don’t do anything stupid.”
Madden tightened his grip on his weapon. Anxiety rippled across his skin.
“He’s alive, but barely,” Deputy Sanders yelled. “He needs medical assistance right away.”
Madden’s shoulders drooped and he let his arm fall to his side as the emergency responders raced past him.
“Sanders, can you give me and Reid a ride back to the hospital?” Madden asked, turning his attention back to his own truck.
The passenger door squeaked open.
“Yeah, no problem. What’s wrong with him?” Deputy Sanders jogged behind Madden to his partner’s totaled vehicle.
Reid stumbled out. His face was white as a ghost. Sweat fell from his brow and mixed with his blood.
“Shit,” Madden said, racing to Reid’s side seconds before he pitched forward. Madden looped an arm around his waist and kept him from smashing his face on the pavement. He absorbed Reid’s body weight as Reid’s muscles went slack, sticking to him like a burr as they folded onto the ground, his unconscious friend in his arms.
* * *
The young deputy guarding Lily’s father’s room burst inside, eyes wide and hand on the butt of the gun at his hip. “Get on the floor and cover your head. Gunshots were fired outside of the emergency room.”
“What?” Tremors took over Lily’s body and she slid off the chair. Her knees hit the floor, and she wasn’t sure if she should lie down on the cool tile or stay where she was and pray. This couldn’t be happening. Not again.
“You’re going to be fine. I’m not going anywhere. No one will get through me. I promise.”
She stared at his earnest, blue eyes and wanted to believe him. But too many bad things had upended her life and the only person who’d kept her safe was nowhere in sight.
Terror fisted her throat. Oh God. Madden said he was stepping outside to speak with Reid. She sank lower to the floor and grabbed her father’s hand. He might not be awake, but she needed his comfort. “Is the shooter still outside? Is anyone hurt?”
“I’m not sure yet,” the deputy said. “Just sit tight. I’ll tell you as soon as I have more information.”
Time froze even as the minutes ticked by on the clock mounted on the wall. A hundred scenarios with a hundred horrible outcomes played out in her mind. She kept her hand latched on to her father’s.
What felt like an eternity passed when the radio attached to the deputy’s uniform crackled, but she couldn’t understand the torrent of words and codes sputtering through the speaker.
Her guard pressed the button on the side of the communicator. “Copy that.”
“What’s going on?”
