Page 39 of Atone in Darkness
He slipped on his shoes and started for the front door but turned back at the last second. He wrapped his free arm around Marisol and pulledher in close. “We’ll be fine.”
Then he kissed her, wishing the world outside could’ve left them alone just a little longer. But it hadn’t, and the clock was ticking. He needed to deal with the situation before it got out of hand.
“Pack up our gear. We may need to leave in a hurry.” Hegave her baggy shorts and oversized shirt a pointed look. “I’m guessing we should’ve dried our clothes whilewe had the chance, but at least you’ll make quite the fashion statement in that outfit.”
Her answering smile was a bit shaky, but at least she didn’t look quite so fragile. “Be careful, Chase. I’ve had to patch you up far too often as it is.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Then he headed out the door. Outside, he jumped over the porch railing rather than going down the steps. He kept his back against the houseas he peeked around the corner to scan the area. Still no movement on that side of the house. He bolted for the trees and began circling around to the other side, working his way higher up on the ridge as he did.
It didn’t take long to spot his quarry, who was leaning against a tree and breathing heavily as if he’d been running long and hard. The man shifted out of the shadows to move fartherdown toward the house. He made it only a handful of steps before he took a header and tumbled to the ground. Groaning in pain, he did his best to push himself back up to his feet. It took two attempts before he managed to stand; even then, he had to hold on to the trunk of a small cedar tree in order to remain upright.
Chase kept a wary eye on the ridge above them as he crept closer to wherethe man stood weaving back and forth as if the slightest breeze would send him tumbling back down. When all remained quiet, he headed straight for the intruder, approaching from behind and keeping his rifle aimed right at the man’s head. When he got within twenty feet, he ordered, “Don’t move.”
The other man froze but didn’t look back. “I’m no danger to you, Paladin. My name is Edgar Collins,and I would appreciate something to eat and drink if you have some food to spare.”
Then he glanced up at the ridge above them, a worried expression on his face. “I know they’re after you, too. We’d both stand a better chance of getting away from the bastards if we go our separate ways. God knows we’ve been lucky to get this far.”
Chase was still trying to deal with the fact the guy knew whathe was, but they needed to get back to the cabin. Neither of them were safe perched out here on the hillside. There’d be time for an inquisition later after Marisol got him patched up. “Hell, you can barely stand up. Who shot you?”
Although he could guess, considering the man was wearing the same kind of red sweatpants that Chase had been living in for the past few weeks. His T-shirt might havestarted out white, but now it was bright red from the bloody wound on his upper shoulder. Could he really be another escapee from the slaughter back at the camp?
Before Chase could ask any questions, the other man slowly sank to his knees as if he’d burned up the last bit of energy he had. Chase muttered a curse and closed the remaining distance between them. On the way, he pulled out the radio.“Doc, come running. This guy’s been shot.”
Her voice was barely legible through the static when she answered. “Where?”
“Up near where you waited for me yesterday. I’ll need your help getting him inside.”
“I’m on my way.”
He maintained watch on the hillside as he waited for Marisol to join them. Seconds later, he heard the front door of the cabin open followed by the sound of running feet startingup the hillside.
The wounded man finally stirred. Lifting his head seemed to take a lot of effort as he struggled to look around them. “Who’s coming?”
“Help.” He watched Marisol making her way up the slope. “Just relax until she gets here. Then we’ll get you down to the cabin and then see how badly you’re hurt.”
He wished there was time to interrogate the guy without exposing Marisol to anyadditional risk, but they couldn’t stay parked out there on the hillside for long. Judging by the amount of blood the man had already lost, the situation could get a whole lot worse for him if they didn’t get him patched up soon.
Marisol was almost there. He did one more visual sweep of the area and listened hard for any suspicious sounds in the area. So far, they seemed to be in the clear, buthe wouldn’t count on that holding true long term. If the enemy had put searchers on the trail of everyone who had escaped, then this guy had likely led another set of hunters right to them.
“What do you need me to do?”
Marisol was clearly reluctant to approach the man lying motionless on the ground. Smart thinking on her part. He might really be unconscious, but he could be faking it. Betterthat Chase take any risks. “Take charge of the rifle. I’ll get him down to the cabin.”
She circled around to where he stood. He gave her a quick tutorial on the gun before handing it over. Once shestepped back out of reach again, he bent down to grab Edgar’s uninjured arm and used it to haul him up off the ground. The man regained consciousness enough to help with the effort. When he was upon his feet, Chase half carried, half dragged him down the steep slope.
Marisol followed behind them but still hung back until Chase maneuvered their uninvited guest up the porch steps and into the house. He lowered him down onto the floor and waited for Marisol to join them.
She handed off the rifle as soon as she came inside. Before evaluating her new patient, she filled a pot with water andput it on the stove to heat and stoked the fire. Then she grabbed some clean dishtowels off the shelf and filled a large bowl with the water they’d left on the stove overnight. It probably wasn’t all that warm now, but at least it was clean. As she continued to gather up their meager first aid supplies, she asked, “How bad is it?”
The guy looked like hell right now. “Bad enough. Edgar here tookone in the shoulder.”
“You may have to hold him down if his wounds require stitches.”
He knelt on Edgar’s other side as Marisol used the chef’s knife to cut away the bloody shirt. They both winced at the deep gouge torn through the top of the man’s shoulder. Chase helped roll her patient over far enough so that she could check out the other side.
“The good news is it’s a deep flesh wound. Softtissue mostly, but no broken bones or vital organs damaged.” She glanced up at Chase, her dark eyes worried. “The wound looks fresh, no more than one, maybe two hours old. If so,whoever did this can’t be far behind.”
