Page 61 of Deadly Evidence
Beneath the other supplies she found a large gauze sheet that she folded into a triangle and fashioned into a sling.
“This will hold your arm still—so it won’t hurt as much,” she said as she tied it in place.
He tipped his head to study the bandage. “Thanks.”
“I’m not going to tamper with the wound itself or put anything on it. This will hold you together until we can get you to the clinic in town—it’s run by a physician’s assistant, but I think the doctor is there on Mondays and Wednesdays.”
“I can’t go to any local doctors.”
She inspected her handiwork, then collected the remaining supplies and put them in the box. “Why not? They’ve been patching up people in Gelman County for years.”
“Reports.” He opened his eyes to look at her. “They’d have to write reports on a gunshot wound. That would involve the sheriff, and it would end up in the newspaper. That can’t happen, or I’m done here and so is everything I’ve tried to do.”
Anna frowned. “So what, then?”
Across the endless, rolling land came the sound of galloping hooves, and much farther away, the growl of a vehicle slowly making its way over the rugged terrain.
He gave a weary sigh. “I guess my buddies will need to take me to El Paso.” He reached out to lace his fingers with hers. “But I promise I’ll return as soon as I can. Stay out of trouble, hear?”
From the lengthening shadow of the barn, Dante studied the somber expression on Mia’s face. She’d been sitting on the patio since supper, her arms folded across her chest and her eyes pinned on some distant point.
Vicente hadn’t come up to the house to eat. Lacey had sat silently, picking at her food. Anna had just looked plain worried. And Brady...
Those two search-and-rescue guys had whisked Brady off for medical care. They’d barely said a word to Anna, and from the serious expressions on their faces, Dante guessed that Brady’s wound didn’t look good.Just a fall off his horse, they’d said.
But then why had they taken his duffel bag out of his room if he was gonna be right back?
Nothing had seemed right this last couple weeks. Dante had felt restless and wary, unable to settle down. He found himself watching the shadows.
Wanting to talk to someone—not necessarilyMia—he finally gritted his teeth and sauntered across the broad parking area in front of the barn. “Hey,” he called out when he reached the patio. “What’s up?”
“What?” She looked up at him, her face cool and indifferent...as always. Her bored tone rubbed like sandpaper across his nerves.
The day had been long. Hard. Searching for Brady had been a tense situation, knowing that if he was hurt badly, every second counted. Anna’s worry at supper had added to Dante’s edgy mood.
And always lurking among his thoughts was that chance encounter with Nieto over at Gil’s ranch when they’d gone after hay.
The guy was bad news, and there wasn’t a thing Dante could do about it.
He thought about the threats that had sent him to Anna’s in the first place, and about his two younger sisters, who were living with their aunt and uncle in a tiny border town three hundred miles southeast of here. They were safe unless he screwed up.
For the first time in years, he silently prayed. Prayed that trouble hadn’t followed him to Saguaro Springs.
“Excuse me?” Mia said, tapping an impatient forefinger on her opposite arm.
“Must be great being so important, Miss College Girl,” he snapped. “I guess I was asking why you’re sitting out here, looking like you’re mad at the world.”
Her chin lifted. “If I was, it wouldn’t have anything to do with you.”
He snorted. “What do you have to be mad about? Now Brady, he’s got reason to be mad.”
Her gaze slid toward the cabins along the creek. “You’re right, I suppose.”
Dante followed her gaze. “Guess Vicente wasn’t too happy to see you.”
“He told to me to stay away!” She tipped down her sunglasses. “I’m not all that happy I ever came to see him. I still can’t believe it. Who does he think he is? What makes him think he’s so special? He hasn’t eventriedto be nice.”
Dante smirked. “I guess he figures it’s safer to keep his distance.”
