Page 78 of Rough Stock
Those big brown eyes, crusted in blood and tears, opened and looked up into hers. “Shy?” he whispered through dry, peeling lips.
“Yes, babe. It’s okay. You’re gonna be okay. Oh, god, Jensen, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again! Please be okay. Please, please be okay,” she said as she sat down beside him and stroked his cheek. She could hear Amos on the phone a few feet away, but she didn’t care who he was talking to.
“Drink?” he whispered.
“I don’t have anything down here, but it’s okay. We’re going to get you out of here, all right? Just hang on,” she whispered down to him and kissed his forehead. She could barely control her voice when she said, “I have something to say to you.” His eyes rolled upward to take in her face, and she gave him her bravest smile. “I love you, Jensen. I couldn’t tell you before, but I can’t wait another minute. We don’t always have forever. I know now that if I have something important to say to you, I’d better say it because I might not get another chance. I love you, Jensen, and I know you didn’t mean to leave me.”
He gave a feeble attempt at shaking his head and then tried a smile. It wasn’t a big one, but Shyanna understood just fine.“No,” he said, blood seeping from the tiny cracks in his lips. “I didn’t. Not my choice. I was so scared you’d think I’d run off on you. I’d never do that.”
“I know that. I knew that when you disappeared. I’ve never trusted anybody before, but I trust you.”
“Search and rescue is sending a team to get him out of here. I’m going back up to the car and get a knife to cut that duct tape off,” Amos announced.
“Bring some water when you come,” Shyanna said as he headed out.
“Will do,” he answered and gave her a tiny salute. She watched as he picked his way back up the concrete culvert and disappeared in the brush.
“Shy?”
She smiled down at him. “Yeah, babe?”
“How’d you come out last night in the final tally?”
She couldn’t help bursting into laughter. “I have no idea! Trust me, my scores and my standings were the last damn thing on my mind! I don’t give a shit about that stuff. All I really care about is you.” The sound of sirens in the distance pricked her ears and she whispered to him, “Listen. The cavalry is coming for you.”
“Here. Let’s get you out of that shit,” Amos said as he knelt beside them. The knife blade sliced through the duct tape on Jensen’s wrists, and while Amos cut the tape around his ankles, Shyanna rubbed Jensen’s hands and fingers. “Better?”
He nodded weakly. “Yeah.” Shyanna reached for the bottle of water Amos had brought and put it to his lips. He swallowed two or three mouthfuls as the siren sounds got closer and closer. “Are those for me?”
She brushed her fingers down his cheek. “Yeah, babe. We’re getting you out of here.”
“Good. I want to sleep beside you,” he whispered back to her.
Thirty minutes later, he was loaded into an ambulance, thanks to two first responders and three volunteer firemen. Shyanna and Amos followed close behind. As soon as they reached the hospital, Shyanna pulled out her phone and called Amber. “Get out of there. Leave the note and go. Now. Meet us at the hospital.” A man eyed her from across the room and she whispered into the phone, “I’m calling the cops to tell them where to find Barlow and Bergman. Gotta go.” It took her two seconds to call the sheriff’s department. “You’ll find two drug dealers in a hotel room at the CreeksideInn. Room one-oh-three. They’re surrounded by their drugs. There’s a note there that explains everything.” When they tried to ask a question, she just hung up.
She’d barely ended the call when a man stepped into her personal space, and she remembered him. “MissOwens?” he asked.
It was time for her to put on her best poker face and become an actress. “Yes. OfficerKramer. How can I help you?”
“Let’s have a seat,” he said, and she knew he wasn’t inviting her to sit?he was telling her.
The sofa was hard as a rock, but she didn’t give a shit. “Let’s get this over with,” she snapped. “What do you want?”
“First, I should tell you that Mr.Strader is no longer under suspicion. I don’t think he could bind himself. Maybe throw himself down the ravine, but not bind himself. Someone had to do that. Do you know who that was?”
He can’t know that you know Bergman, she reminded herself. “If I had to guess, I’d say MaxBarlow or JimmyFuller.”
“And why is that?”
“Because I’m as sure as I’m sitting here that MaxBarlow was the one who poisoned Jensen’s horse. And they both wanted us out of the association. Plus if I had to guess, I’d say one or both of them were responsible for DaleGresham’s murder.”
“Why?”
Shyanna almost laughed. “Oh, I wouldn’t know. Just a hunch,” she said, trying hard to keep the sarcasm from oozing out of her voice. “I’m betting Max stole Jensen’s gun and rig and tried to frame him. Sounds like something he’d do.”
“Sounds like you have a very low opinion of this Max character. Why is that?” Kramer asked.
She failed when she tried to stifle the snort that came out. “He’s never given me any reason to have ahighopinion of him, quite frankly. And he’s been physical with me before. He and a bunch of the other guys didn’t want me in events that are traditionally male. They don’t want any women competing against them.”
