Page 2 of Love on the Run

“It didn’t hurt at first,” she said, putting her hand on the bandage. “Not till…later.”

“Okay, don’t worry. I’m taking you to the clinic to get your leg looked at.”

“Clinic? What clinic?” She twisted anxiously in her seat.

“The one in Hazelton. Montana. You know we’re in Montana, right?” The car’s plates were from California, which was one hell of a drive. No way she had come all this distance in her current state.

“Really? I drove all night,” she said, the words slurring.

Jake pressed the gas, wishing the clinic were closer. “Hang on, okay? We’ll be there in twenty minutes. What’s your name?”

“Who wants to know?” she asked, and he could swear she was laughing. Was she going into shock?

“My name’s Jake, honey. Don’t fall asleep on me, okay? What’s your name?”

“Callie.”

“Okay, Callie. Are you in pain?”God, of course she must be.

“I’m getting kind of cold.”

Shock.Jake frowned and cranked the heat to high, flicking the vents all toward her. “There you go, Callie. Where’d you drive from? Callie?” He glanced over and saw that she had closed her eyes again. He couldn’t tell if she was breathing.

“Christ. Okay, Callie. Remember when I said we’d be there in twenty minutes? We’re gonna be there in ten.” Praying that the mule deer would have the sense to stay out of the road tonight, he hit the sirens, and then flattened the gas pedal to the floor.

* * * *

Hazelton was a small town even by Montana standards. Things quieted down quick after dinner, and by midnight, it was rare to see people on the streets. The light over the front door of the doctor’s office gleamed like a beacon.Luckily, Dr. Murphy was already waiting for Jake outside, ready to help him bring in whatever patient he found on the dark highway. Jake brought the truck right up to the door, and Murphy had the passenger door open almost as soon as it stopped. Jake was out of the vehicle at the same moment.

“This the only victim of the crash?” Murphy asked.

Jake nodded as he unbuckled the seat belt and pulled the woman toward him. She felt warmer now, and he was grateful. “Not really a crash. I’ll explain later.”

Callie’s hair blazed a bright red in the light as the two men carried her inside, but Murphy’s attention was focused on the other red—the dark, rusty stain spreading over the makeshift bandage on the woman’s leg.In the light, it looked even nastier than it had when Jake first saw it, and he hoped it was not too late to help her.

“Who is she?” Murphy asked once they had gotten her onto the examining table in his office. She opened her eyes briefly, but didn’t speak.

“Her license says Calista Reed,” Jake responded. “I found her on the side of the road.”

“Huh,” Murphy grunted as he began to peer at the stiffened, sticky cloth.“What yahoo did this? It looks like a t-shirt held on with duct tape.”He grabbed a pair of scissors and sliced into the thick wadding as if it were paper. Gazing at the mess, he concluded, “Oh, that’s why. Itisa t-shirt held on with duct tape. Poor girl.” The cloth was stuck to the wound, forcing Murphy to rip the last of it off. The woman made a small sound, but didn’t open her eyes again. He threw the bloody object away. “She must have had time to do this herself. I wonder how long ago it happened. It wasn’t a car accident, you said?”

“No, the car was in one piece.I think she pulled off to sleep.”

“Good thing.If she lost as much blood as I think she has, it’s amazing she could drive at all.”Then he frowned, bending down to examine the exposed injury.Despite the crusted blood and angry skin, the wound itself was quite small. The doctor began to clean it, carefully swabbing the area clean. What was slowly revealed made Jake’s eyes widen, even before Murphy reached the same conclusion. She hadn’t suffered a cut at all.

“She was shot,” Murphy announced unnecessarily. Jake merely nodded. Gunshot wounds were nothing new to him. He’d been in war zones, and had seen plenty before.But the few words she’d spoken before losing consciousness took on a whole new meaning.Are you after me?His gaze returned upwards to her face, unnaturally pale, but still striking.

“Could have been a hunting accident, I suppose,” Dr. Murphy put out doubtfully, “Not that she looks like she came from any kind of camp. And it’s not the season for it.”

“Her car had California plates,” Jake offered suddenly.“She was awake for a minute.She mentioned driving, but didn’t say where from.”His voice was flat and angry, his eyes still on the woman’s face.

“That so,” Murphy said quietly, still going over the wound.If he had an opinion about the girl or the wound, he gave no sign of it. “No exit wound.That means the bullet’s still in there. That’s probably what kept her alive, since it reduced the bleeding.I’m going to examine her for other injuries and stitch that up. Why don’t you have a seat in the waiting room? This might take a little while.”

Jake nodded and left the room.He was fuming.He couldn’t forget the fear in the woman’s eyes when she’d first seen him.As ifhewere dangerous.As if any man would be capable of hurting her.He didn’t know who the hell had frightened her so badly, but if it was the same man who had hurt her, Jake could think of several things to do to him that might go a long way to improving his treatment of women.The thought was a satisfying one, and it distracted Jake from the memory of the angry bullet hole in the girl’s thigh.

It must have been a half hour before Murphy opened the door to the waiting room, his coat ominously splashed with blood. But the smile on his face put Jake’s fear to rest.

“Got the bullet out. I imagine you’ll want it for evidence?”

---