Page 79 of The Finding Series: Vol. 1

Of course, two should have been plenty considering his final destination hadn’t been more than half a day’s walk away. As he had gotten closer to his destination, he’d actually felt little zings of excitement go through his body at the prospect of a soft bed and a hot meal tonight instead of another night trying to fall asleep on the cold ground with the contents of his last MRE sitting like lead in his belly. But truth be told, he’d been even more enthralled with the idea of finally feeling safe, of finally not having to be looking over his shoulder all the time. To have the one man he trusted above all others watching his back like he had when they were kids.

He still wasn’t sure why he was surprised to find that his last hope for salvation had turned out to be wishful thinking. Luke had known it the instant he saw the police car pulling onto the dirt road that led up to the CB Bar Ranch and recognized the familiar face behind the wheel – the one that hadn’t changed much in the seven years since he’d last seen it. At least he’d been smart enough to take cover in a line of trees on the other side of the road while he’d scouted out the area. Once the car had been out of sight, he’d started the long walk back towards town while his weary brain tried to come up with plan B which probably should have been his plan A, since all he’d managed to do in the last three days was spend what little money he had left on the bus ticket that had only gotten him to Billings. After that, he’d hitchhiked with a variety of truckers who’d either wanted to talk his ear off or propositioned him. He’d lucked out with the last trucker though, because the old man had simply dropped him off with a few words wishing him well before he’d continued on his journey west, while Luke had gone south on the highway that would lead him to the small town of Dare, Montana.

Luke hadn’t actually seen much of the town since he’d hadn’t wanted to risk being noticed so he’d stayed on the outskirts and had only gone into a gas station to fill up his water bottles and get cleaned up. It had taken several hours to head out of town towards his destination but since that had turned out to be a bust, he’d been left with no choice but to retrace his steps back to Dare so that he could spend his last few dollars on a much needed meal. But between the gnawing hunger and lack of water, his body had clearly had other thoughts and for the life of him, he couldn’t remember anything after seeing black spots dancing across his eyes. Now he just needed to figure out if rolling down the embankment had caused even more damage to his already battered body.

“Hey-”

Luke heard the voice only a fraction of a second before he felt fingers close over his upper arm. He heard a grunt as he lashed out with his right hand and shoved his attacker away from him while he scrambled to his feet. Ignoring the agony that shot through his side at the move, he scrambled to his feet and reached for the gun tucked in the waistband of his jeans. A wave of dizziness swept through him as he aimed his Beretta at the man who was still bent over on the ground, his hand pressed against his chest.

* * *

Gray tried to suck in a breath but the pain was too overwhelming and he could only helplessly gasp as he willed himself not to panic. The fucker packed one hell of a punch and Gray had no doubt he’d end up with a bruise where the guy’s fist had connected with the right side of his chest. But the need for oxygen became an afterthought when he looked up and saw the gun aimed at his head. Gray forced himself to drop his hand and he held both arms out, palms open. Standing wasn’t an option yet since pain continued to radiate through his body but he was surprised when the man instantly lowered the gun and held it loosely by his leg.

“Who are you?” the guy snapped as he scanned the area around them. Probably looking to see if Gray was alone or not.

Gray slowly lowered one hand back to his chest as he tried to stand but couldn’t manage it. He was shocked when the guy stepped forward and wrapped an arm around him and eased him up from the crouching position he’d been stuck in.

“Try not to take deep breaths,” the man said as he used his hand to push up the T-shirt Gray was wearing. Under any other circumstances, the rough fingertips dragging over his skin and the husky voice near his ear would have turned Gray on but all he felt was fear as the immediate threat of being shot dissipated and his air-starved lungs refused to heed his order to suck in some much needed oxygen.

“Look at me,” the guy suddenly said as he moved so he was standing in front of Gray. “Slow, short breaths like this,” he said as he demonstrated. Gray didn’t miss the fact that the man was still brandishing the gun but his gray-blue eyes never left Gray’s so Gray focused on them instead and tried to mirror his breathing to match the other man’s. To his relief, air began moving more freely through his chest. The man seemed satisfied and dropped his eyes to skim over the place on Gray’s side where his fingers were still gently probing.

“Does your whole chest hurt or just here?” the man asked as his warm hand settled over the spot just beneath Gray’s pectoral muscle.

“Just there,” Gray managed to get out. The pain was still intense but it was indeed localized to where the guy had hit him and although it still hurt to breathe, at least he could actually manage it now.

“I don’t think your ribs are broken but they could be cracked or bruised. You’ll need a chest X-ray to know for sure.”

Gray shoved the guy’s hand away. “I’m fine,” he snapped even though he knew it wasn’t the smartest attitude to have since the guy had yet to put the gun away. But he was also royally pissed. “You go around pulling guns on everyone who tries to help you?” he managed to wheeze between choppy breaths.

The man stepped back and then looked down at the gun in his hand as if just realizing it was there. He tucked it behind his back and said, “You shouldn’t have touched me.”

Ungrateful bastard.

“And I didn’t need help,” he added.

Gray snorted and shook his head. “So you just like taking naps in ditches?” he bit out. When the guy didn’t respond, Gray said, “You know what, fuck it. Keep your dog off the road.”

“She’s not my dog.”

Gray nearly laughed at that but his ribs still hurt too badly so he just glanced down at the German Shepherd that was practically pressed up against the guy’s leg. “Right,” Gray murmured as he turned to go. But as he began to climb the slight incline, a wave of heat passed over him and his stomach rolled violently. His vision dimmed as he took his next step and he closed his eyes desperately to try to maintain his equilibrium. It was no use though and he tried to put his hands out in an effort to break his fall as his knees buckled. But his body never made contact with the ground as an arm wrapped around him from behind and kept him upright. He knew he should either say thank you or shove the guy away but all he could do was turn his head to the side as he leaned over and threw up.

* * *

Luke managed to maintain his hold on the other man as he continued to retch long after the contents of his stomach had been emptied. Although the man was sweating profusely, his skin felt cold and clammy. Luke had hit the guy pretty hard but he was almost certain he hadn’t caused any injury to any internal organs…almost.

After several minutes, the man’s spasms began to ease and Luke felt his own side burn with pain as the man pressed back against him, his full weight sinking onto the arm Luke still had wrapped around his waist.

“I’m okay,” the guy said as he tried to pull away but as soon as Luke loosened his hold, he became wobbly again.

“I need to get you to the hospital,” Luke said as he glanced around the ground to search out his duffle bag.

“No,” the man said quickly. A strange sensation passed through Luke as he felt the man’s fingers resting on his forearm but he ignored it.

“I could have caused some kind of internal injury-”

“No. I was feeling sick before…it must be the stomach flu. I’m okay.”

Luke wasn’t convinced but when the guy pushed his arm away, he released him. The stranger teetered back and forth a bit but then steadied. Luke kept his eye on him, quickly taking a couple of steps back and snagging his bag off the ground. As the man began walking back up the incline, Luke could see he was struggling and he wrapped his arm around him once more.

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