Page 7 of Cry Wolf

Her eyes were drawn to a man on the ground, lying on his side. She rushed to him and rolled him onto his back. In the meager light spilling from the car’s interior, she could see the deputy was dead. A moan came from near the driver’s side of the car and led her to the other deputy.

The woman lay on the shoulder of the road next to the car, writhing with pain. Blood soiled her shirt. She’d been shot in her left side, like Matthew had been, but lower and closer to her stomach. The bullet could have grave repercussions, damaging her liver, intestines, colon, or kidneys. The main problem right now was stopping the bleeding so she had a chance. As soon as the woman saw Dania, she desperately tried to grab her gun in the weeds, barely out of her grasp.

Dania beat her to it and picked up the Smith & Wesson. She placed it on the ground a safe distance from the deputy. This was Dania’s chance to get away, but she couldn’t turn her back on the woman. She’d stay as long as she could. “I can help you. I’m a nurse. But you need to unlock these.” She held out her wrists, showing her the handcuffs.

The deputy hesitated, looking between Dania and her weapon she couldn’t reach. She winced and motioned for Dania to move closer. “Is Ted all right?” she asked as she turned the key away from the hinge, then toward it. The cuffs released. Another pain caught the woman, and she grabbed at her side.

“He didn’t make it.” Dania rubbed her sore wrists.

The deputy moaned. “What’s his wife going to do?”

Dania needed to take the woman’s mind off her agony and what had happened to her partner. “What’s your name?”

“Olivia. Olivia Porter.” She grimaced and looked up.

Good, Dania had her attention. “Where’s your first-aid kit, Olivia?”

“In the trunk.” She gasped.

“Where’re your keys?”

“My pocket.” She groaned as she held her side with one hand and mined the keys from her pants pocket with the other. Anguish caught on her face as she held them out to Dania.

She took them, pressed the fob twice, and raced to the trunk. She found a red-and-white first-aid kit resting next to the spare tire. When she returned, Olivia had curled on her side in the fetal position.

“Olivia, you need to lie on your back.”

“It feels like there’s a hot poker stabbing through me.” Her face pinched with anguish.

Dania coaxed her onto her back and pushed up the officer’s bloody shirt so she could see the damage. Faint light trickling from the car wasn’t enough. She had to get a better look. “Do you have a flashlight?”

“Under the driver’s seat.” She flinched.

“Don’t move.” Dania peered under the seat, but it was too dark to see. She stuck her hand in, feeling wires and the vehicle’s floor. Her fingers brushed a small, long canister. The flashlight. Carefully, Dania pulled it out and clicked it on. Light flooded the area.

“Here, hold this.” Dania put the flashlight in Olivia’s hand and showed her where to point it. Giving the deputy a chore would help her stay conscious.

Dania mined through the kit, not finding what she needed. Frustrated, she dumped the contents on the ground. Spying several gauze packages, she grabbed them and an ACE bandage wrap. “Olivia, I need you to sit up.”

“Why?” The deputy groaned.

“I’ve got to stop the bleeding, and I need to make a pressure wrap around your torso.” Dania took the flashlight from Olivia and laid it on the ground, pointing the beam where she thought it would do the most good.

The deputy rolled to one side and then, pulling strength from deep in her core, leaned up on her elbow. She mumbled a few curse words.

As fast as Dania could, she wrangled the bandage around her patient, placed a stack of gauze over the wound, and secured it. Then she eased the woman to the ground.

Olivia sucked in air.

“I know this is going to hurt, but I want to apply manual pressure for a while.” Placing one hand on top of the other, Dania put her bottom palm over the wrapping on the wound and pressed down.

The deputy moaned.

“Olivia, you need a hospital. Do you have a cell phone?”

“Dropped it when the bullet caught me.” She gasped, and her eyes drooped. No doubt she was fatigued from pain, but she blinked, as if trying to stay awake.

Using one hand to apply pressure, Dania once again put the flashlight in Olivia’s hand and guided the beam under the car. The cell phone lay midway beneath the vehicle. Dania reached for the phone but couldn’t touch it.

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