Page 6 of Lone Star Rescue

“I think my leg’s broken,” Alice muttered, and wincing and groaning, she tried to lever herself up on her elbows. Carson and Bree helped with that while Bree continued to glance around, looking for more injured.

And for the cause of what’d just happened.

Bree saw the gaping hole in the ground. Not the grave. She wasn’t sure it was even still there, but if so, it was buried under the debris from…what? A bomb? Dynamite?

No.

She drew in a long breath and smelled something.

“Is there a gas line out here?” she asked no one in particular.

“There is,” someone answered. A big guy in a hard hat. This had to be Gavin McCray, the one who’d found the body. “But it’s not supposed to be active. My crew boss checked with the utility company before I started digging.”

Clearly, Bree would be having a chat with the boss. And with the utility company. For now though, they had to get out of there in case there was another explosion.

“We have to move,” Bree insisted, but she debated it as she said it.

If Alice had internal injuries, moving her could make things worse. It could kill her. But so could a secondary blast, and Bree thought the smell of gas was getting stronger.

“Use this,” Rafe said, dragging over a blue tarp that he yanked off a piece of equipment.

Again, he moved fast, spreading it out next to Alice while he murmured to the deputy. Clearly, this wasn’t his first rodeo when it came to tending wounded, and Bree figured he’d done such things when he’d been an Air Force Combat Rescue Officer.

“You’re going to be all right,” Rafe said to Alice. He lifted her eyelid, checking the response of her pupil. “Tell me where you’re hurting.”

“My leg,” Alice was quick to say, and the pain coated her voice. “My shoulder, too.”

“Anything hurting in your ribs or stomach?” Rafe asked.

Wincing, Alice shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“Good. I’m going to ease you onto the tarp,” Rafe explained.

Rafe looked up at Bree, motioning for her to take Alice’s feet. She did that while he took the deputy’s torso. Even though they tried to be gentle, Alice still cried out in pain.

It tore at Bree to hear Alice make that sound. To see her cut up like this. To see this nightmare. One that she knew could be much worse if they didn’t get away from what was left of that gas pipe.

Rafe and she carried Alice on the tarp, placing the deputy on the other side of the cruiser where she’d at least be protected if there was indeed another blast. The others followed suit, all hobbling their way toward cover.

In the distance, Bree heard the welcome sound of an ambulance siren. Soon, Alice would get the medical treatment she needed. The rest of the wounded would, too. But while they waited and while Rafe continued to talk to Alice, Bree made a call to the emergency dispatcher to get out more ambulances, the fire department and some experts to check the gas line.

There wasn’t a fire at the moment, but it was possible the gas would ignite one, and she wanted the firemen there in case that happened. Added to that, she needed more help in securing the scene and keeping people out, and she might not have the manpower to do that.

“If you can, move to the deputies’ cruiser,” Bree instructed Wade, Ollie, and the construction workers.

Since they were all up and somewhat mobile, that seemed the safest option and would put them even further from the initial blast.

“What do you want me to do?” Carson asked.

His hands were trembling. That was the first time Bree had ever seen him have that reaction, and they’d worked together for more than a dozen years. Then again, it wasn’texactly a common occurrence to find a body and nearly be blown to bits all in the same hour.

“Get the contact info for the workers,” Bree instructed. “And arrange for them to be checked by EMTs after Alice is transported to the hospital. You’re sure you’re okay?” she tacked onto that when Carson rubbed his arm.

Carson nodded, and that’s when she also noticed the blood on his head. His thick black hair had initially concealed it, but she could see it now. She took hold of his hand and eased him to a sitting position next to Alice and Rafe.

“The contact info can wait,” Bree amended. “You need to be examined, too.”

Hell, all of them needed to be. Her ribs were starting to throb.

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