New Species 02 Slade (40 page)

“Let me see your arm.”

Harley crouched and twisted his big body to turn his

shoulder her way. She quickly tore the thin material of

his shirt to see the wound. It was a bloody mess. She

hesitated.

“I need to feel to see how deep it is and it’s going to

hurt.”

He nodded, not looking at her. “We have great pain

tolerance. Go for it.”

Even though Trisha hated to do it, she eased her

fingers into the ragged wound that was bleeding badly

and instantly touched something there. Crap.

“I feel a bullet. I thought you said it was a graze.”

“I lie sometimes.”

Trisha used her fingertip to dig out the damaged

bullet after realizing it hadn’t gone deep, feeling lucky

that the projectile had gone through the cabin wall before

it had struck Harley. It had slowed the bullet down

significantly to prevent it from tearing completely

through his body. She feared a big vessel had been

nicked by the amount of blood seeping down his arm.

She had to stop the bleeding and she knew he wouldn’t

lie down flat for her to apply pressure until help arrived.

She could try to cauterize it but dismissed that idea.

She asked for his knife again and cut off more of her shirt

until the material was just under her breasts. She locked

her teeth together, hating how she would have to hurt

him.

“I’m packing the wound and afterward, I’m going to

tie it off. The pressure from the filler will stop or greatly

slow the bleeding but it’s going to hurt.”

“Do it but just hurry, Trisha. I need to be on my feet.

They will open fire on us again at any time. They aren’t

just going to go away as much as we wish they would.”

Trisha balled up a small piece of her shirt and

packed it into the hole. It was extreme but she didn’t

have a choice. She studied it, saw a decrease in the

bleeding, and wrapped a strip tightly around his arm to

hold it in place, before tying it off. Long seconds ticked

past while she watched the bandage but the bleeding

seemed to have stopped.

“Try to keep that arm as immobile as you can. This

isn’t exactly a fix but more of an emergency temporary

patch.”

He nodded, stood, and shoved the side table back in

front of her to shield her from stray bullets. “Thanks.”

Harley retook his position by the front door while

Brass stood by the back wall. Suddenly Brass and Harley

chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Trisha glanced between them,

wondering if the stress of the situation had finally gotten

to them.

Brass looked relieved when he glanced her way. “We

have company. The neighbors are on their way to

welcome our guests. I can pick up their scents.”

“At least four.” Harley inhaled. “And Valiant is one

of them.”

“Poor bastards,” Moon chimed in from above. “This

is going to be interesting.”

Trisha just wanted it to be over. She wished she

could see what was going on outside but bullets

suddenly tore through the cabin again.

“Full frontal assault,” Moon yelled. “They are going

for one of the trucks.”

“Trisha,” Harley yelled, running for her. “Get out of

there!”

Trisha shoved at the table and knocked it aside.

Bullets struck the wall near Brass as he loudly cursed.

Harley suddenly gripped Trisha’s arm as she struggled

to get to her feet and yanked her toward the stairs. He

kept his body between hers and the front of the cabin.

Bullets tore through the room from the front of the cabin,

embedding in walls and glass shattered.

“Get up there,” Harley snarled.

He released Trisha at the bottom of the stairs. She ran

and reached the top before she realized Harley hadn’t

followed her. She turned and saw him lying on the floor

at the bottom of the stairs. Brass rushed the fallen man,

grabbed him with both hands, lifted and dumped him

over his shoulder to pound up the stairs.

“Trisha, get on the bed,” Brass snarled at her, tossing

Harley’s limp form on it first. “Get behind him and stay

flat.”

Trisha heard the distinct sound of an engine seconds

before an explosion of noise boomed through the cabin

so loudly it hurt her ears. She threw herself onto the bed

next to Harley. The cabin shook as though an earthquake

had hit—one sharp jolt of movement. She screamed,

terrified, as wood snapped and groaned. More glass

shattered and crunched from somewhere below them on

the first floor. The sound of an engine seemed super

noisy, as if it were next to Trisha.

“They breached the front wall,” Moon roared.

“Breached it hell,” Brass snarled back. “That truck is

parked inside the living room now.”

Trisha saw that Brass took position at the top of the

stairs where he’d thrown his body flat onto his stomach.

He started firing at something below and gunfire became

deafening to the point that Trisha covered her ears. She

couldn’t look away from her friend though, too worried

for him.

“Keep your head down, Trisha,” Moon yelled at her.

The engine died and someone screamed from below

as Brass kept firing. He dropped a clip, snapped another

one in and continued shooting after a pause of only

seconds. Moon fired his weapon from the window.

Trisha’s heart pounded. Those men had driven a

truck through the front of the cabin. Bullets tore up the

floor by the bed where Trisha watched holes appear in

the wood and continued on through the roof. Debris

rained down. Trisha turned in to Harley’s still form and

she grabbed him, clinging, until she realized her hand

felt wet and warm on Harley.

Blood. He’s bleeding. She opened her eyes to stare in

horrified shock at Harley, sprawled on his back. Her

hand over his heart on his chest lifted and it was covered

in blood. All hell broke loose around her as men yelled,

guns were fired and the cabin continued to be riddled

with bullets. Trisha hated feeling helpless as she stared

at her bloodied hand, knowing if she sat up she’d be of

no use to him with bullets slamming into her as well.

A loud roar sounded over the shouting, the gunfire,

and the cabin being sliced apart by bullets. Trisha had

heard that ear-splitting roar before. It sounded as if

Valiant had entered the cabin.

Trisha felt hot tears running down her face when the

gunfire ceased. She heard another roar, closely followed

by something similar to a wolf’s howl. She lifted her

head and watched Brass shove up from the floor. Moon

hovered by the window grinning.

“You should see this. There’s about ten of ours out

there now and they have the assholes. One son of a bitch

is trying to run from Valiant. Oops. He thought he could

flee from Valiant. Now he’s a flying… ouch. He was

doing a bird impression but now he’s part of a tree. Well,

he was until his body hit the ground. Now he’s dead.”

Moon chuckled. “That had to hurt. It seems the last thing

on his mind was bark.”

Trisha fought her way to her knees to stare down at

Harley, realizing he wasn’t moving at all and instantly

reached for his neck. A sob tore from her throat when she

didn’t find a pulse. She frantically gripped his shirt and

tore it open to examine a gaping wound on the left side

of his chest.

“Oh no,” Brass gasped.

Trisha moved. It was hard to do on the soft mattress

but she got beside Harley and she tilted his head to open

up his airway. Trisha leaned over him, gripping his nose

with one hand, supported him with the hand behind his

neck, and covered his mouth to start breathing for him.

She blew in air, shifted her gaze to watch his chest rise,

and sat up. She released him to press her hands together

over his chest above the wound. She counted in her head

as she did compressions.

“Trisha?” It was Slade’s voice and he was close.

“Get help,” she gasped in air and blew into Harley’s

mouth. She forced air into his lungs again. She did more

chest compressions. “Life flight. Nearest trauma center.

Hurry.”

“Trisha?” Slade was very near, almost as if he were

on the bed behind her. “He’s gone.”

Trisha forced air into Harley’s lungs again. “No!” She

refused to give up. He’d used his body to shield her to

reach the stairs. He’d taken bullets protecting her and the

baby. No way would she give up on him. She’d saved

patients with worse wounds before.

She kept going until she stopped, checked his pulse,

and nearly collapsed with relief. “I’ve got a heartbeat.”

She stared at his face to make sure he continued

breathing. Relief swept through her as he took a breath

on his own and then another. His pulse was weak but

there.

Trisha studied his chest to discover it was a sucking

wound, telling her that his lung had been compromised.

“Someone get me something plastic, now. A baggy,

anything. Hurry. His lung will collapse.”

Someone handed her a new, folded trash bag and she

went to work while Harley kept breathing on his own.

She put pressure on the bleeding wound over his chest.

She just had to be careful not to put too much weight

down for fear of collapsing the injured lung. Forever

seemed to pass as Trisha knelt over him until she finally

heard a helicopter.

Arms gripped Trisha around her waist. “Help is

here. They can’t see you, Doc. No one can. Let him go.

Moon will hold that in place for you.” Slade held her,

speaking softly against her ear. “Come on, sweet thing.

You’ve done all you can do. They aren’t our people

inside that helicopter, they are yours, and if you stay

there will be too many questions.”

“Take her out the back window,” Brass ordered

softly.

Trisha twisted her head to stare at Slade. “I’m the

New Species doctor and he needs me.”

Slade hugged her harder against his body. “Think of

the baby, Trisha. They can do for him what you could.”

He lifted her completely away from the bed and hurried

toward a back window.

Brass kicked out what was left of the window.

Bullets had broken it mostly out but sharp, jagged

corners had remained. Brass stepped through the

window first and onto the porch roof, only to disappear

over the edge. Slade gripped Trisha, turned her inside

the cradle of his arms and bent. They barely fit through

the opening but then they stood on the roof. Slade

walked to the edge to peer down.

“Harley needs me. Put me down, Slade.” She

frantically wiggled, trying to get a look at the bed and

caught a glimpse of her friend laying still with Moon

huddled over him. “Please? I’m a doctor!”

Slade seemed to be ignoring her as he spoke to

someone else. “Can you catch her?”

“I can,” Valiant growled. “Drop her.”

Drop me? Trisha’s eyes widened as she stared at

Slade, pulled from her frantic need to monitor Harley’s

condition. Slade’s grim expression didn’t reassure her.

“Freeze just the way you are, sweet thing.” He lifted

her out away his body to dangle over the edge of the

porch roof and let go.

Trisha had a horrible sense of falling and grunted

when two strong arms caught her around her upper back

and behind her knees. Slade had dropped her about

seven feet down into Valiant’s waiting arms. She stared

in shock at the ferocious New Species. He spun and

bolted into the woods with her clutched close to his

massive chest. Panic hit her hard when he sprinted away

with her. They reached a thicker part of the woods far

from the cabin but he kept going.

“We’re far enough,” Brass stated, running alongside

them.

“Take me back,” Trisha demanded. “I need to help

Harley. I could do things a medic can’t during the flight.”

She could still hear the sound of the helicopter. They’d

probably have a hard time stabilizing him and she wasn’t

sure where the nearest trauma center was located. “I

need to monitor him and—”

“Shut up,” Valiant snarled.

Trisha’s fear overrode her outrage at being taken

away from her patient. She sealed her lips as the guy

kept going with her held inside his massive arms, taking

her farther from the cabin.