Primal Force (32 page)

“Not a problem. I'm an expert at being a gimp. Teach you all the ropes.”

Becker let go of the gun.

 

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

“
Ahhh. Ahhh.
It hurts like a—”

“No sympathy here, Becker. You threatened to shoot me.” Law had loosened the tourniquet a bit to make certain blood was still flowing.

Satisfied, he retightened the strips of cloth. “I don't think Jori is feeling very friendly toward you, either.”

Law winked at Jori, who was huddled with them under the truck bed while he worked on Becker.

She didn't smile but he couldn't blame her. It was snowing now, soft flakes that turned the world into a winter wonderland. Gorgeous, but dangerously cold for three people who were not prepared for the exposure.

With Jori's assistance, he'd cut Becker loose. Not having his prosthesis meant he'd had to ask her to help him shift a few things around when he would have preferred she stay dry and huddled out of the wind. But once he'd gotten Becker on the ground, he'd dragged himself and the trooper under the shelter of the truck bed where he could work on him. Jori assisted him with the things he needed from the first-aid kit. But he'd rather she'd taken shelter in the cab. There wasn't enough room for all three of them in there but she refused to leave him.

The tourniquet was tight enough to stop most of the bleeding. To do more without knowing the extent of the injury might cost The Pecker his leg.

Once he'd gotten the man's bleeding under control, he'd butt-scooted back over to the cab and torn out the seats. With Jori's assistance he erected a wall around them. The fortress didn't stop all the wind, but every little bit helped.

Help, Law thought grimly. They needed help to come. Soon. For Jori.

“How far do you think Sam had to go for help?” Jori was looking at him, her lips pale as she huddled in the blanket he'd found behind one of the seats when he tore it out.

“Not far.”

“Maybe she gave up and took shelter.”

Her voice wobbled. It twisted his gut. But he couldn't let himself dwell on any of the things he'd been thinking about for a long time, until they got out of this mess. He hardened his heart.

“I can't believe I said to send her out in this storm.” Jori was genuinely worried.

“Not your choice. Hers. Either way, she'll be fine.” His voice was steeled with certainty, but he didn't glance at her again.

For a police officer, lying to get the needed response to keep a gnarly situation under control was practically mandatory. But he wasn't certain he could keep the truth out of his eyes. They were in a significant amount of trouble. And Sam, bless her, wasn't likely to be their salvation.

“You're right. Sam's smart. She will be fine.”

Poor Sam. Law felt a beat of guilt about the way he'd treated that curly-haired rust bucket today. She was a faithful dog. A good companion. A help when he didn't know he needed her. But she was a lover, not a fighter. He hoped she was holed up somewhere warm. Unlike Jori, he wasn't at all confident of that, either.

*   *   *

Law adjusted the tourniquet he'd applied to Becker's leg again. The accident had gouged a hole in his right calf and probably nicked an artery. The ground behind them had grown slick with blood before he'd been able to get the tourniquet from the K-9 first-aid kit in place.

Law glanced up from the wound he was watching to his own empty pant leg. The bastard had choked him out and taken his leg before he could regain consciousness.

But he was an officer of the law. Had taken a vow to protect and defend. That meant saving a life. Becker was a shithead but he was a human, and he didn't want that life on his conscience.

“Do you hear a siren?” Jori was suddenly alert.

Law listened. “Yes.” But that didn't necessarily mean anything. As a trooper he knew law enforcement was out in full force, prepared to take care of many accidents and other problems associated with the winter storm.

But the siren was coming their way.

“Stay put.”

Law scooted to the edge of the overturned truck, grabbed the edge, and pulled himself to his foot with a biceps flex.

“I'm coming, too.”

He made eye contact with Jori, worried about the smile blooming on her face as she scrambled toward him. “No. This may be nothing. Either way, I want you safe. Don't move until someone comes to you. Got it?”

She looked at him then slowly nodded.

Law hopped away from the truck toward the sound. The siren was echoing around the valley but the Doppler effect told him it was coming toward him. About two hundred yards out, a state trooper cruiser appeared on a rise in an unseen road. If he'd had his prosthesis he would have made a run for it, hoping the sight of a man in motion would catch the trooper's attention.

Instead, Law looked around for something to flag them down with, in case they sped by without noticing the wreckage. But then something caught his eye.

A rusty-red speck was bounding across the open ground ahead and at an angle to the cruiser.

Law smiled. The doodle had done it!

He saw the cruiser slow to a stop and a trooper popped out, megaphone in hand. “Trooper Battise?”

Law waved both arms back and forth over his head, balancing on one leg.

“Sit tight. I've got backup coming.”

Law nodded but he really wasn't listening. He was watching Sam, now about fifty yards out, slow down, wobble around in the snow, and then collapse.

*   *   *

“I'm not getting a pulse.” Jori looked at Law, who was kneeling in the snow holding Sam in his arms.

He didn't look up. “Get a thermal blanket from the trooper. Get it here fast.”

He saw her wheel away from him. She'd helped him get to Sam, acting as his crutch, but this was his dog, his responsibility. It tore him up that he had to ask for help when he should be the one helping others.

Jori was headed for the cruiser while the trooper was calling for an ambulance after checking out Becker's condition. Everyone was doing their share.

He glanced down at Sam. She was lying lifeless in his arms. Ice crusted her muzzle and face. He ran a hand gently over her head to dislodge icicles. She was suffering from hypothermia. He needed to get her warm.

Unable to carry her, he sat in snow and tucked as much of her body inside his jacket as he could manage. He knew about K-9 care. As Jori and the trooper came running back, he went over the treatment in his head to keep from going crazy with worry.

He had time. Minutes. Even if she wasn't breathing.

Wrap the dog in a blanket. Find a warm place.

He began to rub her body vigorously with his hands, trying to get the blood flowing. She'd run a long way. He was careful not to touch her ears, nose, ears, or feet. If she had frostbite, this would only make things worse.

Sam shuddered in his embrace, her body fighting for its life. He could hear her gasping.

“It's okay, Sam. I got you.” Law hugged her tighter, letting her chill wet fur soak his shirt. At least she was getting some heat from his body.

“We've got a thermal blanket. And some instant heat packs.” The trooper began tearing open the blanket packet while Jori squeezed the packs to activate them.

When the trooper had spread the thin Mylar blanket on the ground, Law lay Sam on it. She was still now, no breath sounds coming.

Still time.

Law grabbed Jori's wrist and shook his head as she would have placed a warming pack next to Sam. “Wrap the packs in something. If they get too hot next to her skin we'll have other problems.”

“Right.” Jori tore off her only glove, stuffed the hand warmer into it, and handed it to him.

“I'll find something else.” She turned away and headed for the truck.

Law wrapped Sam up and leaned over her.

“How you doing, Sam?” He rubbed her roughly through the blanket. No response. He felt for her pulse but couldn't locate it.

He checked her pupils. They were dilating. Sam was unconscious, going into a coma.

“She's dead.” Jori had fallen onto her knees beside him.

“No. Not yet.” Law heard his own voice as if from a distance. “I'm going to use CPR.” He'd done this before, when his K-9 had jumped a fence in Kandahar and landed on a live electrical wire. The shock had stopped his heart. Hypothermia was a bit trickier. Sam had exhausted herself.

The blast of a siren close by made the little party jump. Another state police auto and an ambulance were arriving.

“Here comes the cavalry.” The trooper sounded relieved.

Law didn't respond.

He stretched Sam out carefully, tucking a second hand warmer Jori gave him under her shoulder. He noted in passing that the cover looked an awful lot like a bra but made no comment. He was running the scenario in his head. It had been nearly four years since he'd practiced this technique.

He gently tried to open her lower jaw but met resistance. She was stiffening up. He needed to move more quickly. He didn't smell vomit and hoped her passageway was clear. He aligned Sam's head with her back and tilted it a little more to open up her airway.

His hand was large enough that when he placed it under her jaw, he could use his thumb as a clamp over the top of her nose so that no air could escape through her mouth.

Moving quickly but methodically, he bent and placed his mouth over Sam's nostrils and blew into her five quick breaths.

“Her chest moved.” Jori was crouched down beside him, watching.

Law placed his free hand lightly on her chest, waited three seconds, and repeated the five quick breaths.

He needed to get her to a vet. But that wouldn't help if she wasn't breathing. And she was so cold. He'd read that resuscitation of a hypothermic dog could take up to an hour. They needed to move while he gave her CPR.

Five quick breaths. Her chest moved with his hot breath.

“I can't find a pulse.” Jori sounded scared.

Law looked up. “Go to the ambulance. Get me a dextrose drip.” He didn't wait for her to respond. His three seconds were up. He blew another short blast of breaths into Sam's nose.

All around him he felt and heard people, and then more people. At some point an EMT bent down next to him. “What do you need?”

“A ride to the vet. Or an emergency room.”

“I know just the vet.” The EMT slapped him on the back. “Let's get you into a squad car.”

“I can't stop.”

The EMT nodded. “Bring a stretcher over here.”

Law stopped listening. He was minimally aware of being lifted, along with extra hands to hold Sam, while he continued mouth-to-mouth. Once started, he couldn't stop until they got to the vet.

He and Sam were hand-delivered into the back of a cruiser. He was only dimly aware that Jori had scooted in beside him, holding Sam in her lap.

The sound of the siren surprised him but he was grateful.

“Damn ice.” The trooper driving threaded her cruiser around several other vehicles. “You both buckled up? Then hold on, we're going to get your dog help as fast as humanly possible.”

Law didn't say a word. But in his head were all the words he couldn't say aloud as he continued CPR.

Come on, Samantha. Don't go all squirrelly on me now.

You're a brave girl. Strong and courageous. As much a self-starter as they come.

I'm sorry I doubted you. I'm sorry for every slight. Every single thing I ever did wrong by you. I'm sorry.

I couldn't have gotten a better dog. I see that now. You're the best damn Cheez Doodle dog ever born.

Today you put your life out there for me. As much as any K-9 I've ever owned. And you did it without your Alpha with you for backup.

You've got a strong heart. You make it keep beating.

Don't you die on me before I can thank you. Don't you die.

They were near Springdale, the streets abandoned to accumulating snow, when Jori spoke for the first time on the drive. “Law, I think I feel a pulse.”

Her voice was only a whisper as she massaged Sam under the blanket. “No. Maybe.”

Law shut out her voice. It took concentration to keep up the rhythm.

As he came to the end of the three-second rest, Sam's body jerked. Then again. She opened her eyes, stared at Law, and then moved a paw to place it against his heart.

“I've got a pulse!” Jori's voice was as excited as any kid on Christmas.

Law nodded. “I know.”

 

CHAPTER THIRTY

“I'd like to thank you, Detective, for going out of your way for my dog.” Law sat in a chair in the waiting room at the vet's.

The detective smiled. “You can thank your dog. She found us. We were about three miles away. We'd received a tip about two of the suspects we missed during our night raid and set up roadblocks, hoping to catch them. You even did part of our job for us.”

“Glad to help.”

The detective nodded. “When you're feeling up to it, I'd like to talk with you. I won't say you're wasted where you are. But you've got the kind of skills we could use. Two captures in less than two weeks? It's getting so the rest of law enforcement in northwest Arkansas feels redundant.”

“Just doing my job.”

“I can up your pay grade. For now, I need to go to the hospital. I plan to interview Mr. Becker as soon as he's out of surgery. Ma'am.” He smiled at Jori, who occupied the chair next to Law, before walking away.

Law watched the detective through eyes of exhaustion. Sam was going to be fine. The vet doctor said she was making a remarkable recovery. They were still warming her up and giving her IV fluids and nutrition to replace what she'd lost on her trek for help.

Yes, there were some signs of frostbite, but they'd keep her until they had assessed that, which would be a few days. Even so, she'd be fine.