“Long story. Amy might not want me to call him.” She could decide when she came out of surgery—if she got out of surgery. Shit. He couldn’t think like that. “He won’t get to Retribution Bay before the surgery is over anyway and from what she told me, Sherlock might not be interested.”
Sam frowned. “How about I call him, suss out the situation?”
Brandon closed his eyes, remembered how serious Sherlock had been when he’d spoken about his sister. He’d seemed sad, but would Brandon be betraying Amy’s trust? “I don’t know. I can’t think about it at the moment.” All he could do was pray she would be all right.
“Go wash up.” Sam patted his back. “I’ll wait here but you can’t see her with hands covered in blood.”
Brandon looked down and shuddered. He headed for the bathroom.
Time passed. The outside doors opened and Dot strode in.
“She’s in surgery,” Brandon said to her unasked question. “Where’s Taylor?”
“Gaol,” she answered. “He’s confessed to sabotaging the four-wheel drive and the windmill on the drive back. He told us he owed large gambling debts to the intruder, who said he’d wipe the slate clean if he did a few things. Taylor doesn’t know much else and neither one can point the finger at Stonefish.” She sighed. “We’ll transport both to Carnarvon tomorrow. Taylor’s not likely to get bail given how much of a flight risk he is.”
Brandon thought he’d feel more of a sense of satisfaction knowing his parents’ killer was caught, but he was numb. All that mattered was Amy surviving.
Dot hugged him. “I’ve got to get back. Call me when Amy gets out of surgery.” She nodded to Sam. “Thanks for your help today.”
He nodded back. “Any time.”
As she left, Georgie and Ed raced in and Georgie hugged him hard. “How is she?”
“No news.” He tapped his thigh. “Is the gymkhana over?”
“Lara’s done all her events. She came first in the barrel racing and Darcy’s taking her to the cafe for an ice cream sundae. He hasn’t told her about Amy yet, wanted to wait until we had more news.”
Losing Amy would devastate the girl and she’d been through too much lately. “Go celebrate with her,” he said. “Where does she think we are?”
“We told her you had to take Sam back to the airport.”
Good.
“Brandon Stokes?” A doctor stood by the door they’d taken Amy through.
He lunged to his feet, heart pounding. “How is she?”
The doctor smiled. “She’s doing well. The surgery was a success and she’s awake but light-headed.”
Georgie squealed and hugged him. Brandon slumped against her as the fear and tension melted away.
She was alive.
***
The drugs in Amy’s body made her drowsy, but at least she felt no pain. She lay in the recovery room, her only thought of Brandon. Her memories of the trip to the hospital were hazy, but the one certainty was that Brandon had held her the whole way. Her heart thumped in her chest. It was impossible not to love him.
Movement at the door made her turn her head and her spirits lifted seeing Brandon there. Then horror filled her. His shirt was covered in blood… her blood.
His eyes were wide, expression concerned. “Amy.” The relief in his voice pulled at her.
“Hi.” Her voice was croaky and she cleared her throat. “Thanks for saving me.”
He entered the room. “I didn’t. The doctors did.”
“He said your fast thinking saved my life. I lost a lot of blood.”
“I know.” His hand trembled as he slipped it into hers.
