“But he’s a shifter,” Dex argued, shaking his head. “It should be healing already.”
“Should be,” I agreed, keeping my voice down as the ranger spoke to the 911 operator, “but it isn’t.” I turned so he could see the blood that caked on my back in the short time I had Taylor in a fireman’s carry. “I don’t know how long he’s been bleeding but it’s not showing any sign of stopping. Are there any towels here?”
“Fuck, I don’t know.” Dexter hightailed it from the room and I could hear him opening and closing doors. Then there was a small sound of victory, and he came running back with an armload of towels and washcloths. “This is all there is.”
“Good enough,” I assured him, grabbing a few from the stack and shifting Taylor’s unconscious body. I pressed one towel to the wound on his back before using my other hand to press a washcloth to the mirroring wound low on the right side of his torso. “Let’s hope that ambulance gets here fast.”
“The Gold Hill fire department is only ten minutes away,” the ranger interjected. “I’m going to the main road to wave them down so they don’t miss the turn.”
I nodded my agreement, keeping my focus on Taylor’s wounds. “Did you tell them he’s a shifter? The way he’s bleeding it was probably a silver-coated bullet.”
“I told them,” the ranger assured me, shoving the door open. “I need to get out there. I can hear the siren in the distance.”
“A silver bullet?” Dex hissed under his breath. “Those are illegal!”
“Yup, but I can’t think of any other reason that he’s bleeding out. A normal bullet wound would have already closed and have to be re-opened to remove the bullet.”
Dex shivered. “That means this place isn’t very safe. And Corbin is still out there.”
I had to hold in a sigh. I was really hoping he wouldn’t realize that until after help had already arrived for Taylor. “We all went in different directions, so it’s unlikely Corbin will run into any trouble.” I glanced out the window to gauge the light level. “He’ll be back any time. The ranger said Taylor told him to get him here before he became delirious and they were pretty close, so Corbin is probably already almost back if he isn’t waiting at Stan’s.”
As I finished my sentence, the screaming siren announced the arrival of the ambulance and the strobing red lights filled the room, bouncing off the walls. Three EMTs filed in through the open door, two of them guiding a stretcher between them. The two with the stretcher came straight to the couch, gesturing us over to the third man while they examined the unconscious Omega.
“What exactly happened?” the EMT asked, his pen poised over a small notepad.
“I don’t really know,” I said quickly. “He was with the ranger who waved you in when he got shot. He should be able to tell you everything.”
The other man’s hairline raised slightly and he cocked his head curiously. “A ranger, you said?”
Oh, that wasn’t good.
“Yeah. He’s the one who called 911. Then he went out to wait for you, so you didn’t miss the turn,” Dexter filled inhelpfully. “He was wearing a green and tan park ranger uniform. Did you miss him?”
When the EMT didn’t answer, I groaned. “He wasn’t out there, was he?”
“There wasn’t anyone out there,” the EMT confirmed. “There was a flashlight set to a blinking setting to show us where to turn off, though.”
Dex turned to me, his eyes wide. “What if something happened to him? We need to go find him!”
I shook my head slowly as another vehicle, this one a Sheriff’s truck pulled up in front of the ambulance. “He took off because he was probably involved in whatever happened, Dex.” I blew out a breath and shook my head. “He never even gave me his name. He didn’t intend to stick around.’
Dex looked from his friend being loaded onto the gurney to me. “What do we do now?”
ChapterFourteen
Dex
“What do we do now?” My stomach clenched when I remembered who I was trying to lean on. “Sorry. I know it’s not your problem, Otto. Do you think you can catch a ride back with the ambulance? I really need to stay and look for Corbin or I’d offer to drive you in Taylor’s car.”
Otto’s eyes widened in surprise for a split second before his jaw tensed. “First, I’m pretty sure only family can ride with the patient. Second, I’m not leaving you alone, and, third, I’m sure as hell not letting a pregnant Omega go wandering in the woods where another Omega was just shot. I’ll go look for Corbin as soon as the cops are done talking to us.”
“It’s great to feel wanted and all, but I don’t think anyone needs to look very hard to find me,” Corbin was trying to lighten the mood as he slipped in the open door, but the joke fell flat. “I was waiting for a break in the activity outside so I could grab my clothes out of Taylor’s car. I grabbed yours, too.” His cheeks pinked a little and he tossed Otto a bundle of clothing. “Shifter or not, I’m still not a huge fan of being nude in public. Reminds me too much of those dreams of being naked at school on test day.”
“You’re okay!” I rushed across the room and wrapped Corbin in a hug that drove his breath out in awoosh.
“I was,” Corbin gasped, gently pushing me back so he could breathe. “What happened?”
“We aren’t sure,” Otto started to explain at the same time I spoke.
