“Units have already been dispatched, Deputy Campbell,” the dispatcher said. “ETA is a few minutes.”
Already been dispatched? How? Had someone seen something?
It didn’t matter. A few minutes was still too long if Franny wasn’there. Ignoring the rest of the radio noise, he put all his focus on getting his door open. It didn’t go at first. Most of the damage had been done to the back end of the car, but enough that it made his door stuck.
He had to fight it, and the pain, and every other damn thing, but he finally wrenched it open. He was having a hard time breathing. Probably a cracked rib. Maybe worse. Couldn’t think about it. Had to stay conscious and find Franny.
He managed to get out, get to his feet, and then he had to lean against the car, close his eyes, breathe. Just breathe. It wasn’t just the hurting. He was dizzy, nauseated. Rough shape. Maybe he should just wait for backup.
Then he heard that sound again. Someone in pain.
Franny.
He pushed himself off the car and started walking for the trees. His vision was blurry, but he just kept moving by sheer force of will.
He fumbled with the latch on his holster but finally got it free and got the gun out. His left arm screamed in pain no matter how he moved it, but he gripped the gun in his right and kept moving.
He just had to stay conscious long enough to stop the threat. Hell, he coulddieafter that, which felt like a real possibility at the moment.
Gun in one hand, he tried to use the other hand to lean against a tree, get his bearings, but his arm screamed in pain at any pressure put on it.
Not good. None of this wasgood.
He thought he’d spared Franny the worst of the accident, but what if he hadn’t? He had to find her.
He blew out a breath, concentrated on getting his eyes to focus while he ignored his body. He’d had to learn, hadn’t he? Pain didn’t matter. Pain was weakness. You had to ignore the pain. To survive. Survive.Survive.
He was so damn sick of surviving. So tired of everything hurting. Pain and suffering and the whims of horrible people ruiningeverything. He’d been fighting it for so long, why did he keep doing it?
Because there’d always been a voice in the back of his head. Brooke’s voice, urging him to be better, do some good.
But Brooke was well and taken care of and what didhematter anymore?
Franny.
She was out there. All because she’dseensomeone do something bad and tried to stop it. He couldn’t let her be another horrible person’s victim. She deserved more than survival.
Hell, they all did.
She thought he was brave and good, no matter what he’d told her. She’d held on to that belief, so he had to hold on to it now.
Something was going to change after this. He didn’t have the presence of mind to know what just yet, but once he could think, once he couldbreathewithout this searing pain, he was going to figure it out.
He kept moving forward, trying to be quiet, but with the agony radiating through his body and the odd drumming in his ears, he didn’t know for sure if he was being stealthy or as subtle as a Mack truck.
There were tracks in the dirt. Not clear ones, but indentations in the dry ground, the sweep of dried pine needles moved by someone’s footsteps.
The occasional drop of blood. He followed them, focusing only on finding Franny and nothing going on in his own body.
He thought he heard voices, so he stopped, tried to focus his vision. In the distance, between trees, he saw a flash of something. He didn’t know what, so he just kept moving for it.
After a few more yards, he could make out the scene clearly.
The woman he’d seen skulking around Hope Town stood, gun in hand, back to him. She wasn’t a brunette now, but a blonde. Franny sat, bloody and dirty. Royal couldn’t quite make out what they were saying—not because they were far away or quiet, but because his ears were just kind of a low buzz.
But Holand Meyer didn’t turn around to face him, so she must not know he was there, but he saw what was coming the moment Franny did. Her eyes went wide. And that was enough to have Holand turning, gun in hand, raised to aim at him.
Royal didn’t wait, didn’t think. He just lifted his own gun and shot.
