Tears flowed freely now. Though it was weak, she had a pulse.
She was alive, and I could work with that.
“She’s still breathing,” I told Trey.
“Help is on the way.”
I nodded but didn’t answer, instead letting my hands roam Sutton’s body, searching for any signs of further injury. There was an impressive lump on her head, near her temple, which I knew would trigger concussion protocol and other testing for brain injuries. My gaze traveled lower, and I gently shifted her top arm out of the way to assess her torso.
Rookie mistake on my part.
I couldn’t tell at the moment what caused it, but there was a deep wound on her abdomen, and when I moved her arm, it began gushing blood. A hole had been ripped in the sweatshirt and through her skin.
“Fuck, Trey, she’s bleedingbad,” I said, my voice shaking as I took off my jacket, then removed my flannel and pressed it to the wound.
It soaked instantly.
Looking up, I met my brother’s eyes through the blown-out window.
“We have to get her out of here.”
“We can’t move her!”
“Wehave to,” I pressed. “I can’t…” I choked on a sob, swiping at my damp cheeks with my forearm. “I’ve seen wounds like this, Trey. We don’t have time to wait.”
“What about Addie?”
“Any serious injuries that you can see?”
Seemingly reluctantly, he shook his head. “Other than being unconscious, no. She was wearing her seatbelt.”
Clearly, Sutton hadn’t been.
“I’ll radio on the way and let them know there’s still a vic at the scene but knew Sutton couldn’t wait.”
“You’re fucking insane, and you’re probably going to lose your job for this.”
I stared straight into his eyes as I said, “I don’t care. There’s only one thing in this world I can’t stand to lose, and it’sher.” Trey nodded in understanding, and I returned the gesture. Then: “Now help me get this fucking door open.”
We managedto get Sutton’s neck stabilized, pulled her out of the SUV, and carried her up the hill to my truck—barely. That fucker was steep. Using the supplies in the medical kit I kept under the backseat of my truck, we packed her wound enough to—hopefully—get us up to Boise. Still, the medpack seemed to soak up blood at a much faster rate than I was comfortable with.
Trey drove, constantly glaring at me in the rearview when I urged him faster, ignoring the fact that he was already pushing a hundred miles an hour on the straight stretches.
I sat in the back, cradling Sutton in my arms, murmuring to her, begging her not to leave me.
“You gotta radio in about Addie, and you should probably warn Boise we’re coming in hot.”
He passed my remote mic, tuned into the Dusk Valley emergency response system.
“Sheriff Lane Lawless to dispatch.”
The line crackled to life, and I breathed a sigh of relief when Bertie spoke. “Dispatch here. What can I do for you, Sheriff?”
“Trey called in a bit ago about sending an emergency response team and two ambulances out to a scene on Highway 48. We’re only going to need one now. Female victim, driver, trapped in a vehicle in a ditch.”
“Okay,” Bertie said. “I’ll cancel that second ambo from Boise and relay this information to the team.” She was silent for a beat, then asked, “Everything okay?”
“It will be.”I hoped. Thanks Bertie.”
