“I-I don’t know.” She shook him again. “I can’t see anything!”
“Here.”
Nate shined his flashlight onto Gabe, the beam revealing a hole in his shirt, just above the top of his vest. The black fabric around it was soaked with blood.
Ellena felt along the front of her chest where she’d noticed the strange warming sensation seconds before. Something wet and sticky covered the palm of her hand.
“M-Matt.” She tried getting the medic’s attention.
He moved the light to her, his breath hitching when he saw the fresh blood on her chest. “Ah, fuck. Get my bag!”
Trembling, Ellena looked back down to her husband. “It’s not…it’s n-not mine.”
She felt as if someone had kicked her square in the chest. She couldn’t speak. Couldn’tbreathe.
Her hands flew to the where Radcliff’s bullet had exited Gabe’s body, just under his collar bone.
This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not when they’d finally found their way back to one another.
Ellena glanced around the dark sea of men talking and scrambling to help their brave leader and friend.
Someone tossed a bag on the ground next to Matt. He pushed her hands aside so he could administer first aid, and Ellena fell back onto her heels.
Dazed, she continued looking at everyone around her, searching for some kind of explanation for what she was seeing. She needed them to tell her something—anything—other than what she knew to be true…
Gabe had been shot. Protecting her.
She sucked in a breath as reality kicked in. “No. Oh, God…no!”
She tried reaching for him again, but someone wrapped their arms around her and held her back.
“Let him work, Doc.” Adrian’s voice was like the hold he had on her…firm, yet gentle.
“He’s hurt,” she cried. “We have to help him!”
“Matt’s trying to, honey. We’ve just got to give them the space to work.”
The men watched silently as Ryker spoke to someone on the SAT phone with an authoritative tone, but it was all background noise to Ellena. Her focus was solely on Gabe.
“Look at me, Gabriel,” she tried talking to him. “Open your eyes. Come on, baby. Please.”
Matt’s gaze rose to hers and then the others. “We need to get him to a hospital. Fast.”
“Fucking choppers are miles away.” Nate ran a hand through his hair.
“We’ll have to carry him.” Matt looked at no one in particular. “Help me get him up.”
“I got him.” Truck cut Matt off.
The big man bent down, scooping Gabe up off the ground as if he weighed nothing. Sliding him over his broad shoulders, Truck held Gabe’s limp body securely and began walking toward the direction of the chopper.
As they all fell in line behind him, Ellena half-listened to the conversation between the other men, unable to focus enough to know who was saying what.
“How bad is it?”
“Don’t know yet.”
“Damn, man. He’s lost a lot of blood.”
