Ashton glanced back at Nicole. His partner was right. She wasn’t moving at all. There was so much blood covering her chest he couldn’t tell where the bullet had entered her body. He dropped his pistol and rushed to her, kneeling beside her. Immediately, he placed his fingers on her neck, searching for a pulse. “Why did you shoot her?” He turned his attention back to Glynn. “She wasn’t even armed.”
“I got scared, and I... Well, I only did what you were not able to do.” He pursed his lips and nodded. “Now, at least one of the railway thieves will be out of the picture so the police can concentrate on capturing the others.”
“This cannot be happening,” Ashton grumbled. He swiped his shaky fingers through his hair. “Glynn, if you’re caught, you will be arrested for murder.” Why couldn’t he find a pulse? His throat tightened. She couldn’t be dead. He wouldn’t accept that answer!
“No, I won’t. I was only taking care—”
“Glynn,” Ashton yelled. “Believe me for once in your life. If you’re caught, you will be hanged for murder. She was unarmed! Now get out of here now and let me take care of this.”
Nickerson’s face lost color. Nodding, he spun around and dashed out of the house so fast Ashton wondered if demons were nipping at his boots.
Ashton focused back on Nicole. The deathly pallor of her skin made his stomach churn. Please be alive...
When a slight movement pounded against his fingers, he breathed a sigh of relief. She was alive, but barely. He needed to stop the blood somehow and keep her alive until he could have a doctor fetched to the house. Yet all the servants were gone to that blasted ball tonight. Who would get a doctor since he couldn’t?
But he had to find a physician soon. If not, she would indeed die. However, he first must somehow stop the flow of blood and get her comfortable.
He yanked off his coat and threw it aside before shucking out of his waistcoat. As he balled it up, he searched carefully through the blood painting her chest for the bullet hole. He found it near her shoulder. Perhaps she wasn’t in as much danger as he’d first expected. Cautiously, he placed the garment on the wound and pressed hard.
“Nicole, my darling. Can you hear me?” With one hand still holding the cloth against her injury, he used his other hand to swipe the hair away from her pale face. “Please hear my voice and let me know you’re all right.”
Pain twisted his heart and brought a lump to his throat. He hadn’t planned on shooting her at all. He figured his threats would do the trick, and she would confess. So why had Glynn...
Ashton gritted his teeth. Why had his friend felt the need to shoot an unarmed woman? What could he have been thinking? None of this made sense.
Ashton blew out a frustrated breath and shook his head. He couldn’t think of his friend right now. He must concentrate on Nicole and keeping her alive.
“Nicole, sweetheart. Can you hear me? Please say something.”
Closing his eyes, he prayed for some kind of help—something that could pop into his head and let him know what to do next. He didn’t know the first thing about caring for a person with a serious injury. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he’d lose her no matter what. With no servants in the house, how could he keep Nicole alive?
She moaned softly, and he snapped his eyes open and looked at her face. Slowly, she blinked before meeting his stare.
“Oh, Nicole. You’re alive.” Relief poured through him, but he didn’t dare get too excited now. There was still so much to be done, or she would surely die.
“Why did you...shoot me?” she asked softly.
“Oh, no, my darling.” His voice cracked, so he cleared his throat. “I didn’t shoot you. It was Glynn.”
“W-why?”
“Because well, he...” He grumbled and shook his head. “I don’t know why he did it, but right now, we need to worry about stopping this bleeding. With the servants gone this evening, I need to leave and fetch a doctor.”
“No. I’ll walk you through it.” Wearily, she turned her head to look at his bloody, bundled waistcoat pressed against her shoulder. “Where did the bullet strike me?”
“Barely below your left shoulder.” He pointed to his own shoulder, showing her the location.
“Carefully, roll me in the opposite direction to see if the bullet exited my shoulder on the other side.”
Could she possibly know how to stop the bleeding? He didn’t dare move her. He didn’t want anything to bring her more harm. Right now, he wasn’t ready to ask—just follow instructions. “Are...you sure?”
“Yes. Now carefully turn me.”
Doing as she instructed, he gently turned her over and peered at the back of her arm. Blood coated his rug, coming from her body, but he was able to see another wound. “Yes. It appears the bullet left your arm.”
“Good, but I’ll need something...pressed up against that side...to stop the flow of blood,” she said faintly. “Pressure is the key to stopping...the bleeding.”
Nicole’s voice grew weaker by the second, and that scared him to death. Finding a doctor immediately was necessary. Then again, so was stopping the bleeding.
