Josh raged on about his dad, using more swear words than Logan had used. She took advantage and slowly stood up. Her fingers connected with an arrow…no, two arrows. They were easy to remove. Once she had those locked under one arm, she lifted the bow from the wall. It scraped a little, but a synchronized gust of wind shook the windows and covered the sound.
“This is your last chance, Weslee,” Josh yelled, keeping his eyes and gun trained on Logan. “Come back over here or I’m going to shoot your boyfriend. And this time I’ll aim for his heart.”
A fierce power surged through her like a jolt of lightning. Logan’s heart belonged to her and nobody was going to shoot it. She nocked one of the arrows in place and took aim. Her hand trembled with raw emotions. As if her daddy were right here talking to her, she could almost hear his voice telling her to clear her mind and focus on the target.
“I’m counting to five, Weslee.” He started the countdown, thankfully pausing between each number to give her the final edge she needed.
Drawing back the string, she zeroed in on the target and let the arrow fly just as Josh counted to number three. She remained poised as the arrow struck its mark. Josh screamed obscenities as the gun dropped to the floor with a thud. An arrow was stuck in his hand, right where she’d wanted it to go.
She already had the other arrow nocked when he turned toward her and bellowed in pain. He started running toward her. She didn’t focus on what Logan was doing or the fact that in seconds Josh was going to plow into her. She took aim and let the arrow fly, striking him in the thigh. With another cry of pain, Josh went down. His head connected with a small marble table as he fell with a loud thud.
The lights flickered twice before staying on. Josh lay on the floor as if he were dead. She saw a goose egg the size of a golf ball forming on his temple, blood trickling down. He lay at an awkward angle, both arrows still buried in his flesh. As she approached him, she saw his chest rise and fall.
Her calm demeanor fled as quickly as the light’s had come back on. Adrenaline poured through her veins, and she nearly fell because her legs felt like noodles.
Logan had tried scooting toward the gun but didn’t get very far. Not with the amount of blood pouring out of the bullet wound in his thigh. Their eyes connected as she stooped down and picked up the weapon. She knew how to handle a gun. And she knew she would use it if she had to.
“Did you shoot those arrows?” Logan asked. His face was pale, and his lips held very little color. It had to be a good sign that they weren’t blue.
“I did,” she said, moving quickly to his side. “Logan, you’re losing so much blood.”
He ignored her and gave her a roguish grin. “That was so hot,” he said, his words sounding slurred as if he’d had too much to drink.
She rolled her eyes. If he could flirt with her then there was still hope. “Hang tight, and I’ll get something to stop the bleeding.”
“Yeah, I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart.”
She was already on her feet and ran toward the kitchen. Thank goodness her daddy had insisted on a landline. Setting the gun on the countertop, she picked up the cordless phone and punched in 9-1-1 while she yanked open the drawer that held the dishtowels.
“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” a calm female voice said into her ear.
As she gave the woman the critical details, she grabbed the kitchen shears and rushed back to Logan’s side. Putting the phone on speaker, she set it down next to her and made a few cuts in the fabric of the dishcloth and then ripped the white linen into several long strips. Inez had embroidered this set, but she knew she wouldn’t care they were being torn apart.
“He’s losing a lot of blood,” Weslee told the dispatcher, not liking how quiet Logan was. She darted her eyes up to find him watching her, a small smile on his lips. Did that mean he was doing better than she thought or was he in shock and letting his guard down?
The dispatch operator ordered her to put a tourniquet on, giving her ideas of things she could use as Weslee slipped the first strip of cloth under Logan’s injured leg. She’d taken a wilderness first-aid course before, but training for trauma and actually treating trauma were so different.
Her fingers were covered in sticky blood as she grabbed both ends of the cloth and started to tie them together. Logan was big but the old-fashioned dishtowels were longer and she was able to secure a tight knot. The operator reassured her that help was on the way as Weslee wadded up the remaining dishtowel and applied pressure to Logan’s thigh.
“Did you go to combat-medic school or something?” he asked in a raspy voice. “You’re good at this.”
Ignoring him, she answered the dispatcher’s question about the perpetrator. Weslee confirmed Josh was still unconscious by taking a quick look over her shoulder. She hoped he remained that way until help arrived. Of course, she didn’t want him to die. She just didn’t want him to wake up yet.
She heard the dispatcher ask for an ETA and then relayed that the paramedics should arrive in four minutes. That seemed like an eternity right now, but at least they were on their way.
“Weslee?” Logan said as she applied another layer of Inez’s towels on top of the other one.
“Yes,” she said, looking into his eyes. He seemed lucid. Until he spoke.
“In case I don’t make it will you to tell me what your password was?”
“Stop talking,” she said tersely. “The ambulance is on the way.”
“I promise not to die if you tell me.” His voice trailed off. “Please?” he added on.
“You’re not going to die, Logan.” Not if she had anything to do about it. She squeezed his hand. “Save your energy and focus on your breathing.”
As usual, he ignored her. “Come on, babe. It’s driving me crazy not knowing.”
“Oh for heaven’s sakes, Logan. It was HotNavyGuy.”
He tried to give her that sexy smirk of his but didn’t have the energy. He licked his lips that were now colorless. “Were you talking about me?” he asked in a sluggish tone that scared her to death.
“Yes, I was talking about you.” She shook him when his eyelids started to drift closed. “Logan, you have to stay awake.”
“Can’t.” She saw him try to swallow. “Too tired.”
“Please,” she said, tears welling in her eyes. “Please, stay awake. I love you and I can’t lose you too.”
That got his attention, and he opened his eyes. “You really do love me?”
“Yes, and I want to marry you and have babies with you and fly in a helicopter with you and climb mountains with you and eat cookie dough with you and— ”
“Hey, babe,” he said, closing his eyes again. “Gonna have to talk about this later. I don’t feel so good.” Logan’s head fell to the side as his body gave up trying to stay awake.
“WHERE ARE THEY?” she shrieked at the dispatch operator. “He’s dying!”
“Ma’am, I need you to remain calm and tell me if the patient is still breathing.”
“Yes! But they need to hurry!” She was prepared to start CPR and began going over the steps in her mind.
The cavalry arrived moments later. She’d never been so happy to see someone and wanted to hug the two police officers that rushed through the door. With their guns drawn, one of the men rushed over to Josh while the other one asked about the location of the weapon the shooter used.
“I put it on the countertop.” Weslee knew why he wanted to locate the gun, but she wanted help for Logan. “Where is the ambulance? He’s losing too much blood.”
“They’re here, ma’am,” he said, as he located the gun on the countertop.
If they were here then where were they! Before Weslee shouted out the question, the police officer spoke into his mic, stating the scene was clear and safe to enter.
Paramedics arrived seconds later, and Weslee got out of the way so one of the medics could take her place. “I need a line, STAT,” he said to his partner while at the same time checked Logan’s
pulse. “Let’s get an IO in him and start fluids,” he ordered as he put an oxygen mask over Logan’s nose and mouth. Then she watched him put on a much more substantial tourniquet than the one she’d made from a dishtowel.
More first responders arrived and immediately went to check on Josh when the cop called out for a medic to assist him. Weslee was too frightened by everything they were doing to Logan to find out any details on Josh.
While one paramedic cut the lower pant leg to Logan’s uninjured limb, the other one cut off his T-shirt. She didn’t have time to appreciate his sculpted chest as the man affixed heart monitor leads to his skin, but she was relieved to see the gunshot wound to the shoulder wasn’t bleeding very much. Meanwhile, the second paramedic shaved a section of hair from Logan’s lower leg, wiped the patch of skin with a pad that left an orange stain, and used a drill to insert the IV access directly through the shin bone. Logan didn’t even flinch.
As the paramedic hung a bag of IV fluids, he asked dispatch for an ETA on the emergency helicopter. Weslee didn’t remember anyone calling for a helicopter. It made sense though since there was only a small urgent care facility on the island.
All at once a wave of nausea hit her, and she nearly toppled over, even though she sat poised on her knees. In a haze of dizziness, she saw neighbors had gathered near the open door. She saw Robbie and heard him cry out Josh’s name.
The last thing she remembered was somebody shouting that she was going down before everything went dark.
Chapter 16
Logan’s eyelids had to be glued down because he couldn’t open them no matter how hard he tried. If he didn’t know better he’d think Jace had pranked him. Voices echoed in his head, sounding loud and then soft as if someone was screwing around with the volume on a radio.
He must be dreaming because he could hear Jace’s voice talking with Weslee.
Weslee. The thought of her set off a chain reaction as events slammed through his head. It was like a PowerPoint slideshow gone berserk. He wanted to cuss out whoever was doing it and tell them to start over so he could make sense of the images.
“I think he’s waking up,” a soft feminine voice said with a southern drawl. He felt a hand slide into his, and he knew it was Weslee. He tried to squeeze her hand, but nothing worked.
“Yes,” another woman’s voice said, sounding exactly like his mother. “He’s trying to open his eyes.
“I’ll go find his nurse,” a man said. “The cute one, not the mean one.” That voice definitely belonged to Jace. Logan tried to make a sarcastic comment to his friend, but it was like his brain and his mouth didn’t connect.
“Just remember to send someone in, please,” his mother said with a laugh.
“Yes, ma’am,” Jace responded.
Mom. Mom. Logan tried forming the word, but all he got out was a moan.
“Logan, honey, it’s okay.” It was his mom again, and he felt her fingers wrap around his other hand. “You’re just fine, sweet boy.”
Sweet boy? He was either having a wicked nightmare or he’d come close to dying for his mother to call him a sweet boy.
He asked what had happened to him. He must have actually spoken the words aloud and inserted a few swear words because his mother reprimanded him. “Logan, you don’t want to scare off your beautiful girlfriend with that kind of language.”
“He can’t scare me off,” Weslee said with a soft laugh. “But I may have to make him start paying me money or something every time he curses.”
“Is that my boy swearing like a sailor?” Jace asked. “Good, that means his brain didn’t sustain any damage.”
Logan said something to Jace about his brain being the damaged one. His comment must have come out wrong because his mother squeezed his hand. “Logan, for goodness sake, son. You need to wake up before they have to censure your hospital room.”
“Stop being so naughty,” that southern voice whispered in his ear. “And open your eyes and look at me.”
He did as she commanded.
Logan blinked against the bright light as Jace snorted a laugh. “And another single-man bites the dust.” His friend came into focus at the end of his bed. It wasn’t the face he was looking for. “Looks like I’m planning a funeral after all,” Jace snickered.
“Jace Burns,” his mother scolded. “I swear I need to send you and Logan to a boot camp for manners.”
“Sorry, ma’am,” Jace said, sounding anything but sorry.
“Sorry, Mom,” Logan said, knowing his tongue was loose because of the meds. He usually had a better filter than this, but words just kept popping in his mind and slipping out of his mouth. He slid his eyes over to see his mom’s beautiful face. “Wow, Mom, you look really pretty with a tan.”
“Don’t try sweet talkin’ me, young man. Save that for your girlfriend.” She smiled at him and winked. “By the way, I really like her,” she whispered in a way that wasn’t really a whisper. “Pain meds or not, you behave, or I really will ground you.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Then he turned his head, and his gaze collided with the most beautiful light blue eyes. “Hi, girlfriend,” he said, trying to lift his hand from the bed. He wanted to wrap it around her neck and bring her mouth down to his.
“Hey,” Weslee said with a tiny hiccup. Tears welled in her eyes, making the color shimmer like a cove in the Caribbean Sea.
A memory flitted across his groggy brain. He chased after the memory and caught it as he recalled her shooting a bow and arrow that knocked the gun from the kid’s hand.
“You shot an arrow to save my life, right?”
“Yes.”
He gave a low whistle. “Man, that was so hot.”
“So you said before,” Weslee said with a light laugh.
Jace guffawed loudly while his mother groaned out loud that she’d failed as a mother. But Weslee…she just curved those perfect lips up into the sexiest smile he’d ever seen, sending a rush of heat through his body.
“Hey, can you bring that pretty mouth a little closer?” he asked Weslee. “I really want to kiss your right now.”
That earned him another groan from his mother. He could hear Jace snickering in the background. “I’m posting this to YouTube,” he said. “It’s gonna go viral and make me a lot of money.”
He didn’t pay much attention because Weslee had obeyed him. She leaned in, and he caught the fresh scent of her hair. “I must really love you,” she said, her mouth close but not close enough, “if I’m about to kiss a man who has had his teeth brushed with a pink, minty sponge for the past two days.”
“You really love me?” he asked, almost positive they’d had this conversation before.
“Yes, Lieutenant Steele. I really do.” Logan wanted to tell her not to kiss him until he at least chewed a piece of gum, but the second her lips brushed his mouth he forgot all about it.
The kiss ended before he could respond and kiss her properly. “Hey, that wasn’t a very good kiss.”
Jace busted a gut, which covered up his mom’s sound of dismay.
“I promise to give you a much better one later,” Weslee said, kissing him on his cheek. “Besides, your doctor’s here now.”
The room quieted and Logan tried concentrating on what the doctor was saying as the man talked about how lucky Logan was to have had someone as smart as Weslee with him. Apparently, she’d saved his life twice that day. First with the arrows and then by tying a tourniquet around his leg and applying pressure to the gunshot wound.
“You’d already lost a fair amount of blood from the flesh wound to the shoulder, but the bullet nicked an artery in your thigh,” the doctor continued. “You would’ve bled out by the time the paramedics arrived if Miss Weslee hadn’t acted promptly and waited for them to help you.”
As the doctor talked about his recovery period, Logan sought out Weslee’s face. She was listening to the doctor so intently. He wanted her to look at him. He squeezed her hand, pleased he could actually follow through with the motion.
She shifted her attention to him and the look in her eyes made his throat feel like he’d swallowed a chunk of bread whole. She loved him. He could see in her eyes as if she’d spoken the words out loud again.
He blinked as a memory flashed in his mind. It was of her finally telling him the password to her computer. Other memories bounced in front of his eyes and then back out. She’d said a lot of other things to him. He just couldn’t grab a hold of what they were.
“What else did you tell me when I was dying?” he asked her in a hushed voice, trying not to disrupt the doctor.
“Shh,” Weslee said. “The doctor’s not done. We can talk in a minute.”
It was driving him crazy that he couldn’t remember what else she’d said to him. He would just talk quieter. “Just whisper so they don’t hear,” Logan said, pointing to his mom and the doctor.
Jace snorted a laugh and then covered it with a fake cough.
His mom sighed dramatically. “I’m sorry, Dr. Andrews. My son isn’t normally this rude. The medication is making him loopy, and he’s a little distracted right now, but I’m listening to every word you have to say.”
“I think I might be distracted too, Mrs. Steele,” Dr. Andrews said with a hearty chuckle. “I’ll check back in when I make rounds this evening.” He smiled and gave Logan’s good shoulder a fatherly pat. “Let your nurse know if you need anything.”
“Yes, sir,” Logan said, giving the man a salute. Then he shifted his gaze to Weslee. Man, she was prettier than he’d remembered. He watched her smile at the doctor and thank him before the man left the room.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said when she finally looked at him.
“I’m not sure if that’s you or the meds talking,” she said with a smirk.
He blinked a couple of times. “Nope, you’re still really pretty.”
“Ah, man,” Jace said. “My phone just died.”
Then, as if someone had just inserted a flash drive in Logan’s brain, he recalled every word Weslee had said to him. “You want to have babies with me?” he asked, that one sentence sticking out in the forefront.
The Rogue Warrior: Navy SEAL Romances 2.0 Page 16
