Forever Hunted

by Kathleen Brooks

  “Call me when you’re ready, and I’ll walk you through it,” Katelyn said through video chat, and then she paused. “Wait, Ahmed, who just came in?”

  “Reagan did,” Ahmed said, carrying Robyn to a small sitting room where the tech would press the button for the X-ray machine.

  “The doctor said Mrs. Ashton.”

  Reagan was going to cry again. “Kenna married them on the way to the hospital.”

  “Carter and Reagan are in the hospital? She needs X-rays? Ahmed! You left out some very important details.”

  “I’ll fill you in while we wait,” Ahmed said before turning to Reagan. “How is he?”

  “I’ll get an update now that I’ve delivered you to Debbie for your X-rays,” Dr. Monroe told her. He gave his orders to the technicians before promising to return as soon as he had news.

  “Right this way, sweetie,” Debbie said, understanding Reagan was on the verge of an emotional collapse. Everyone she’d passed in the hospital had given her a kind and understanding smile.

  Reagan didn’t say a word as Debbie arranged the X-ray. While she was silent and unmoving, her mind was not. It raced as it jumped from scenario to scenario until she was sure she wasn’t going to be able to take another breath.

  “All done. Come have a sit while we wait for Dr. Monroe.” Debbie gently led her to a seat close to Ahmed. Robyn limped over and nuzzled her head against Reagan’s leg. It was then Reagan noticed the bruising on the dog’s side and how she limped on her front leg. She lost her battle with tears and sank to the floor, gathering the dog into her arms. Reagan pressed her face against Robyn’s neck and wept great, big body-convulsing sobs. Robyn turned her head and licked her cheek.

  “You saved us. You’re such a brave little dog,” Reagan sniffled.

  A gentle hand touched her shoulder, and then she heard Dr. Monroe. “Mrs. Ashton, your husband is alive. He’s still in surgery. There was a nick to his femoral artery, and he has a pelvic bone fracture. They’ve stopped the bleeding and are stabilizing his pelvic bone. They said the fracture wasn’t that bad. The bullet was a smaller caliber. He’s needed a lot of blood, though, so some of the donations are being used. The surgeon will speak to you when he’s done.”

  “Oh, thank you!” Reagan leapt up, startling Dr. Monroe as she wrapped her arms around his back and hugged him in relief. Her body couldn’t decide if it wanted to fall to the ground with exhaustion or celebrate with relief.

  “That’s wonderful news, Reagan,” Ahmed said, hugging her with Katelyn still on the video call. “But, can we X-ray my Spawn now?”

  “Your dog’s name is Spawn?” Debbie asked with horror.

  “Her name is Robyn, but Ahmed lovingly calls her Satan’s Spawn. She’s a hero today. She took down one of the bad guys. Have they found out who shot Carter?” Reagan asked.

  “Not yet. I’m sure we’ll have a report soon, though. Ryan and Nash stayed behind to coordinate everything. I’m sure they’re running his prints before handing him off to the other feds when they get there. Now, where do you want me to put my Spawn?” Ahmed asked Debbie.

  “I guess, here,” she said, pointing to the X-ray machine. Katelyn instructed her on how to position the leg.

  “Wait,” Katelyn said when Spawn was lying on her side. “Did she get kicked or something? Is that bruising on her side?”

  “She was slammed against a tree,” Ahmed said, the anger so fierce in his voice Debbie took a step back.

  “Debbie,” Katelyn said kindly as she ignored Ahmed’s deadly tone. “Place the lead blanket over her stomach and then call for an ultrasound.”

  Reagan stroked the dog’s silky head, keeping her calm as the X-ray was snapped and Ahmed lifted Robyn into his arms as they waited for Katelyn to look at the X-ray with Dr. Monroe.

  Dr. Monroe came out of the development room with a smile and Ahmed’s phone. “Good news all around. Mrs. Ashton, your face is bruised, but there is no fracture to your cheekbone, which is very fortunate. Otherwise we’d be sending you to Nashville or Atlanta for surgery. It’s going to be very sore for a while, though. Mr. Ahmed, Robyn’s front leg is not broken. It is dislocated and Dr. Davies can instruct me on how to set it. Debbie, while I do that, will you wheel the ultrasound machine in. We need to make sure there’s no free fluid in the abdomen and also check her spleen.”

  Dr. Monroe handed the phone to Reagan as Katelyn talked him through how to reset the shoulder. Reagan would have laughed at Ahmed’s pale face, but he’d been so kind to her that she decided to wait until they were all hanging out in Keeneston with everyone safe, sound, and recovered before teasing him about his Spawn.

  “Very good, Dr. Monroe,” Katelyn praised as she watched Ahmed walk Robyn around.

  The little dog appeared stiff, but she was no longer limping. “This is the first time I’ve healed a dog,” Dr. Monroe said with glee. Or it could be relief from not having Ahmed kill him for hurting Robyn when he had to pop the shoulder back in place.

  “For the ultrasound, this is what I need you to do,” Katelyn began as Debbie brought the device over to where they all sat. Dr. Monroe had Ahmed sit on the floor with Robyn’s head in his lap while Katelyn told him what to do.

  “Do you mind?” Dr. Monroe asked as he handed the phone back to Reagan who brought the camera to the ultrasound screen for Katelyn to watch. Dr. Monroe began to slowly press the head of the ultrasound machine into Robyn’s abdomen and move it about.

  “Oh dear,” Dr. Monroe said as a sack like object filled with fluid appeared on the screen. “Will I need to perform surgery?”

  “Not yet,” Katelyn said with a grin. Ahmed on the other hand looked like he was going to pass out. “Keep going.”

  Four more sack-like objects were seen as he moved around the abdomen before stopping. “What is it, Dr. Davies?” Dr. Monroe asked.

  “Well, the good news is there’s no internal fluid buildup and her organs look great.”

  “What about those cyst-like things?” Ahmed asked. Reagan noted he was now sweating.

  “Those are Satan’s Grandspawns,” Katelyn laughed. Ahmed didn’t seem amused as everyone looked at the phone with confusion. “Robyn is pregnant. Six puppies by my count, and all looking healthy.”

  This time Reagan was sure Ahmed was going to pass out. Then his face flushed with anger. “Who touched my Spawn?” he demanded. “I’ll neuter that dog the second I find him.”

  “Ahmed, it was planned. After Robyn got those tracking titles and made the news on her search-and-rescue ability, Bridget and Sydney decided to breed her. Sydney’s donating a puppy to the Keeneston sheriff’s department and they’ve already received a list a mile long of people who want a puppy. Robyn was bred to the top Vizsla in the country. He had both his show and his master hunter title. Everyone from the show world, hunting world, search-and-rescue, to the military wants one of those puppies. I’m surprised Bridget or Sydney didn’t tell you. We didn’t know if she was pregnant yet, though. We were going to ultrasound her next week. She’s twenty-three days along by my count.”

  “Excellent!” Dr. Monroe grinned.

  Ahmed did not grin. Instead he hurriedly picked Robyn up in his arms and stood up. “She needs food. And more water. And a soft bed. Thanks, doc,” he said to Dr. Monroe before grabbing the phone and ordering Katelyn to send him everything he needed to take care of a pregnant dog.

  “That’s a man who loves his dog,” Debbie said with astonishment as Ahmed kicked the door open and rushed down the hall with Robyn in his arms. Reagan didn’t have the heart to tell them Ahmed wasn’t the owner. After the past twenty-four hours, she was sure he had moved up from “last man on earth to watch Robyn” to “Godfather” status.

  “Well, the wife will certainly never believe me when I tell her about my day. I can take you to the surgical waiting room if you’d like,” Dr. Monroe said as he opened the door for Reagan.

  “Thank you for all you’ve done for me today,” Reagan said sincerely.

  “You�
�re welcome. The nurses have filled me in on what’s going on. You and your husband are very brave. I’ll bring you an ice pack for your face as well as medicine to help with the pain. I think you should also know that the media knows you’re here and the FBI has already called, wanting updates. We did not give out any information to either of them. I want you both fully recovered before the wolves descend.”

  Reagan stopped walking and hugged Dr. Monroe tight. “Thank you.”

  Dr. Monroe shoved his glasses up his nose and appeared to puff up. “Well, you’re quite welcome. Surgery waiting room is right here. I’ll be back in a jiffy with your ice pack and meds.”

  Reagan took a deep breath. Everything will be okay. Everything will be okay. She repeated it five more times in her head before pushing open the door to the full waiting room. She was greeted with silence and then everyone from Keeneston rushed forward.

  28

  Carter didn’t know whether he was awake or asleep, dead or alive. He remembered getting married. And then it went fuzzy. He had images of Cy running angrily at him. Then he had images of Reagan crying. He had images of Aniyah shooting off his toe. And he had images of him standing with his hospital gown flapping open in front of all of Keeneston while his mom snapped a picture.

  Suddenly everything went black and it felt as if someone had reached into his brain and begun to pull him out. It hurt and he didn’t want to, but he opened his eyes enough to look down at him. He was dressed in a hospital gown nightmare. His gown was on backwards and open to his waist where a large white bandage began.

  “Carter?” Reagan asked, appearing at his side. “Can you hear me?”

  At least Reagan wasn’t crying in this dream, but why was there a huge bandage down by his package . . . oh no! Carter moved his hand to feel under the sheet and let out a sigh of relief.

  “What is it, Carter?” Reagan asked worriedly.

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I still have my penis.” Reagan flushed red and swallowed down a laugh as he pushed the sheet down. “See?”

  “Yes, I see,” Reagan grinned as she leaned forward to kiss him as she pulled up his sheet.

  “Hey,” Carter said once she stopped kissing him. “This is my dream and I want my sheet off. And why aren’t you in a naughty nurse outfit? Maybe give me a sponge bath,” Carter winked as he reached out to tug at her shirt.

  “Do you want to get shot twice in one day?” A deep, feral voice snapped from the darkness.

  Carter turned his head and saw Cy sitting with Gemma and his own parents. His hands were fisted while Gemma and his mother were looking anywhere but at him. His father, on the other hand, looked highly amused.

  “So, it is a nightmare. You have that same look again,” Carter said with a sigh. “Damn, and I thought I’d at least get to see you naked again,” Carter winked to Reagan, who was shaking her head. “You’re shaking your head just like that one time when we were in the middle of making out and I had your thighs over my shoulder and your dad knocked on the door. That was funny. You have the same exact look on your face as you do now.”

  Cy growled angrily and Carter rolled his eyes as he lolled his head back at his nightmare. “Do you know you sound like a mix between a wet cat growling and a rabid dog? It’s really rather funny.”

  Carter’s father lost it then. He broke out laughing, and Carter rolled his head back over to find Reagan laughing as she tried to pull the sheet up again. “I’m not going to see you naked, am I? Damn nightmare.”

  “Not right now,” she said kindly as Cy mumbled something about “never” seeing her naked.

  “Well, have Aniyah shoot me so I get this nightmare over with. Maybe in the next dream I can see you in a naughty nurse outfit without our parents in the room.”

  “Mr. Ashton, I see you’re awake,” a doctor said, coming into the room with a clipboard and a smile. “How are you feeling?”

  “He wants to have sex with my daughter,” Cy said with a strangled voice.

  “Wet cat, definitely,” Carter muttered as he nodded to himself. Maybe this is the part of his dream where he gets marched around the hospital naked.

  The doctor’s eyes dropped down and Carter saw him struggling to hide the smile. “Well, I guess that answers the question if there was any damage to the groin. As much as you’d like to engage in sexual intercourse with your wife, you need to recover a little while longer. Once you get home, you’ll need to check with your specialist, but I am guessing with healing time for your pelvis and femoral artery, you’ll need to wait four weeks before engaging in sexual activity. Tomorrow morning a therapist will be in here to do some exercises and get you up and walking with some crutches. You’ll need physical therapy at home for eight weeks or so, with a full recovery set for eight to twelve weeks from now.”

  “This is a whole new nightmare,” Carter groaned.

  “When can we return home?” Reagan asked as Carter began to really look around again. Where was Aniyah? She’d usually shot him at this point in the dream.

  “Two days. I’d like to keep him here and monitor the bullet wound and to make sure the femoral artery is in good shape before sending him home. The drive could be strenuous on him.”

  “Our friend has offered his helicopter to fly Carter home,” his mother said, finally looking at him. Oh no.

  “Mr. Ashton?” the doctor asked as he hurried forward to check Carter’s pulse as machines started beeping. “Are you feeling pain? I can increase your morphine—”

  “No,” Carter said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He opened them again and saw worried faces all around him and none of them were of Aniyah waving a gun. Carter grimaced at he looked at his father-in-law and back to the doctor. “I’m fine. If I could just have a moment with my wife.”

  The doctor cleared his throat. “Remember what I said about sexual activity. Your husband needs rest,” the doctor said to Reagan who nodded.

  Carter stared up at the ceiling and would give anything to have Aniyah run in and shoot him in the toe. “We’ll be right outside,” his mother said, kissing his cheek before they headed out. Cy did not move a muscle.

  “Wet cat?” Cy asked leaning forward so his face was right in front of Carter’s. Only . . . was he smiling? It was hard to tell because Cy rarely smiled fully, but his lips were twitching as they slanted in an upward direction.

  “I’m sure I can’t be the only one to tell you that,” Carter said, relaxing a bit. His father-in-law wasn’t going to kill him, yet.

  “I was going for jaguar.”

  Carter shrugged. “It was more Hello Kitty.”

  Cy smiled fully then. “You’re lucky I like you. And you saved my daughter’s life. But then if you touch my daughter . . .”

  “Psst,” Carter said as Cy leaned in closer. “We’re going to have sex. And I bet anything Matt and Riley are having tons of sex since they’re trying to have kids. You’ll live. I’ll probably live. Matt might not. He kinda freaked with that twin thing. Of course, if you want us to not have sex, I guess you could give up having sex too. You know, to set the example.”

  “But I’ve got four weeks.” Cy smirked before standing up. “Doctor’s orders.”

  Reagan looked at them both wondering what they’d been whispering about. Cy held out his hand then and Carter shook it.

  “Feel better, my badass son-in-law. I’ll be right outside if either of you need anything.”

  * * *

  Cy walked out the door with a smile on his face. They’d all been wrong about Carter, and he’d be the first to admit to it. No one except his family talked to him like that. Not even Matt. Cy guessed Carter was going to rub off on Matt and soon he’d have two smartass sons-in-law.

  “What are you smiling about?” Gemma asked as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

  “How lucky we are. We have one hell of a family.”

  “You think so now? You didn’t think so a couple days ago,” Will challenged.

  Cy grimaced. “I’m sorry, Will
. And to you too, Kenna. Carter’s a great man. I got a little carried away by the lying and might have overreacted a little. Carter and I have already worked things out. I’m proud to call him my son, with your permission.”

  Will held out his hand and Cy immediately shook it. “I think we can say we’re family now.”

  “You always have been,” Cy told him as he leaned forward and kissed Kenna’s cheek. “Now, we have a second wedding and a reception to plan. My baby girl needs to have a white-dress moment. How’s three months from now so Carter can walk her up the aisle?”

  29

  Reagan couldn’t stop kissing her husband. He groaned as he pulled her to his chest and placed his chin on top of her head. “Stop or I’ll never make it the four weeks.”

  Reagan laughed and looked back at him. He traced the small bandage on her cheek and frowned. “It’s okay. It’s just a cut. I got an X-ray and there’s no fracture,” she told him to ease his worry.

  “Who shot Mick and me?”

  “I don’t know yet. Nash and Ryan stayed at the scene. I’m sure someone knows something by now, but I haven’t wanted to leave your side since you got out of surgery.”

  Carter’s lips thinned, and he tightened his grip on her hand. “I’m so sorry. I brought all this on you. Suzanne was my friend, and I recommended you to fly Miss Mambo.”

  Reagan felt her heart constrict. “Oh, Carter. It wasn’t your fault. It was Mick’s fault. I have to call Diego’s family still. It’ll be hard, but I have no doubt whose fault it was. It was Mick’s and Mick’s alone.”

  Reagan watched Carter nod as he absently stroked her hand. “I’ll help in any way I can.” And she knew that he would.

  Carter traced her engagement ring as they sat quietly for a moment reflecting on the loss of the past day. “Are we really married?”

  “I think so,” Reagan said with a small laugh.

  “We better do it again. I want to make sure you’re mine forever, but this will always be our anniversary. Plus, at the next wedding, I’ll finally get my wedding night.”