For the first several minutes, he had done all he could to stay alive and try to protect his rangers. Then he had finally started to gain the upper hand, when he had noticed a disturbance to his left. Turning abruptly, he was shocked, beyond anything he had seen yet, to find Serena, his little pixie, being beaten by one of the Texan soldiers. He wanted to groan out loud as he saw the auburn curls and sweet face that just didn’t belong in a room with so much terror.
He caught her as she had fallen and wanted nothing more than to crush her to him and take her as far away from the terror surrounding them as possible. And then her voice reached him, saying his name softly and sweetly, making him imagine other times he would prefer to hear her voice so soft and sweet. But, at that moment, he needed to hear strength from her voice above all else.
“Stay with me, Serena. We need to get out of here.”
She blinked what he thought was an acknowledgement, but she was suddenly a dead weight in his arms. He looked back at her and realized she hadn’t been just beat over the head with a gun, though that was certainly enough, but that she was also bleeding profusely on her left side.
Fear grabbed at him again and he swung her up into his arms and headed towards the doors. His compatriots stepped aside for him to pass and continued to fend off the few remaining Indians that fought. When he glanced over his shoulder as he stepped out of the building, he realized there only a few Indians left to fight, and all the chiefs lay dead on the floor. There would be no peace now. The mission had officially failed.
White hot pain flashed through her whole body, causing her to jerk awake. “Take a deep breath, Serena. Just take a deep breath. I know this is painful, but it must be done.”
Trevor’s soothing voice tried to calm her as her eyes snapped open and she repressed the urge to scream. Oh, God, the pain...
“Serena, look at me. Just focus on me and everything will be okay. Look at me.”
Gasping for air, Serena turned her eyes and Trevor’s face slowly came into focus. “What-what happened? What are you doing to me?”
“Trying to save your life,” he said a bit curtly, then gave her a weak smile. “You’re so damned determined to do things the way you want you forget the havoc you can cause.”
“The Comanche—” She reached up and grabbed his wrist with her hand and was startled to see blood all over it. Had she cut herself? “The Comanche—are they safe? I thought I saw... I thought I saw them all dead. Please tell me that was just a nightmare. Please.”
“Every Comanche that was in the council house has been killed,” he said, with the sound of tension in his voice.
Serena closed her eyes for a long moment and felt the darkness pulling her back down again. But she clawed her way out, unwilling to let it be the victor.
Her eyes flew open and searched Trevor’s face. “Your rangers? Are they safe?”
His face turned dark and he frowned deeply. “Two of my men perished. Five more inside died, including a couple of representatives. We’re still trying to capture the remaining Indians that are hiding here in town.”
Serena struggled to push him away. “Let me go. Let me go! I have to be with Olivia and Angie. I have to make sure they are safe.” She had successfully pushed herself to a half-seated position and the room spun rapidly around her. She didn’t even have the strength to lower back down on the bed as her arms gave out under her.
But instead of slamming into the cornhusk mattress, warm hands caught her and eased her down slowly. “You’ve lost a lot of blood.” Trevor spoke softly to her again.
As he stared down at her, he reached for the strands of hair that had fallen across her face and soothingly ran his fingers through them. His eyes focused on hers again, though he did not stop stroking her hair.
“What I’m about to do is going to hurt like hell. But I know you are strong enough to take it. When you were shot, the bullet didn’t make a clean exit. I have to get it out or it could kill you.”
Serena tried to concentrate on her breathing and nodded to him. Then there was the sound of his fingers digging into her flesh and a pain unlike anything she had ever felt. She squeezed her eyes closed tightly and hot tears rolled down the sides of her face.
“Try to relax, please, try to relax. I won’t be able to get the bullet if you tense up too much.”
Breathing in short, choppy breaths she focused on relaxing her muscles, blocking out all of the sounds around her, blocking out the thoughts that her sisters could be in trouble, that her grandparents might need her at that moment—instead, she focused on the smell of Trevor’s aftershave and his soothing voice.
But, when none of that would work, she just focused on the pain, letting her rage at all of the injustices of the day storm inside her, willing the bullet out. She could picture in her mind his fingers sliding along her muscle, his large hands working on her petite frame to grip the bullet. In her mind’s eye, she saw him pick it up and begin to pull it free of her muscle, slowly moving backwards out of her body.
For some reason, this motion was more painful than when he had first begun fishing around for the bullet. She heard a faint cry of pain and realized it had come from her. She didn’t want to be weak and gritted her teeth tightly together, mentally forcing her body to ignore the pain, forcing her body to relax even though all she wanted to do was scream and jerk free from his painful attempt to grasp the bullet.
“Almost there, Serena, we’re almost there.” His voice sounded strained, as if he was fighting the pain along with her.
What an absurd thought! Then her mind began to challenge everything around her. Why is he even trying to help me? Isn’t it his job to make sure they capture the Indians? And where is Olivia? I should have already demanded for her help. I should have...
“Got it!” Trevor sighed heavily as if he had been running from across town, and his brow was covered in sweat.
She turned her eyes towards him slowly, feeling as if every action exerted more energy than she had in her entire body.
Trevor’s face was frowning down at her. “Do you know what a foolish thing you did? You not only risked your life, but the lives of others. You may have thought you were going to be the big hero of the day, but no one could save them. No one.” He shook his head, almost in remorse.
He began pressing bandages to her wound, and she could feel her blood seeping out and running down her side, pooling near her back. So much blood. There had been so much blood in the council house, and most of it had come from the Indians. But some of the soldiers and rangers had also lain in pools of blood, their lives coming to a tragic end. And she might have caused some of that.
She felt the hot tears again. “I’m sorry, Trevor. I’m very sorry.”
“So, what inspired you to call me Trevor instead of just ‘ranger’?” I didn’t think I would ever hear you call me by my given name.” His voice sounded teasing, as if he was trying to take her mind off of things.
He pressed the rags in tighter against her wound and she couldn’t contain her cry of pain. Stars swirled before her eyes before his face slowly came into focus again. She had tried not to notice how handsome he was. But, with him looking down at her with concern, his square jaw and strong, angular face was beyond striking. The grey-silver of his eyes reminded her of the light the moon gave off.
“It was an accident,” she said, answering his question from earlier.
“I hope you repeat the accident more often. I like the way my name sounds when you say it.”
The darkness was suddenly back, pulling hard at her, and she was afraid. She didn’t want to give in to it. And she got the feeling that if she did, she might never come back. She tried to reach for Trevor, but she was too weak to even lift her arm.
Trevor must have sensed it, too, as he buried his hand in her hair to the back of her head and lifted her face closer to his. “Stay with me, pixie. Stay with me.”
Serena felt everything begin to spin and she couldn’t stop her terrified sob. “Don’t l
et me fall, Trevor.” His hand tightened at her wound, desperately trying to stop the bleeding and she moaned at the pain.
“Stay with me, pixie. Insult me or slap me or something. Show me that feisty woman I know.”
The darkness pulled her down, and she felt as if she was looking at Trevor from far, far away. “Don’t let me fall,” she whispered one last time before the darkness engulfed her.
Trevor felt completely helpless. He barely knew this woman, and yet he was drawn to her in ways he couldn’t explain. And the very idea that he might not see her flash of a smile, her sarcastic arch of an eyebrow, the twitch of her lips with the hint of humor, was unfathomable. He couldn’t lose her.
His first impulse had been to race to the cocina where her sisters could help. But with the Comanche warriors storming through the town, trying to find safety, the odds were against him to make it all the way to the cocina without an arrow or bullet striking him, making him useless to Serena. The safest place had been directly to the jail.
The rags he had pressed to her chest were already soaked through with her blood and, in a fit of anger, he balled them up and threw them across the room. He had to stop the bleeding or she was going to die. He had already ripped her shirt open to her waist and only her thin chemise maintained her modesty. He had been shocked she was even wearing one.
He stared at the wound on her chest, close to her shoulder but too close to her heart for him. And suddenly he realized what he had to do. He had to cauterize the wound. He had no supplies to stitch her up, so it was the best he could come up with. Yet, still, he hesitated, not wanting to scar such a perfect body.
It had to be clean. That, he knew, was the first step. He quickly went to the shelf and grabbed a bottle of whiskey hidden in the back and uncorked it with his teeth. Holding her arm down, he leaned over her and poured the burning liquid into her wound. She cried out in pain, but didn’t awaken.
Then he took the bandages and tied them as tight as he could around her, applying firm pressure against her wound. She stirred restlessly on the cot, but he was relieved when the blood didn’t seep through right away. Clinging to hope, he lifted her and carried her out the door of the jail, well aware that there was still madness in the streets. But he was at a point where he was in desperate need of help.
He walked calmly, doing his best not to draw attention to himself. But it was hard not to when he was walking around with the limp and lifeless body of a young woman covered in blood. He held her close to him, her head cradled against his shoulder. “Talk to me, Serena. I need to know you’re alright.”
He wasn’t expecting an answer, so was shocked when she answered him. “I’ll never be alright again. Because of my actions, I may have cost innocent lives.”
Her voice was weak, but he was thrilled to hear it. “There was nothing you could have done to change the outcome of this massacre. You may have delayed an Indian from firing his bow or a soldier from firing his weapon. But I don’t believe either side walked into that room with the intentions of signing a peace treaty.”
“Ranger, you being nice to me is not helping.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “Alright, then let me tell you what I really think. You were an absolute fool to go into that meeting today. You put yourself in harm’s way multiple times, and you will be lucky if you come out of this alive.”
“Where is your optimism, ranger? Don’t you have any faith?”
Trevor looked down at her and smiled at her half-open eyes. “I have a lot of faith, pixie. Especially in you.”
Her lips twitched and her eyes began to slide closed once again. Trevor cursed under his breath. They were only a few houses away from her home. He had to hurry. As he drew closer to the home, he realized they were busy with their lunch service. If he walked into the house holding Serena in the condition she was in, and the way she was dressed, could ruin her reputation for the rest of her life, and possibly hurt her family’s reputation as well.
He turned sharply to avoid a crowd of people moving towards him and dodged around the corner of the house and down the side. Finally, he turned another corner and was at the back of their house. Much to his surprise, one of the sisters was outside grilling meat. Her eyes lifted quickly at his approach and, when she saw what he carried in his arms, she dropped everything she was carrying and raced towards him.
“Serri! Serri! What happened to her? Is she—is she...”
“She’s alive. But she’s hurt badly. I got the bullet out...”
“Bullet! Holy Mother of God. Follow me, follow me. Hurry!” She turned and ran into the house, holding the door open as Trevor maneuvered inside, carefully cradling Serena close to his chest.
“Bring her in here.” The sister instructed, directing him to a small room in a hallway of bedrooms.
The woman had long hair that she wore in loose bun at the base of her neck, with several long tendrils coming out to frame her face. She looked older than Serena, but not by much. She fumbled with a chest at the base of the bed and placed an old blanket across the bed for him to lay her down. As she began to slide away from him, he expected her to wake up and say something. But she was completely limp, and her skin was far too pale for his liking.
He patted her lightly on the cheek. “C’mon, Serena, wake up for me, pixie. Wake up and tell me how irritating I am.”
The sister moved in and gently shoved him out of the way. He stepped back, his hands clenched into fists as he stared down at the blood on his shirt. He felt completely helpless as he watched Serena’s sister pull the rags off to reveal the wound.
“Oh, dear God in Heaven,” she whispered and pressed the rags back, then looked back at Trevor. “Come put pressure on it. Hold as firmly as possible, even if you think you’re hurting her, she must stop bleeding.”
Trevor stepped forward and placed his hands on the rags and pressed down firmly and she moaned. He took it as a good sign. The sister that he recognized as the oldest sister, Olivia, came rushing back in holding new rags and other supplies.
“I’m Olivia,” she said curtly as she moved him out of the way again. “This is my baby sister. You want to tell me what happened?”
Trevor looked down at his hands and saw they were covered in Serena’s blood. “Your sister had the brilliant idea to join the council house meeting disguised as a man.”
Olivia’s head whipped around to look at him with shock. “She did what?”
Trevor couldn’t take his eyes off Serena’s pale face. “I don’t know what all you’ve heard, but the meeting went wrong in every way possible. As far as I know, a couple of my rangers are dead, twelve Indian chiefs are dead, and multiple warriors. There are some Indians that are still in the town, and we’re searching for them now.”
“But what does any of that have to do with my sister?” Her voice went up and octave.
“She tried to defend some of the Indians. And some of the soldiers. But she stepped into the line of fire and I had to get the bullet out.”
“What did you use? A pair of forging irons?”
Trevor looked down at his hands and grimaced. He should have thought to take her to her sisters’ first. But the jail was the closest and safest bed he could find and he knew what she needed in order to survive. She looked over at him and saw him looking down at his hands.
“You did? You did this to her?”
Trevor’s head jerked up. “I never shot her.”
“You may not have shot her, but your technique could certainly use improvement. Now, quickly, go clean up so I can use your help.”
Obediently, he went to the tiny washbasin and scrubbed his hands clean with the water and soap provided. He dried his hands quickly and turned back to Olivia, his eyes falling to Serena who had started to shiver.
“She’s in shock,” Olivia said, watching him closely, her eyes watching his every movement. “Who are you, and why are you with my sister? Why were you the one to dig the bullet out and bring her here?” Her tone was harsh, making him feel
like he was facing a judge ready to hang him.
He kneeled down next to Serena and gently stroked her curls away from her face.
Then, slowly, he raised his gaze to Olivia’s. “I’m a Texas Ranger, ma’am. I was instructed to lead my group of men to aid should there be any type of disturbance with the Indians. Serena and I met a few nights ago and have been talking every day since.” He wouldn’t reveal to Olivia that he had first seen Serena on top of a house smoking a cigarette.
“What’s your name?” she asked and she organized an array of medical supplies on the small table next to Serena’s bed.
“Trevor, ma’am. And I know that you are Olivia, the one who essentially runs this cocina.”
When she looked over at him sharply, he shrugged his shoulders. “It’s my job. I have to know everyone that could cause a potential threat to the proceedings, and your sister here could very well have cause disruptions. So I had to know all the people close in her life as well.”
Olivia sighed heavily. “Yes, I can see why you would think Serena could be a threat. And, by the looks of it, she did exactly that.” Her eyes lifted to his with one eyebrow raised. “I assume that since you were able to dig the bullet out with your massive fingers and it didn’t bother you, you aren’t very squeamish, are you, Ranger Trevor?”
Trevor looked down at his fingers and frowned. No wonder she had been in so much pain. His hand was huge, and he should have gotten a woman with a slender hand to slide the bullet out. He only nodded at Olivia, calling himself a thousand times a fool for hurting Serena even further.
“Good. Now remove the rags.”
Hesitantly, he let the pressure off of her and removed the rags, and instantly blood began to seep from her wound. Olivia grabbed a bottle of tequila and poured it over the wound, and Serena gasped, jerking upright but Trevor quickly caught her and forced her to lay back down on the bed, even though she feebly fought him.
Texas Heat Page 5
