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He stood there looking so rattled and Kianti could only stand there hugging herself as she absorbed all that he’d said. Her heart pounded and not from anything having to do with illness—far from it. She was opening her mouth to confess the emotions she’d held back long enough.
Therin grunted suddenly. Before Kianti could say a word, he crumpled to the ground right before her eyes.
Chapter 17
The snow was thick and freezing, but his chest felt on fire. The fiery feeling however soon vanished, right along with the biting cold as the feeling left his arms and legs. Barely, he managed to turn his head and saw the red ooze staining the white. He’d been shot.
Kianti’s face eased into his line of vision and he smiled. She looked terrified. Therin thought she was the loveliest thing he’d ever seen. He closed his eyes.
“Therin? Therin!” She was calling him, frantically shoving at his chest until she snatched her hands away not wanting to injure him further. “Therin, baby, please…” she whispered lightly, slapping his cheeks. She pulled off the fuzzy brown mittens and pressed her fingertips to either side of his neck to feel for a pulse.
“Please, God…please.” Her tone was soft, panicky. Quickly she glanced around for any sign of the shooter. Her first thought was that someone was out hunting and Therin got caught in the line of fire. She knew that wasn’t it.
“Therin? Therin, honey, come on. Wake up now. Wake up.” She added a bit more force behind the slaps to his cheeks. They had to get going. Who knew how close the shooter was. Shooters? She wouldn’t think of that.
“Kia…”
Therin was moaning and frowning intermittently. Gradually, he came round, responding to her calls and slaps to his face.
“Baby, I have to get you out of here.” I have to get us out of here.
Kianti sat back on her legs and studied him writhing in the snow. She fought to keep her confidence high while trying to calculate his weight. He was at least six feet tall and built like a wall of lean muscle.
Good luck lifting this specimen, girl.
“Therin?” she called again, applying the slaps to his cheek. “Therin, honey?” She smiled when his brilliant hazel gaze was focused on her face.
Awareness flooded his eyes as it seemed to register within him that their situation was dire.
“Honey, we’ve got to move.” Kianti pushed her hair beneath the black and brown toboggan she wore. Rising to her feet, she gripped his hands and tugged. “Therin, we’ve got to go.” She wouldn’t look at the blood and commanded the firmness to remain in her voice.
She attempted to pull him up, but only managed to land on her rump in the snow. Crawling around behind him, she hooked her hands beneath his arms and linked them together in front of his chest.
“Honey, please.” She encouraged a small measure of assistance, pressing a kiss to his temple. “That’s it, that’s it, baby.” She celebrated his weak attempt to brace against her and rise.
She kept looking around for the shooter, but there was no movement or sound of snow crunching underfoot save theirs.
Therin was on his feet eventually. The bulk of his weight, however, rested on Kianti, and she had to plant her feet firmly before taking each step.
“You could…move more quick—quickly without me.” He winced, recognizing the futility of their current rate of speed. “You could bring help.”
“To do what?” She tightened her hold on his jacket. “To see to a dead man? That’s a stupid idea, so unless you’ve got better words of encouragement, shut up and lean on me.”
Wren set aside the basket of freshly folded towels she’d just brought up from the laundry room. She smoothed her hands across the sleeves of her blue-and-green flannel shirt while moving closer to the windows over the kitchen sink.
She frowned. It was impossible to miss the red streams staining the snow in a lengthy trail. Seconds after the discovery, she heard heavy banging on the back door.
“Vern!” Cautiously, Wren peeked out the curtain covering the window cut into the back door. “Vern!” she cried again while opening the door to Therin and Kianti.
“Jesus,” Vern called when he ran into the kitchen. He arrived just in the nick of time.
Whatever strength had been driving Kianti gave out just then. Therin fell right into Vernon’s arms and Kianti fell right against Wren.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know! I just looked outside, saw the blood… Lord…”
“Calm yourself, love.” Vern maintained the cooler head while hefting Therin against him. “Get her to that chair,” he instructed his wife while he settled Therin to the sofa on the other side of the kitchen.
