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Holly was only half-conscious and completely unaware of Adam and Ethan. Adam smoothed his free hand over her cheek.
“Ryan’s okay, baby. Do you hear me?”
She tossed her head, soft moans rasping from her throat.
“Cold…so cold. ”
“Turn up the damn heat,” Adam barked at Ethan.
He gathered the blankets tighter around her, trying to infuse warmth into her body.
The squawk of the radio interrupted him, and he heard Ethan respond, but Adam’s focus was on Holly and the blood-soaked bandages in his hand.
“The chopper’s almost here,” Ethan called back. “They’re landing in Duffy’s pasture. We’ll be there in about two minutes. ”
Adam sucked in a breath of relief. They were nearly there, and the sooner Holly got to a hospital, the better her chances of survival.
“Any word on
Ryan?” Adam asked.
“Lacey said they life flighted him to Denver. Same hospital they’ll take Holly to. They were worried at the amount of blood he lost. ”
Ethan’s voice carried an undercurrent of concern, one that jarred Adam’s nerves all the more.
“But he was okay, right?”
“Said he lost consciousness right before they took off. Don’t know any more than that. ”
“Fuck!”
He closed his eyes and wanted to howl in fury and frustration. Tears stung his lids, and he shut his eyes even harder to prevent them from leaking out. He’d never felt so damn helpless in his life.
The two most important people in his life aside from Ethan could be taken from him.
He grabbed at the seat to steady himself when the Land Rover came to an abrupt stop. The door flew open, and a flight medic peered in.
The medic yelled back instructions, and two responders ran over with a backboard and jump bag. Adam backed out of the Rover and let them take over.
A hand slipped over Adam’s shoulder and he turned to see Lacey standing there.
“I just want you to know how sorry I am this happened, Adam. ”
“I know you are, Lacey. ”
“Is there anything I can do?”
He turned to look at her. “We left the man up at the old mining cabin. He’s probably dead by now. You might want to have a deputy go up and get him. ”
Lacey gave him a sharp look. “You didn’t kill him, did you, Adam?”
“No, but I wish I had,” he returned softly.
The medics pulled Holly out of the Land Rover and laid her on the backboard. Adam and Ethan ran over but were warded back by the paramedic.
“This is a load and go situation, sir. I’m sorry, but we don’t have any time to waste. ”
Adam’s mouth opened, wanting to ask the question, but it stuck. He wouldn’t allow himself to voice it. Instead, he watched as they hustled the backboard onto the chopper. The flight medic jumped in and signaled the pilot to take off. Seconds later, the bird lifted into the air and flew toward Denver.
“Let’s go, Adam,” Ethan said in a strained voice. One that sounded very much like he was holding back tears as well. “It’s a few hours’ drive to Denver. ”
Adam followed numbly behind Ethan and they climbed into the Rover. He was afraid. Afraid of what they’d discover when they arrived at the hospital.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Adam managed to piss off no less than six people before he discovered where Ryan and Holly were. He’d torn through the busy ER until he’d been threatened with arrest if he didn’t settle down.
Holly had been taken to surgery, but Ryan was still in the ER where he was receiving a blood transfusion. At first, Adam and Ethan had been told they couldn’t see Ryan yet, but after Adam swore he’d take down the waiting room piece by piece, the nurse had relented and allowed them back.
Adam shoved into the door, anxious to see his younger brother. Ryan’s appearance shocked him. Beside him, Ethan sucked in his breath as well.
Pale, haggard, weary lines etched around his eyes, Ryan looked like hell, plain and simple. His shoulder was heavily bandaged, and he had enough wires and lines running from him to keep a small city supplied in electricity.
Ryan’s eyes fluttered open when the two brothers walked in. His head surged up, pain creasing his brow.
“Where is she? Did you find her?” he demanded.
Adam stopped by the bed, his knees weak with relief. There was nothing wrong with Ryan a few days in the hospital wouldn’t fix.
“We found her,” Adam said quietly.
“Where is she?” Ryan gritted from behind clenched teeth.
Adam ran a hand through his hair, trying desperately to maintain his composure.
“She’s here. In the hospital,” Ethan spoke up.
Ryan’s eyes blazed. “How is she?”
“We don’t know,” Adam said.
Ryan jerked his head back toward Adam. He swallowed heavily then opened his mouth. “What happened?”
Adam closed his eyes. “He stabbed her in the chest. Broke her arm. She’s in surgery. They airlifted her here. We don’t know much. ”
Ryan sank back against his pillows, his face white. Tears streaked down his cheeks. Adam felt a painful twinge in his chest. He hadn’t seen Ryan cry since they were kids.
“Will she…will she be okay?” he rasped.
Adam exchanged looks with Ethan. He didn’t want to lie to Ryan, but Ryan was in no shape for this kind of burden.
“I think she’ll be fine,” Adam said, hoping he hadn’t just lied.
“I let her down. I failed her,” Ryan said bleakly.
“I let you both down,” Adam said. “I should have never left either of you. But we can’t think of that right now. ”
Ethan put a hand on Ryan’s uninjured shoulder. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m pissed,” Ryan said angrily. “I let that bastard get the drop on me. ”
“What did the doc say about your shoulder?” Adam said, pushing the subject firmly back to Ryan.
Ryan closed his eyes again and sank further into the pillow. “Says I’ll be fine. Gave me two pints of blood, patched up the wound. Wants me to stay a day or two, but overall, he said I was one lucky bastard. ”
