Rocky Ground

by Kaylea Cross

  She was handling the shock well. Better than most civilians would have. Aidan swept his gaze around and spotted the pharmacy at the back of the store. The cops had their hands full for the moment, and Mark needed immediate care. “Let’s turn him over, then I’m gonna go collect some supplies,” he told Tiana.

  She was still holding Mark’s hand. “What if he’s got a spinal injury?”

  “We won’t move him from here, just turn him over so we can assess him better.”

  Together they carefully rolled him onto his back. Mark was still breathing on his own, his airway clear. The front of his shirt was soaked with blood, the bullet having exited the front of his shoulder next to the edge of his bulletproof vest. A few inches to the left and the round would have hit the protective plate instead of flesh.

  “I need something to stop the bleeding,” Tiana said, looking around.

  Aidan peeled off the cop’s vest and opened his button-down shirt to expose the T-shirt beneath. Grasping the neckline, he tore it right down the center. After removing it from Mark he wadded it up and handed it to Tiana. “Put direct pressure on his shoulder. I’ll be right back.”

  She nodded and leaned over the cop, using her body weight to press down on the T-shirt without hesitation.

  Good lass.

  Aidan squeezed her shoulder and ran for the pharmacy section of the store to grab things. Gauze pads, bandages, gloves, pain killers, disinfectant spray, tweezers. Anything and everything that might help.

  He found a pharmacist hiding in the back and made her get him IV supplies and bags of saline. She was clearly terrified, still in shock, and he had to bark at her a few times to get her to snap out of it.

  He jogged back to Tiana with all the supplies. It wasn’t anywhere near close to what they needed to provide adequate care for Mark, but it was better than nothing, and it would buy him some time.

  When Aidan arrived, the same cop from before was assisting Tiana with Mark. He looked up at Aidan. Mark’s feet had been propped up on a stack of boxes. “We’ve called for a medevac, but it’s gonna be a while,” he said to Aidan.

  “Aye.” He set the armful of supplies down. “I’m going to start an IV. All I’ve got is saline, but it’s better than nothing.”

  “The chopper is en route. They’re going to see if they can land in the parking lot, but if not, they’ll hoist him out.”

  “Good. Let’s get some fluids into him,” Aidan said.

  Tiana looked up at him, her eyes worried as she pressed the wadded-up, blood-soaked shirt to the exit wound in Mark’s shoulder. “His breathing’s worse and his pulse is slower. I elevated his legs to try and slow the blood loss, but…”

  “You did well.” He gloved up, knelt next to Mark and set about getting the IV into a vein in his arm. The cop was unconscious, his face gray, but he was still breathing. Increasing his blood volume would give him a fighting chance at least.

  They shoved a stack of gauze pads beneath Mark where the entry wound was, letting his weight and gravity put pressure on it, then covered him with an emergency Mylar blanket to try and conserve his body heat. “All right, that’s the best we can do for him,” Aidan said. “Let’s check on the other guy.”

  Tiana brushed some hair back from Mark’s forehead. “Keep fighting,” she said softly, and rose to help the next man.

  Another cop was helping the second patient. Unlike Mark, this man was alert and hanging on well enough, hit high up in the thigh. The bullet or fragment appeared to have missed the femoral artery, as it wasn’t spurting.

  The assisting cop had removed his own shirt to press to the wound. Aidan gave him gloves, bandages, gauze and another Mylar blanket. Both men thanked them for their help.

  Aidan stood and stripped off his gloves, speaking to Tiana. He wanted to get her the hell out of here and back to his vehicle. “We should go, lass.”

  “Okay.” She peeled off her gloves, but her hands were stained with blood. He grabbed a container of bleach wipes from the shelf and pulled out a few for her, helping her clean up.

  He scrutinized her as they walked toward the front of the store. She was pale and quiet. Too quiet.

  He stopped a few paces up the aisle to wrap his hand around her nape, bringing her pretty, mismatched gaze up to his. “You okay?” She’d handled herself incredibly well throughout everything. But there was no way she’d ever faced something like this before. It had to have shaken her.

  She gave a slight nod. “Think so.”

  He squeezed gently, gave her a reassuring smile. “You were brilliant.” He was damn impressed at the way she’d stepped up and handled herself. A lot of people went to pieces during a crisis or at the sight of blood. But Tiana Fitzgerald was made of far sterner stuff than that.

  A weak smile curved her lips, but faded quickly. “I wish I could have done more.”

  “We did all we could.” Now it was time for him to take care of her.

  He released her nape and lowered his hand to find hers, linking their fingers together. “Let’s grab another jar of peanut butter and get out of here, hmm?”

  Only a few shoppers remained inside the store, all gathered near the exit. Everyone was subdued, their shock at the outbreak of violence clear on their faces. Aidan paid in cash for the few items they brought to the checkout. Store security at the door checked their items against the bill as they left.

  Outside, he wrapped an arm around Tiana’s shoulders and kept her close on the way back to his vehicle. It was still raining and already getting dark, fires from the burning buildings lighting up the sky. The roads were just as congested as before but the overall atmosphere of chaos seemed to have died down.

  He checked his phone. “No messages or calls,” he told her, because she was understandably desperate for news from Ella.

  Tiana was silent throughout the return walk. She let out an audible sigh when his SUV came into view. “It’s still there.”

  “Wheels and all, how about that.” There weren’t many people in the streets anymore. Anyone in the immediate vicinity had either found other places to gather or were trying to make their way out of the city on foot.

  He scanned their surroundings as they approached the SUV, staying vigilant. Disasters had a way of bringing out the worst in humans, as they’d just witnessed in the store. He’d seen it far too many times over the course of his military career to drop his guard now.

  A few shadowy figures stood near the adjacent building as they reached his vehicle. Heading for the passenger side, Aidan kept an eye on the man closest to them, about twenty meters away. He unlocked the SUV and opened the front passenger door for Tiana.

  He caught the faint scuff of footsteps behind him an instant before Tiana gasped and whirled to face that direction. “Aidan.”

  Instantly he spun around, shoving her behind him as he faced the threat. The man held a pistol aimed at Aidan’s head, stopping mere feet away. “Gimme the keys,” he snapped.

  Anger punched through him. Not only because this bastard was threatening him, but because Tiana was behind him and had already been through too damn much.

  Fuck this.

  Aidan lunged, his hand flashing out lightning quick. He grabbed the arsehole’s wrist, wrenching it down and back, stripping the weapon away with the other.

  The guy jerked in shock with a startled sound and tried to pull back but Aidan had already clamped his free hand around the back of the bastard’s neck. Without warning he slammed his forehead into the other man’s, ignoring the shock of pain as he reared his leg back and drove his knee up into the guy’s bollocks at the same time.

  The dobber crumpled like a cheap tent, holding his bawbag and screaming.

  “Get the fuck outta here,” Aidan snarled at him, shoving him with his foot for good measure.

  Moving fast, he pushed Tiana into the SUV and slammed her door shut. “Lock it,” he ordered, and hustled around to the driver’s side. He put the pistol on the floorboard, fired up the engine and pulled away from t
he curb. The streets were a mess but he wasn’t staying there, a sitting target for whatever lowlife decided to try and take the SUV next.

  Tiana didn’t say a word as he navigated through the tangled mess of streets. He made it two blocks over before he had to stop because a construction crew was using heavy machinery to try and clear the intersection of debris.

  “You’re bleeding,” she said when he turned off the engine.

  He touched his forehead, wiped at the blood dripping down his nose. “It’s nothing. He got the worst of it.”

  “You headbutted him,” she said, incredulous.

  “Aye. We call it a Glaswegian Kiss.”

  She didn’t smile or seem the least bit amused by the term. Instead she undid her seatbelt and leaned over the front seats to rummage through the emergency kit on the floor in the back. “You moved so fast, I still can’t believe it. I’ve only ever seen things like that in the movies.” She turned back to him, her expression full of concern as she used an antiseptic wipe to clean away the blood. “This is going to sting.”

  “It’s all right.” He clenched his back teeth together at the burn as she cleaned the cut, warmed by her concern. She had a big heart. Aidan wanted to win it.

  She squinted at it. “I can’t tell if you need stitches or not.”

  “I’m fine. Head wounds always bleed a lot. I’ve got a thick skull.”

  Looking doubtful, she pinched the edges shut and put a butterfly bandage over it. “Want me to press on it for a while?”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “Okay, then take two of these at least.” She handed him two pain tablets.

  He made a face. “I don’t need them.”

  “Please take them. For me.”

  He couldn’t refuse her when she said it so nicely. And she’d been through enough tonight without worrying more about him. So he took them with a bit of water from one of the packs from the kit.

  The construction equipment was making good progress on clearing the mess, but they weren’t finishing anytime soon, and who knew how many more obstructions there were up ahead. “I’m not sure when we’ll be able to get out of here.”

  “We’ll just have to make the best of things then.”

  “Aye.” He was thankful she was taking this in stride. She was understandably still worried about Ella, but learning that the tsunami had been minor seemed to have eased her anxiety some.

  He reached back to grab the blankets he kept in the kit. They needed to conserve all the remaining fuel for when it was time to begin the drive out of the city, so he didn’t turn on the vehicle and use the heater. Instead he tucked one blanket around her, draped the other over himself, then reached out to cup her chin in his hand. “Okay?”

  She gave him a smile. “Yes. Thanks.”

  He wanted to do a whole lot more than wrap her in a blanket, but he sensed that kissing her again so soon might make her slam a wall back up between them. “Let’s see if there’s an update.” He switched on the radio and set to work spreading peanut butter on crackers for them both.

  The news was grim. The Tillikum Crossing and Sellwood Bridges were out. The Portland Spirit, tugs and other river craft were now being pressed into service as ferries to shuttle passengers and vehicles across the water to one of only two remaining routes out of the city that hadn’t been damaged by the quakes or landslides. Again, they reiterated that the tsunami had done minimal damage to the coastal region.

  Tiana breathed a sigh of relief and leaned her head back to close her eyes. “That’s the first real good news I’ve had all day.”

  He studied her profile, illuminated in the glow of the temporary lighting the road crews had set up. He’d already wanted her before, but now… What they’d been through together today had intensified that by a thousand. She was caring and sweet, brave and incredibly strong. And sexy. He’d never wanted a woman as much as he wanted her.

  He drew his fingers through her silky red waves. Her eyes popped open, shifting to his. The air in the vehicle turned thick and heavy, the memory of that stolen kiss amidst the flying bullets hanging between them.

  She searched his eyes. “Did you kiss me just to distract me?” she whispered.

  “At first.” He stroked her hair, slid his thumb across her cheekbone. He’d have given anything to be back in Crimson Point right now, with Ella safe in her bed so he could get Tiana naked in hers. “But I’ve been wanting to kiss you for a damn long time.”

  Her pupils dilated, her eyes darkening as her tempting lips parted slightly.

  On a silent groan, Aidan cupped the side of her face with one hand, leaned over and kissed her. She turned toward him, leaning into the kiss, her fingers pushing into his hair.

  He relearned the shape of her lips, slid his tongue across them before delving inside to stroke gently. Her soft moan sent all his blood racing to his groin. She twined her tongue with his, stroking and caressing, pressing closer.

  He was so revved up, his head swimming with her scent and taste, that any more of this and he’d have her laid out on the back seat and be pushing inside her.

  With a low growl he sucked at her lower lip, licked it one last time and ended the kiss, hauling her up and across the console to settle her between his thighs. The feel of her hip pressed against his erection was sweet torture as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close. “You’re incredible, you know that?”

  “No, you are.”

  He nuzzled the fall of her hair away to kiss the side of her neck, smiling as she shivered lightly. “Still cold?”

  “No.” She cuddled closer, the curve of her breasts nestled against his chest. “Getting hotter every second.”

  Damn. “You’re not into exhibitionism by chance, are you?”

  Her head came up, a shocked look on her face, then she laughed. “Sorry, no. Though you do tempt a girl.”

  He groaned and kissed her again, wishing he could strip her naked and roll her under him, explore every inch of her with his hands and mouth. Hold her still while she moaned and begged and came undone against his tongue. Then he would settle between her thighs and sink into her, savor every second of being deep inside her body as he lost himself in her.

  His heart squeezed when she pulled his head down to kiss the bandage on his forehead, then the tip of his nose. “I gotta say, Aidan. I think Ginny was nuts to leave you.”

  He grinned, pleased she thought so highly of him. And that the mention of Ginny’s name and the memories it brought didn’t hurt the way they once had. She’d broken his heart. Had made him doubt himself and relationships for a long time. With Tiana here, all that was a distant memory. “Aye?”

  “Yes.” She shook her head. “I don’t know what she was thinking.”

  “I do. She was lonely and bored. I was gone for long stretches. She wanted excitement, adventure. And I’d had enough of that for three lifetimes by the time my final tour ended.” He ran his fingers through her hair, enjoying the soft length of it, imagining what it would feel like trailing over his bare skin. “When I got home all I wanted was peace and quiet and calm. Time with her and my family.”

  “Of course. Why didn’t she understand that?”

  “Because she wasn’t the right one for me.” It had taken him far too long to realize that. He’d allowed her to shake his confidence and make him swear off relationships afterward. Although now it seemed as if he’d simply been waiting to meet Tiana.

  “You’ve got that right.” She sounded almost outraged.

  He had so many questions for her. And with them alone and time to kill, there was no better time to ask them than now. “What about your family? You never told me about them. Just that you left Idaho and went to live with Lizzie.” He nudged her. “You know I can’t help being nosy when it comes to you.”

  Rather than stiffen or pull away, she actually leaned into him more and settled her head on his shoulder. “Promise not to hold whatever I say against me?”

  “Aye. I would never do that.”<
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  She was quiet a moment, toying with the neckline of his shirt, her breath warm on his neck. “My parents were really conservative. And strict. Their families were the same way. Lots of rules, few freedoms for me, and we went to church every Wednesday and Sunday. But over time it became more than that. Religion started to take over their lives, and mine with it. We went to church almost every day. Then they moved to an even more conservative church. That’s when things started to turn bad.”

  Aidan ran a hand up and down her spine as she spoke, not wanting to interrupt her.

  “The church and its members isolated themselves from the rest of the town we lived in. My parents moved to a town hours away up in the mountains to be part of a new church. They became… Well, there’s really no other word to describe it other than zealots. It was old-school hellfire and brimstone. Women weren’t allowed to work outside of their home. They were to keep the house, look after their man and raise children. The leader even started to advocate polygamy.”

  Aidan’s hand paused, tension growing in his muscles. “Did your parents pressure you to do that?”

  “Not at first. But in the end, yes. Lizzie had already broken away. She was cut off, excommunicated from the church and everyone in it. I missed her so much. She was the only one who understood me. And when I found out my parents had agreed to marry me off at age seventeen to a man who already had two wives, I freaked.”

  Jesus. He was so glad Tiana had escaped that life. What the hell had her parents been thinking? “Understandable. How did you get out?”

  “I packed my things, snuck out in the middle of the night and hiked down to a logging road. A trucker stopped and drove me into the closest town. Luckily nothing happened to me. I contacted Lizzie the next morning. She paid for my bus ticket to Seattle, and I moved in with her there. She helped me get on my feet, but then I met Evan, and… Well, you know the rest.”

  He was stunned into silence for a few moments. “Wow, that’s… Not at all what I expected to hear.” He hugged her closer, rubbing his cheek against her hair. “I’m so sorry you went through all that.” No wonder she didn’t trust men.