Wild Hearts (The DiCarlo Brides)

by Heather Tullis

  “Hey, how are you?” Jeremy shone the flashlight on her face. “Not nearly as sexy as you look after a night in my bed.”

  “That’s such a shock.” She brushed some hair back from her face and nearly sneered at how filthy her hands were. The trickles of dried blood sliding down from her wrist injuries didn’t help.

  “Do you think your feet will hold you now?” he asked. “I’d love to get out of here.”

  “Yeah. Let’s go.”

  He stood and helped her up, then passed the flashlight to her empty hand and took out his gun. He did not release the hand he held between them. “I’m not taking any more chances.”

  Trying to hold back a groan, she grabbed the file to stick in her pocket as a memento of what saved her. “You couldn’t think of that yesterday?” She was too tired to even feel angry.

  “I’m sorry.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I can’t believe I brought you here and put you in danger with everything that’s been going on.”

  “Which way?” She’d gotten turned around in the dark and had to flash the light around them and the floor for a moment before they decided which way led to the entrance. Movement was slow and uncomfortable. She really hoped they could get someone on the phone once they left the tunnel as she didn’t think she could stand the long walk to her bike.

  After a minute they saw a shaft of light ahead in the tunnel. In forty more feet, they turned the corner and could see the entrance ahead. Relief poured through her, but a moment later she froze as she heard voices.

  “Someone’s got to be missing them by now,” Troy complained as they returned to the cave. “You said we’d be on our way to Rio. Hanging out here is just stupid.”

  “I can’t believe you missed one of the bags of gold when we got the rest. Where you planning to come back for it later, to keep my share for yourself?”

  “What are we going to do, lug it onto the plane with us?” Troy asked. “We should get gone while we can.”

  “Just let me grab it. You go for the jack hammer. I’ve got a hefty deposit on that.”

  Jeremy pulled her away from the cave entrance and she flashed the light around them, looking for anywhere to go, but the only thing she could see was the tunnel they had just come from.

  Troy and Dave came upon Delphi and Jeremy before she was ready. This time Jeremy had the gun already in his hand, though, and pointed at them.

  “Hey, what are you doing here?” Dave lifted his gun toward them.

  Jeremy slid Delphi behind him. “Put the gun down and walk away. I’m not afraid to use this.”

  “What is he still doing alive?” Dave asked Troy. “You said you killed him. What’s she doing here?”

  “I told you, I didn’t want to shoot him. We could have been out of the country by now, if you’d just been happy with what we have.”

  “You idiot.” Dave twisted and shot Troy in the chest.

  Delphi gasped in shock and tightened her grip on the flashlight so she could throw it or something if she needed to.

  “And now to finish cleaning house.” Dave turned and pointed the gun at Jeremy and Delphi again.

  Jeremy pulled on the trigger, filling the cavern with a deafening noise.

  Dave jerked back and blood bloomed on his shoulder. He dropped the gun and Delphi flinched, afraid it would go off again.

  Gage and Jonquil rushed into the cave entrance seconds later, Gage with a gun in his hand. He surveyed the scene and trained the gun on Dave. “Looks like you hardly need us.”

  “You always come just in time to miss the excitement,” Jeremy agreed.

  Delphi slumped against the cave wall feeling sick.

  “Jonquil, grab that rope, will you?” Gage asked.

  Jonquil grabbed Dave’s wrist, pulling it behind him, and then grabbing the second and she tied them together with some rope she must have brought with her. “Search and rescue should be only a few minutes behind us. They should have medical equipment. The cops are coming too, so they can take him in for questioning.”

  “What about Troy?” Delphi asked now the terror of imminent danger was past.

  “What?” Jonquil looked around and blanched when she saw his body off to the side. “What happened?”

  Delphi explained as she moved to his side and checked for a pulse. It was weak, but there was one there.

  Jonquil kneeled beside her and pulled some bandages from her backpack. “Apply pressure to slow the bleeding. I’ll go wave people in and puke in the bushes.” She stood and headed for the cave opening.

  Meanwhile Gage applied pressure to Dave’s wound.

  Jeremy came to stand behind Delphi. “How are you doing?”

  “I’ll survive.”

  “You just hang on, help will be here soon.” He rubbed his hand down her back.

  She wondered if he believed it or was just saying that to make them both feel better. She was back on her knees, which ached and burned. “I don’t think I’m going to be up for another hike for a while. How do you feel about wild-and-free couch potato sitting?”

  “Right now I’m feeling really good about it. Can I get you anything?”

  Her hands were starting to feel damp again. “More gauze. Does she have more?”

  “Let’s see.”

  They both worked to slow the bleeding while Gage kept Dave from bleeding out.

  Delphi rested her head on Jeremy’s shoulder, exhausted and emotionally wrung out. “Come on, Troy, hold on, will you? Help is on the way.” She was so tired and now the adrenaline was settling down she didn’t think she could handle the long walk back to her bike, never mind the ride home with wind blowing on her painful knees. There was no way she would leave it parked out there any longer.

  “You’re amazing, you know that?” Jeremy asked. “I kept expecting you to fall apart on me, but you didn’t. You just kept pushing and moving.”

  “It’s all I could do. The alternative was to give up and what good would that have done?” She brushed her cheek along his shoulder. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

  “What can I say? I had you to hold.”

  “I’ll bet you’ll never set your knife down again like that.”

  “Never ever.” He pressed his lips to the top of her head.

  “Jeremy?” an unfamiliar male voice called.

  “In here.” Jeremy stood to face whomever was coming toward them. From the sound of the footsteps, it was more than one person. “We’ve got two gunshot wounds.”

  Hank Carver, a guy Jonquil had dated for a short time the previous winter, came to the cave entrance with a beautiful redhead and a load of medical gear. They looked at Dave and then Troy, choosing him first. “How’s he doing?”

  “Breathing. His heart’s beating, but he’s bleeding out and needs an IV and to get to the hospital.”

  Jeremy set to work helping the three people who had come into the cave, setting out the stretcher while they put together IV lines and got the line started. Someone listened to Troy’s lungs and someone else got a heart rate and other stuff Delphi didn’t understand.

  A couple more people came in and attended to Dave’s wound, walking him out of the cave a moment later.

  Delphi moved into the sunshine and out of everyone’s way. Her feet burned from the blood movement, her ankles hurt from the ties, her knees burned and she thought her stomach was starting to think it might be hungry after all.

  Jonquil came over and handed her something. “A wipe for your hands. I have a granola bar and bottled water or two with your name on them.”

  “You are an angel.” Delphi was glad to wipe the grime and bits of stone from her palms, though she ignored the streak of blood on her arm from when Jeremy got her with the file. It was all dried anyway. She took the granola bar with eager hands and noticed Jeremy did the same inside the cave where he was watching the rescuers work on Troy.

  “We saw your picnic out front,” Jonquil remarked. “Looks like you ate last night. Either that or the squirrels had themselv
es a feast.”

  “A little of both.” Jeremy glugged a little more water, stuffed the end of the granola bar in his mouth and leaned over to help lift the patient onto the backboard, and carry the backboard out of the cave.

  “Now that’s a man—helping after everything you’ve been through.” Jonquil threw an arm around Delphi’s shoulder.

  Though she hesitated for just a moment, Delphi slid an arm around Jonquil’s back, hugging her too. “What can I say, I’m a lucky woman. How did you know where we were?”

  “I called Gage when you didn’t show for work and didn’t answer your phones. He figured you were here and we came to check, when we realized your bikes were at the trailhead, he called for reinforcements. Don’t say I never did anything for you.”

  “How could I possibly say something like that when you’re always worrying about everyone else?”

  Gage met them at the opening. “I was just coming back for you,” he said to Delphi. “Looks like your knees have seen better days. You need a hand?”

  “A chair. I really need a chair.” She almost sighed in relief when she saw the rescue ATVs parked near the pool of water. “I don’t have to walk out of here?”

  “No, you can ride out if you want.”

  “Oh, I want. I also want a full Italian lunch complete with two or three desserts, a hot bath and about thirty-six hours of sleep.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got your priorities straight.” He turned away. “Hey, Jeremy, how come you didn’t mention your woman was injured?”

  Jeremy glanced over from where he was helping to secure the backboard onto one of the ATVs. “What?”

  Gage pointed at Delphi’s knees and Jeremy’s jaw dropped. He said something to the person next to him and hurried back. “You said they weren’t happy, you didn’t say you were ripping them to shreds.”

  She wiped at her eyes. “It wouldn’t have changed anything. I would have just been a whiner.”

  He brushed the hair back from Delphi’s face, tucking it behind her ears. “I’ve never met any woman who was less of a whiner than you are.” He leaned in and kissed her firmly but briefly. “Let’s have someone check you out. Did I nick you with the file too? You have blood on your arm. And your wrists look terrible.” He turned them over in his hand. They were going to take a while to heal.

  “No worse than yours, probably.” She leaned into his hug, glad to be out in the sunlight, in his arms, and alive.

  “What file?” Gage asked.

  Delphi pulled it out of her pocket and passed it over. “It’s how we got away after they tied us up. It just took fourteen or so hours to find first.”

  “It’s old. Really old,” Gage said, brushing at the caked on dirt and rust.

  One of the search and rescue guys brought over a pair of scissors and Jonquil cut off Delphi’s pant legs. She took just a moment to mourn the passing of her favorite designer jeans, then let it go.

  “You’re going to need a doctor to look at this,” Jonquil said as she doused the area with water so they could see how bad the injuries were.

  “Perfect, because I don’t have half a dozen appointments I’ve already missed.”

  “Trust our little work-a-holic to be upset about missing appointments when she was nearly killed. Claire is handling everything; don’t worry about work.” Jonquil muttered this and various imprecations as she used a cotton ball to clean the gravel from Delphi’s knees. “This is not pretty. You’re going to need a topical antibiotic and a tetanus shot. And that cute new dress you just bought for work—I don’t think you’re going to be wearing it anytime soon. It’ll take a while for your knees to heal up.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Jonquil.”

  A deputy came over and took Delphi’s statement, while another one pulled Jeremy aside to get his.

  When she saw Jeremy pass his gun over to the deputy, Delphi wondered if they would press charges against him for shooting Dave. Would this nightmare ever end?

  The first ATV was long gone with the patient when they led Delphi and Jeremy to another machine for a ride to the street. When they reached the bikes, Delphi looked at hers with longing. “I really don’t think I’m up for a ride right now.”

  Jeremy pulled his key from his pocket and tossed it to Gage. “I’ll take yours back, Gage can take mine and Jonquil can drive you in Gage’s car. We’ll get you to the doctor to have those knees looked at.” He put his hand out, palm up, and wiggled his fingers at her.

  She scowled as much as she could, which wasn’t much. “You just want to drive my bike.”

  “Of course, but really, who are you going to trust to get it back to your place if you’re not up to driving it?” he pointed to Gage over his shoulder. “That joker?”

  “You’re letting me take your bike, so obviously I’m trustworthy,” Gage pointed out.

  She let her lips curve and passed over the keys to Jeremy. “Take care of my baby. And don’t wreck her—I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful,” He promised, then opened the passenger door of Gage’s car for her.

  They thanked the search and rescue guys and Delphi slid, gratefully, into the passenger seat of Gage’s car. She rested her head back and closed her eyes, weary to the bone. “Thank you,” she said again when Jonquil had started the engine. “We wouldn’t still be alive without you and your weak stomach.”

  “I can’t help it if blood nauseates me. I brought you back a granola bar, even though you’re covered in that dude’s blood.” Her fingers drummed on the steering wheel for a moment. “He tied you up and you tried to save his life.”

  “He didn’t kill us or let the other guy kill us, which probably got him killed. I can’t complain too loudly.” She paused. “Oh, yeah, I actually can complain. Really loudly. I might too, when I have the energy. For now I’m just going to rest here with the sun on my face and revel in the fact that I’m alive. You’re going to order me an awesome Italian meal for lunch, right? I think I deserve it.”

  “Anything you want.”

  “You are the best.”

  “I know. How did you screw up your knees so bad?”

  Delphi told her between deep yawns. When the car came to a stop, she opened her eyes expecting to see their house and was dismayed to find the local doctor’s clinic instead. “Why are we here?”

  “Don’t be an idiot. Why do you think?” Jonquil pushed out of the car and came around to help Delphi up.

  Glad for the assist, but irritated about being called an idiot, Delphi limped to the front door, one arm still around Jonquil’s shoulder. “I’m not an idiot. I need a shower, a nap and food.”

  “You need to get your knees handled and then we can get you the other things, in whatever order you prefer.” Jonquil’s phone rang and she ignored it.

  Two or three people waited in the doctor’s office when they walked inside. Jonquil helped Delphi to a chair and then approached the counter, speaking with the woman there. When she took the chair beside Delphi, she leaned back. “It’ll be a little while, but I figured the ER will be a while too, what with the gunshot wound distracting them. Plus, no ER bill this way.”

  “Nice. Can you have food delivered here?” Delphi asked closing her eyes.

  “Nope. But when you actually get in to see someone, I’ll call in and order for pickup.” Jonquil’s phone rang again and she answered it this time. “Yeah, we’re at the clinic. How was I supposed to know? They’re on the counter. The code is three-three-five-six, go get them.” She hung up. “Gage wanted to know what happened to his car. He’s going to bring mine down here.”

  “Good, fine.” Delphi wanted more than anything to stretch out on the floor and sleep for a week, but couldn’t do that in public. She yawned wide enough for a train to enter her mouth and reconsidered the floor—it was a flat, a big improvement over the cave floor. No. No, she really couldn’t.

  “Delphi, come on back.” The cute blond nurse spoke with a southern accent and smiled brightly. “L
ooks like you’ve been through a tough time.”

  “Yes. Not the best twenty-four hours I’ve ever lived through,” Delphi agreed.

  “I’m Tosca. I’m just going to take your vitals and ask a few questions and then the doctor will be in to check you over,” she said. “We’ll have you out of here in no time.”

  “That would be wonderful.”

  Jeremy entered the clinic, Gage hard on his heels, and he spotted Jonquil right away. “She’s in there already?”

  “Apparently it’s been slower than usual with a couple of cancellations,” Jonquil said. “When I told the nurse what was going on, they scooted her right in. You gotta love small-town doctors.”

  “Definitely beats the city hands down.” Gage took a seat beside Jonquil.

  “How’s she holding up?” Jeremy still couldn’t believe she had been hurt and hadn’t said a word about it. He’d been so busy helping one of their attackers he hadn’t even noticed.

  “She’s asking for a hot tub, a really terrific Italian meal for lunch and a long, long nap. I can’t remember the name of the Italian place, though.”

  “I’ll make the call so we can pick it up on the way home.” Jeremy jumped up, anxious for something useful to do. He swayed a little when he reached his feet. He was still stiff and uncomfortable from being tied up on the cold ground all night. The lack of sleep wasn’t helping either.

  Gage pushed him back down. “Dude, settle. I’ll take care of the food. You rest. You’re half starved and exhausted. And filthy, seriously, I’m not letting you near any food until you’ve cleaned up a little.” He typed something into his phone, tapped on the screen a few times and put the phone to his ear.

  Jeremy melted, nearly boneless, into the slightly padded chair. “She wasn’t mad at me for dragging her into all of that, was she?”

  “I don’t think so,” Jonquil said. “Why would she blame you? It’s not like you planned it.”

  He couldn’t explain it, not even to himself. But in that moment when he though Dave was going to kill Delphi, he couldn’t let that happen, that she was far too important to lose. Now he wondered if that made him as weak as his parents, that one death would be able to devastate him so completely. Would his and Delphi’s feelings for each other be enough for her to stay with him? Would he be enough, finally, for someone to hold to when things looked bad?