*** Paul saw the fear in Emily’s eyes when she looked at him. He hated seeing her like that. She was afraid she was going to lose her sister, but also afraid someone would attack and that she wouldn’t be able to do anything in human form. And most of all, he could tell she was afraid to trust him to help.
Paul nodded and walked over to Stacy. He saw the wounds, cuts, bruises, and bullet wound. He didn’t know how she was still conscious, but she was staring at him with fear. She didn’t know what was going to happen or if she was going to live.
“ Shh, I’m not going to hurt you,” he said quietly. She didn’t say anything, just continued to stare at him.
“I’m Paul. I’m the guy your sister’s been
keeping in her cell.” Still nothing. “I fell in love with her, but she doesn’t know that. Well, I guess she does now,” he said, trying to calm her.
Silence. “I’m going to pick you up and we’re going to get out of here. I promise that Emily isn’t going to leave your side. I have a feeling if I cause you any pain, she’s going to bite off a nut or something.”
Stacy smiled at that. Paul was glad he could relax her some. He hoped he was wrong about the whole ball biting thing, though. Stacy was going to be hurting when he picked her up. “She doesn’t love just anybody,” she whispered.
“I kind of figured that one out. It’s been tough, but I think she might finally be admitting to herself that she loves me too.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” she said with a small smile. “Well, we need to make sure you stick around to see it.” Just to make sure everything stayed where it was supposed to be, he looked at Emily and said, “She is going to hurt when I pick her up. I’m going to be as gentle as possible, but she’s injured and it’s going to hurt like a bitch.”
Emily nodded and Paul picked her up, being as gentle as he could.
CHAPTER 28
Emily was scared. She heard the grunts of pain from Stacy and it killed her inside. She hated seeing her sister like that, but she knew she had to let Paul take care of her. She needed to be able to protect them.
She stayed behind them, making sure to stay close, but able to take care of things if someone attacked them.
Movement was very slow going because of Paul carrying Stacy and trying to be gentle. Emily heard her sister breathing heavily and trying not to scream, and saw the sweat on her forehead. She really wished Bill had come with them. At least they were only an hour's helicopter ride away. They could take care of her until he could take over.
“Emily,” she heard Aunt Martha say. “She’s hurt,” Paul said to her. “How bad?”
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t look good. She was talking, so I think that’s a good sign,” he said.
“Good. I know some basic first aid, so I can help until we get her to Bill.”
“I know some too, but I don’t know how much it’ll help.”
“I’ll take her,” Aunt Martha said.
Paul looked at her. Smart man. She nodded and he handed Stacy to Aunt Martha. Emily saw the relief in Stacy’s face when she knew it was her aunt holding her. She knew it had nothing to do with Paul and everything to do with it being someone she knew and trusted to take care of her. Knowing that Aunt Martha had her eased some of Emily’s fears. She knew she would take care of Stacy. Paul would too, but he wasn’t family.
She nodded her thanks to Aunt Martha and walked at her side, still wanting to keep close to Stacy. Paul touched her side and stayed beside her. She felt like everything was finally going to be okay. Stacy was safe and Paul was there at her side. He didn’t run.
*** Stacy looked up at Aunt Martha. It was hard to believe she was finally safe. She just hoped she’d make it through this. She was in so much pain. Emily and Aunt Martha would take care of everything though. They always did.
“How are you doing?” Aunt Martha asked. “Hurt,” she moaned.
“We’ll get you patched up,” she said with a smile.
Stacy nodded. “So, did you hear? Your sister got herself hooked up with a Hunter.”
“No.”
“Once upon a time, there was a big bad Hunter…” she started out. “Very funny,” she heard Paul say. “What really happened was that your sister decided to hold me prisoner, then fell madly in love with me.”
Stacy heard Emily snort. She knew there was more to it. And since when did Emily fall in love? She was…Emily. She didn’t really like people, and there were very few she actually trusted. It seemed that Paul fell into that category, though.
“Okay, well, once upon a time, your sister captured the big bad Hunter and locked him up. She ignored his existence for a while, but her little sister got herself kidnapped and she had to go to the big bad Hunter for help. They ended up falling madly in love and finding you. Now, you just have to stick around to see the happily ever after,” smiled Aunt Martha.
“I’d like that,” Paul said, looking over at her. “Well in that case, our little girl here needs to get better so we can have that,” Aunt Martha said.
“I’ll try my best,” she whispered.
“That’s all we can ask of you. But if you see the bright light, run away. Far, far away.” Stacy looked back at Aunt Martha and took strength in her words and jokes. She was trying to stay conscious, but it was getting hard. She was so tired and there was so much pain. She just wanted to sleep.
“Go ahead, honey. It’s okay. I’ll make sure nothing happens to you,” Aunt Martha said. Stacy nodded and let the darkness take her.
*** They’d been walking for a while and Stacy had been passed out for most of it. Paul was worried that something was really wrong. They’d spent so much time trying to get her back; he didn’t want to lose her now that they had her.
“There’s the chopper,” Martha said. He looked, but all he saw were trees. He could hear it, though. They were getting close. He ran his hand through Emily’s fur and enjoyed the softness of it. It gave him comfort. He wasn’t sure why he needed it, but it helped. Maybe he was worried that he wouldn’t see her again after this.
“Emily, you can shift back. Our team’s here. She’s safe,” Martha said. Paul stepped back and waited for Emily to shift. As soon as she was human again, he wrapped her in his arms. He knew she needed the comfort. She wrapped her arms around him for just a minute, then climbed into the chopper. She held her hands out for Stacy and wrapped her in her arms, not seeming to want to let her go.
Paul climbed in after Emily was settled and sat next to her. He looked at the gunshot wound in Stacy’s stomach and saw the bleeding had slowed. He hoped it was a good sign and not that she was bleeding out.
“Can you call Bill for me?” Emily asked him.
He nodded and pulled out his cell. He dialed Bill’s number and waited for him to answer. “Hello?” Bill answered on the second ring.
“Bill, it’s Paul. We’re on the chopper and Stacy’s hurt.” “How far out are you?” he asked. Paul looked over at Emily, knowing she could hear the conversation.
“About forty-five minutes,” she said. “Okay, I’ll meet you at the helipad. How bad is it?” he asked. “She was shot in the stomach in tiger form and it looks like she’s been beaten. She’s unconscious right now. The bleeding seems to have slowed.”
“Okay, just keep an eye on her. Emily and Martha both know some basic first aid, so they can handle it until you get here. Just keep pressure on the bullet wound.”
“Okay,” Paul said and hung up. He turned to Emily, “You heard that?”
Emily nodded.
“Here’s some gauze. You can reach better than I can,” Martha said. Paul nodded and took it from her. He really hoped they got to Bill soon. He knew a little first aid from his military days and from being with the Hunters, but that didn’t mean he wanted to have to use it on Emily’s little sister.
He nervously pushed the gauze into the gunshot wound, trying to stop the bleeding. He hoped he could. He didn’t want Stacy to die before Bill had a chance to save her.<
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CHAPTER 29
Bill was standing at the helipad, waiting for them to land. They were going to have to operate to get the bullet out, but he wasn’t sure what else he had to do. He hoped he didn’t have too many repairs. He didn’t want to see her hurt, but he didn’t want to have her close to death on his table.
He heard the chopper coming and knew they were close. Getting his bag, he stood ready to get to work.
When it landed, he didn’t waste a second. He jumped on because he wanted to get a good look at her. When he saw her, he started to worry. She was really pale, which meant she'd probably lost a lot of blood.
“I need to get her to my house. I have the equipment I need there,” he shouted over the blades.
Paul and Emily nodded, both working to get Stacy out without causing more damage. Thankfully she stayed unconscious the whole time. He knew it would really hurt if she were awake.
They managed to get her into the back of the van Bill had brought. He climbed into the back, taking full inventory of her injuries.
Emily, Paul, and Martha climbed in the back with him while Jason got in the front. It was crowded in there, but he knew why they had to be there. Paul didn’t want to leave Emily, and Emily and Martha wouldn’t leave Stacy. He just hoped they stayed out of the way.
He lifted the gauze and saw the hole where she was shot. It was silver: he could tell that much by the edges. That was the first thing he had to work on. She couldn’t heal with it in her. She was lucky she had passed out.
Bill felt around her ribs, seeing the bruising. She had some cracked, if not broken, ribs. He was going to have to check to make sure they didn’t puncture a lung. Shifters could heal well and fast as long as things were in place. When they weren’t, it could heal wrong. A lung healing with a rib in it was not good. If that was what had happened, Stacy was very lucky she'd been shot. It could have saved her a lot of problems.
Pulling out his stethoscope, he listened to her breathing and it wasn’t what he wanted to hear. The rib definitely needed to be checked first. He couldn’t let it heal wrong.
The van pulled to a stop and a moment later, Bill heard the van door open. He was relieved to be home. That meant he could do something. “Emily,” he heard Stacy moan.
“Hey, Stacy, it’s Bill. I’m going to take care of you. Emily and Martha are here, but I need to get you taken care of.”
She nodded, and Bill knew he had to get working on her quickly. He had no idea how she was talking. He couldn’t imagine how much pain she was in.
Picking her up, he carried her into the house. He wanted to be in the exam room and get the wounds taken care of. Her ribs were a huge concern, and he wouldn’t feel like she was out of the woods until they were fixed.
He couldn’t lose her. He couldn’t let Emily lose her. She’d made everyone’s lives a living hell, and he couldn’t bring that down on anyone. He had to save her.
*** Stacy was so happy to see Bill’s face. She knew she’d be okay now. He’d make her better. He always did.
She could feel someone picking her up. She had no idea who it was and she really didn’t care. All she wanted was for the pain to stop. She closed her eyes, hoping to pass out again.
“How bad is it?” she heard a man ask. “It’s not good, but I think she’ll be okay,” she heard Bill answer.
She hoped to hear the man speak again. His voice soothed her. “Who?” she asked.
“I’m Jason. I’m a friend of your sister’s and I work for Bill,” he answered. That voice. It made her not care about the pain, even if it was just for a moment. She needed to see the owner of the voice. She fought to open her eyes. It took her a minute, but by the time they reached the door, she had them open.
Standing there holding the door was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. He had blond hair and hazel eyes. His muscles were drool-worthy and tan. Very tan. She wanted to run her hands over every inch of his body just to see if his skin was as soft as it looked.
She was carried past him, but she couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of him. There was just something about him.
“I’ll come see you later,” he said with a smile. She couldn’t believe how much that smile changed his face. Before, he looked hard, like a fighter. He had the same look Emily often did, but that smile. It lit up his entire face. She wanted to see more of that.
Stacy nodded, happy she was going to see him again, then let the darkness take over.
*** Emily saw Stacy pass out again. She couldn’t stand seeing her like that. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know how to help her. She was helpless and she hated that feeling.
Paul wrapped his arm around her waist, trying to comfort her, but the only thing that would make her feel better was seeing her sister recovered.
“She’ll be okay,” he said to her.
“I hope you’re right,” she said, and put her head on his shoulder. “Come on, let’s go and wait inside. Do you want me to call anyone? Do you want Lucy and Mike?” he asked.
She thought about it for a minute and remembered how Lucy was so strange she was. She would probably be good at keeping everyone’s minds off of things. “Yeah, call them.”
“Okay,” he said, and pulled out his cell phone as they sat on the couch. She wasn’t paying attention to what he was saying. She was watching the door to Bill’s exam room. She’d been in there a few times and knew what was going on. He was taking his time, fixing her the best he could.
“They’ll be here in a few,” Paul said, pulling her close. She nodded again and put her head back on his shoulder, snuggling into him. She tried taking comfort from him, but she didn’t know how much he could really give her. Her sister was in there being cut open.
“Hey,” she heard Jason say. She hadn’t even realized he was there. When she looked around, she saw Aunt Martha sitting in a chair across from them, waiting just as impatiently as she was.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” she asked. “I wanted to make sure she was okay.”
“Why?” she asked. “Because we used to be close and I still consider you a friend. I wanted to be here for you.”
“Thank you,” she said, and she meant it. They might not have been close for a long time, which was her fault, but there he stood, there for her when she needed him.
“No problem,” he said with a smile, and sat down in the chair next to Aunt Martha.
*** Lucy walked into Bill’s house, not sure what to expect. She liked Emily and considered her a friend, but she was surprised to have gotten a call from Paul. When Mike told her, she insisted on getting there as fast as they could, which wasn’t all that fast because she was as big as a whale.
“Hey, how is she?” she asked Emily, when they walked into the living room.”
“No news yet,” Paul answered.
“I’m sorry,” she said. She didn’t know what else to say.
“Thank you.” Again, it was Paul who spoke.
“How’s she holding up?” she asked Paul. Emily didn’t seem to want to talk.
“Okay, I think,” he answered with a small smile. “I wish there was something I could do to help. If you guys need anything, just tell me and I’ll be there,” she said.
“I know, but right now we’re just waiting for some news. How’s the baby?” he asked. “Getting big and moving a lot. I’ve been kicked so many times I should be black and blue in there. I think we have a soccer player here,” she said with a smile.
“How’s the writing?” “Good, just busy. I know once little Eugene is born, I won’t have much time to write, so I’m trying to get ahead.”
“Eugene?” “I’m trying out baby names,” she said with a shrug. “Yeah, and it’s not going to be Eugene. Sorry Hon, but I think we should stick to Samuel or Megan,” Mike said with a laugh.
“What’s wrong with Eugene?” she asked. “Nothing, but can you see a wolverine named Eugene?” Mike asked.
“Okay, you have a point,” she grumbled.
“Why don't you name one of your characters Eugene?” he suggested.
Lucy looked over at Paul, who was laughing at them. “What?” she asked him.
“I thought you'd be a good distraction, and I was right,” he said with a smile.
“Okay, I can live with that,” she smiled. “Good. Now why don't you sit down before you fall over?” Mike said. While most people might be offended by that comment, Lucy was fine. She knew she was strange to be okay with it, but Mike was trying to make her more comfortable. He was a very loving husband who she wouldn’t give up for the world.
Lucy looked over at the woman sitting in a chair. “Hello, I’m Lucy and this is my husband Mike.”
“Martha Kincade. I’m Emily’s aunt.”
“Nice to meet you. I’d shake your hand, but I have a feeling you’d end up with a lap full of me,” she said with a small laugh.
Martha just looked at her like she was crazy. So what if she was a little off? She didn’t care and neither did Mike’s parents or her family. That was what mattered.
“Lucy,” Mike said. She looked at him, trying to figure out what he wanted. He motioned to the chair, then looked at her.
“Oh, you want me to sit down. That’s probably a good idea,” she said with a little laugh. “I hope you’re getting a babysitter,” Martha said. “Don’t worry, I hired a babysitter to watch the baby while Lucy writes to make sure it’s fed,” Mike answered.
“Hey!” Lucy said, making sure to sound offended. She wasn’t really, but they didn’t need to know that.
“Lucy, you have trouble feeding yourself. How do I know you’ll remember to feed the baby?” he asked.
“Okay, you have a point,” she said with a smile. Lucy was sitting there, bored out of her mind. She hoped Stacy would be okay and was happy to be there for Paul and Emily, but she didn’t have her computer, book, or even a notepad. She had nothing to do. Looking around, she tried to find something she could do.
Nothing. There was a TV, but she thought it might be rude to turn it on and relax while everyone was worried.
Emily's Captive (A Lilly Town Shifter Novel Book 2) Page 13