Under the Lawman's Protection

by Laura Scott

  “Doesn’t matter,” he mumbled. He was beginning to slur his words and she hated seeing him like this. “They’ll try to pin this all on me.”

  “Shane, if you don’t get medical help soon, you could die,” she said. “You need antibiotics, fluids, maybe even a blood transfusion. I can’t provide all that for you.”

  “Even more people could die if I don’t stop the person in charge of this mess,” Shane said. “Please, Leah, you have to trust me. No hospital.”

  “Let’s get back to the cabin first,” Isaac said, clearly trying to play the peacemaker. “Once you can see the full extent of Hawk’s injuries, we’ll decide our next steps.”

  Leah grimaced and nodded, feeling helpless. They could try going to a hospital that wasn’t located in Milwaukee, but she knew that the doctors there would only transfer Shane to the closest level-one trauma center, which happened to be smack in the middle of the Milwaukee Police Department district. The only other one was over two hours away, and even they might transfer him regardless.

  The only other option was to bring a physician to her brother. A physician and supplies.

  As she turned the idea around in her mind, Leah thought of just the person who might be willing to do her a favor.

  “Isaac, I need to make a call.” She grasped the back of Isaac’s seat as he took a sharp right. “Will you hand me my phone?”

  “Depends. Who are you calling?” he demanded. “I don’t think we should ignore your brother’s concern about going to the hospital.”

  “I know, but I want to call a trauma-doctor friend of mine. I’m pretty sure she’ll help us.”

  Isaac captured Leah’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “Being friends is one thing. Breaking the law is something entirely different. I highly doubt this doctor will be willing to come remove a bullet without notifying the police.”

  “You don’t know Dr. Gabriella Fielding,” she responded. “I think she’ll come, because last month I helped her out when we had a meth addict go crazy in the middle of the trauma bay.”

  “What do you mean?” Isaac demanded. “How exactly did you help her?”

  Leah nibbled her lower lip, remembering that night all too well. “Our patient leaped off the trauma table, grabbed a scalpel and charged toward her. I shoved a bedside tray in front of him and then stomped on his hand to get the scalpel. He tossed me on my backside, but thankfully, the security guards took over from there, managing to hold him still enough that we could sedate him.”

  “You never told me that,” Shane said. The light from the moon was barely enough to see his troubled gaze.

  Leah winced and nodded. “I know. I didn’t want you to worry. Honestly, it all happened so fast, I don’t even remember making a conscious decision to do anything.”

  “And you think my job is dangerous,” Isaac muttered. He shook his head. “The cabin is only a few miles away, in any case. Why don’t you wait to see what you’re dealing with before you call her?”

  He had a point, especially since they were so close to the cabin. Leah felt certain Gabby would help, if she wasn’t working.

  And if she was, then Leah would just have to do her best to treat Shane until Gabby could get there.

  * * *

  Isaac was relieved to make it back to the cabin without a problem. He’d purposefully taken a long, winding route just to be sure they hadn’t been followed. The entire fiasco at the shed still didn’t sit well with him and he hoped Hawk would stay conscious until help arrived.

  Getting Hawk into the cabin was no small feat. “You take his injured side. I’ll take the other,” he instructed Leah.

  “Okay,” she agreed.

  Hawk was weak, and even with Leah’s help, Isaac had to practically drag him inside. Since the sofa was closer than a bedroom, he headed in that direction, getting him there just as his friend’s legs collapsed beneath him. He groaned as he landed with a thud.

  “Sorry, man,” Isaac exclaimed.

  “Shane, are you all right?” Leah was leaning over him, her serious expression betraying the depth of her concern.

  “Call your doctor friend,” Isaac told her. “I’ll help get him undressed enough so you can look at his wound.”

  Leah pressed her lips together as if she was near tears, but nodded and stepped away to make the call. He knelt on the floor beside Hawk and tugged at his jacket.

  “What happened out there tonight, Hawk?” he asked in a low tone as he worked.

  For a moment he thought his buddy was too far gone to answer, but then he opened his eyes. “The shed was my hiding spot, but they found me. So I took off and hid in the woods.”

  Isaac noticed Hawk winced when he tried to slip his injured arm out of the sleeve. He was trying to be gentle, but the blood-soaked clothing didn’t give way easily. “You were shot yesterday, though, right?”

  “Yeah, but I wasn’t at the shed then. I was about ten miles down the road.”

  “Ten miles?” Isaac was shocked to hear that. “How did you manage to go ten miles without a vehicle?”

  “It wasn’t easy.” Hawk closed his eyes and groaned again. “Took me forever, since I had to stay hidden the whole time.”

  “So how did they find you at the shed?” Isaac asked, trying to understand the chain of events.

  “I knew I needed to keep going, but I must have passed out for a bit. When I came to, it was getting dark and I knew that they might find me. So I contacted Cam Walker. Told him where I was hiding and that I needed help.”

  That made sense, considering the timing of the ATF agent’s phone call. “I was supposed to meet Walker there an hour after we talked,” Isaac stated grimly. “Sounds like he contacted me as soon as he heard from you.”

  “He called you?” Confusion darkened Hawk’s eyes, which were the same shade of blue as Leah’s. “I don’t understand. He never showed up.”

  A sick feeling lodged in Isaac’s gut. “So that wasn’t Walker looking for you in the woods?” he asked carefully. “Because Leah thought the guy out there was your boss, Lieutenant Nash.”

  “She’s right,” Hawk said grimly. “The minute I saw him, I knew I had to get out of there.”

  “You think he’s involved?” Isaac asked.

  His friend hesitated and then shook his head. “I honestly don’t know. Either he’s in on the whole illegal gunrunning deal or someone else is feeding him wrong information. The guy I thought was involved was Aaron Winslow.”

  Made sense, since the stolen car belonged to Winslow, and Cameron had believed Winslow was guilty, too. Although maybe Cam had only heard that from Hawk?

  Isaac’s instincts were to believe the worst. He knew from what Caleb had been through last year that even the top brass could wallow in the mud, getting their badges dirty. Being the rank of lieutenant didn’t mean squat if enough money was involved.

  “Isaac, is it okay if I give Gabby directions to the cabin?” Leah asked.

  “Yeah, it’s fine.” What choice did they have? Now that he had Hawk’s shirt off, he saw that the bullet wound in his shoulder was far worse than he’d anticipated. And there wasn’t an exit wound, which meant the slug was still embedded in his shoulder.

  The doctor might be able to help stabilize Hawk temporarily, but Isaac didn’t see how they would manage to avoid sending him to the hospital, sooner or later.

  He could only hope that they’d break the case open before they had to take that chance.

  * * *

  Leah was relieved that Gabriella wasn’t working and had agreed to come help take care of Shane. The trauma surgeon was bringing a bunch of supplies as well, including IV antibiotics.

  Isaac had gotten Shane’s jacket and shirt off, but his shoulder was a mess, so she headed into the kitchen to fill a bowl with hot water.

  “What do you
want to do about Ben?” Isaac asked from the fireplace, where he was building a roaring blaze.

  “He’s safe with Caleb for now, isn’t he? I think we need to make sure Shane gets the help he needs before we go pick him up.”

  “All right,” Isaac agreed. “I’ll let Caleb know to keep Ben there overnight. I’m sure he won’t mind.”

  “Thanks.” She carried the water to the sofa and then brought over the stack of towels she’d taken from the bathroom. Shane’s eyes were closed, but as much as she hated to bother him, she needed to clean his wound.

  “Sorry, this might hurt a bit,” she said as she gently pressed the warm washcloth over the area.

  Shane flinched but didn’t open his eyes, and she hoped he was simply sleeping and hadn’t fallen unconscious.

  The water turned a dark rusty-brown by the time she finished her task. And the skin around the opening looked red and puffy, a sure sign it was infected.

  Leah rocked back on her heels, second-guessing her decision to go along with Shane’s wishes. Maybe she should have insisted on taking her brother to the hospital.

  If she hadn’t caught that glimpse of Shane’s boss out there in the clearing by the shed, she wouldn’t have been as worried. But she had, and now she didn’t have the faintest idea of whom they could trust.

  She found a small package of gauze in the bathroom cabinet, no doubt left by a previous renter, and she placed it over the wound and then layered blankets over her brother to keep him warm.

  While they waited for Gabby to arrive, Leah tried to get her brother to drink some broth she’d found in the cupboard, likely from the previous occupants. He took only a few sips before turning away.

  Finally, she heard the sound of a car engine pulling up out front. Leah darted toward the door, but Isaac beat her to it, holding his weapon ready as he peered outside.

  “Dr. Fielding?” Isaac asked in a low voice.

  “Yes, it’s me. Is Leah there?”

  There was a hint of fear in her friend’s tone, so Leah pushed Isaac aside to open the door. “I’m here, Gabby, and this is Deputy Isaac Morrison. Thank you so much for coming.”

  “Not a problem, since my social life is nonexistent. Besides, I owe you a favor,” Gabby said with a wry smile. “Sorry it took me so long, but this place wasn’t easy to find even with your directions.”

  “Here, let me help you with that,” Isaac said, taking the large backpack she had slung over her shoulder.

  “Thanks. Where’s my patient?”

  “Over here on the sofa. I cleaned his wound as best I could,” Leah said. “But it still looks pretty bad. And I tried to get some fluids into him, too, but didn’t have much luck.”

  “Hmm...” Gabby knelt beside Shane’s prone figure. “You mentioned the bullet has been embedded inside his shoulder for over twenty-four hours?”

  “At least—maybe a little longer,” she confirmed.

  “Not good. Is there any way to get him into one of the bedrooms? It’s going to be too difficult to work on him here.”

  Isaac grimaced, but nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

  “Shane? Can you help us by getting up?” Leah asked, giving her brother a small shake. “Come on. We need you to stretch out on one of the beds.”

  His eyelids fluttered open, and for a moment he looked confused, but then his expression cleared. “I’ll try.”

  It took the three of them working together to haul Shane into the closest bedroom.

  “Okay, first we need to start the IV fluids and antibiotics,” Gabby said, digging through her backpack. “You said he doesn’t have any known allergies, right?”

  Leah nodded. “None that I know of.”

  “Okay, good. Once we have that done, I’ll need to remove the bullet from the wound or it will fester and make the infection worse.”

  Leah nodded again. Gabriella’s plan was exactly what she’d expected. “What can I do to help?”

  “Why don’t you start the IV while I get things set up. I’m going to need better lighting, too.”

  “I’ll bring both lamps from the living room,” Isaac said, obviously anxious to assist.

  “Thanks.” Gabby barely spared him a glance, her attention focused solely on her patient.

  Leah’s fingers were shaking as she started the IV in her brother’s arm. She tried to tell herself this was just like being in the trauma room.

  But it wasn’t.

  Once the fluids and antibiotics were infusing, Gabby gave Shane a non-narcotic painkiller. Leah didn’t ask why she hadn’t brought along narcotics. There was a limit to what Gabby would do, Leah knew, and taking narcotics without accounting for them wasn’t one of them, since discrepancies had to be reported to the DEA. Quite honestly, she didn’t blame Gabby one bit.

  “Ready?” her friend asked, meeting her gaze.

  Leah nodded. They both had sterile gloves on, even though the cabin was hardly a pristine environment. Still, Gabby had brought more supplies than Leah had expected, including sterile drapes and several surgical instruments. Leah picked up the two small retractors and gently held the edges of the wound open.

  Shane flinched and gritted his teeth, but didn’t protest as Gabby probed the wound as gently as possible with a forceps. Retrieving the bullet actually didn’t take long at all, but she spent a lot of time flushing out the wound with an antibiotic solution before packing it with sterile gauze.

  Finally the surgeon straightened, putting a hand against her lower back as she stretched her sore muscles. “That’s all I can do for now,” she said in a weary tone. “We can only hope it’s enough.”

  Leah nodded and finished dressing the wound. “I hope so, too. Thanks so much for coming out here and bringing all the supplies.”

  “No problem.” Gabby glanced down at Shane. “I don’t suppose you want to tell me why you didn’t take him to the hospital?”

  Leah grimaced. Her friend deserved to know something after what she’d just done to save his life. “My brother is a cop and his boss might have been the one to blow his cover, causing him to be shot. Seemed safer to do it this way until we know more.”

  “I understand,” Gabby said. “But how, exactly, are you going to find out the truth about his boss?”

  Good question. Too bad Leah didn’t have an equally good answer. She hadn’t thought past getting Shane the medical treatment he needed. But now that he’d been taken care of, she realized that they were right back where they’d started from.

  They still didn’t know whom to trust.

  FOURTEEN

  Isaac listened to the women’s conversation with a sense of helplessness. Gabby wasn’t a cop but she’d easily identified the main issue facing them. Hawk was safe, but they still needed to figure out whom to trust and where to go from here. Not that Isaac’s friend would be going anywhere anytime soon. Clearly, he needed some rest and nourishment after being on the run for so long.

  Dr. Gabby gathered her things together and left them alone. Leah swayed on her feet, looking wiped out.

  “Why don’t you get some rest?” Isaac suggested. “I’ll keep an eye on your brother.”

  “Not yet,” Leah protested. “I need to make sure that he gets his next dose of IV antibiotics in roughly...” she squinted at her watch “...four hours. At three in the morning.”

  “I’ll wake you up then,” Isaac said sternly. “You won’t be any good to him if you fall apart from lack of sleep.”

  She let out a sigh and nodded. “All right, but not until I get him to drink more broth.”

  The stubborn glint was back in her eye, reminding Isaac of the way Hawk used to get when he was convinced he was right and everyone else was wrong. Arguing was useless, so he turned away and grabbed his phone to send Caleb a text message. The time was just after eleven, too lat
e for a phone call, but he sent a message hoping his teammate would look at his phone first thing in the morning.

  Then Isaac dropped down in front of the computer, trying to rub the exhaustion from his eyes. The broth Leah heated up for her brother smelled good, and he decided to make a cup for himself, too.

  He sipped the warm liquid, pondering the computer screen. The answer had to be connected with Wade Sharkey and Joey Stainwhite. In fact, he’d hoped to have Stainwhite in custody by now. Setting his mug aside, Isaac tapped on the keys to pull up their respective mug shots. He stared at the two men thoughtfully. They were selling illegal weapons, guns that couldn’t be traced by the serial number, obviously for profit. Perfect type of weapon to use for committing a crime, like the mall shooting incident, as it made the gun much more difficult to trace. And either Stan’s Liquor Store or some similar place was where they handled their so-called business transactions.

  It made sense, if you were into that sort of thing. And he could see how the two guys had earned themselves reputations as a source for untraceable guns.

  But he had to think bigger. Why would Sharkey and Stainwhite need contacts within the police department? Was it because one of the cops, maybe Aaron Winslow, had stumbled across their scheme and wanted a piece of the pie for himself? And if so, how was Lieutenant Nash involved, if at all? Or was there something more going on?

  Abruptly, Isaac straightened as a thought popped into his head. What if the police department itself was a source for illegal guns? He knew firsthand how dozens of weapons were confiscated from crime scenes every week. They were saved as evidence for trial, but once a perp pleaded out, they were simply stored in boxes. Who would notice if a few went missing? Especially once the serial numbers were removed?

  Isaac’s pulse leaped with excitement. The Fifth District was in the middle of the city, an area with the highest crime rate. The cops who worked there must confiscate hundreds of weapons a month.

  As he turned the idea over in his mind, he knew he was onto something. Every instinct in his body screamed that he was on the right track, but obviously he needed proof. Going to Griff Vaughn with his idea wasn’t an option at this point. He’d asked Jenna to follow up with the ballistics on the gun from the mall shooting, but maybe they hadn’t gone back far enough. If they could prove that the gun had been used in another crime located within the Fifth District of Milwaukee, then he’d have more of a connection to investigate. A connection that could potentially lead to the proof he desperately needed.