Hidden Motive by Hannah Alexander

Author:Hannah Alexander
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises
Published: 2008-01-28T16:00:00+00:00

SEVENTEEN

Murph and Sable rushed down the stairs to find Jerri and Bryce scrambling into the hallway from the family room. Perry burst through the kitchen door, his shirttail half out of his slacks, wiping his hands on a dish towel.

“What happened?” he cried. “Was that Audry? She was screaming like a banshee. I nearly caught the kitchen on fire.”

“Someone hurt?” Jerri said. “Again?”

Murph shoved on his shoes. He was tying his laces when the back door flew open and Audry stumbled inside. She wore a hunter-orange knit cap and her thick, green wool coat.

“I found Simmons in the creek,” she said breathlessly. “I’ve tried to get him up, but he’s too heavy. The guy’s freezing to a chunk of ice. Come and help me get him inside.”

“Is he breathing?” Murph asked as he followed her out ahead of the others.

“He was when I first grabbed him, because he fought me. I had to wrangle him out of the creek, and he passed out on me.”

Murph caught up with Audry halfway across the backyard.

“Look.” She pointed toward the creek a couple hundred feet away. “I saw him from the kitchen window. When I got there all I could do was grab him by the sleeve and drag him to the bank. It’s impossible to get any traction on that ice. I can’t imagine what he was doing out there, the silly thing.”

Murph recognized the muscular, broad-shouldered form of Simmons lying faceup, half out of the frigid, rushing water.

He scrambled over the treacherous ice to the man’s side, sank to his knees and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Simmons!” he shouted, shaking him vigorously.

No response. He didn’t appear to be breathing. Murph leaned close and felt no warmth of exhalation, heard no sound. He gently tipped the man’s head back and lifted his chin to establish an airway.

Still no breath, no movement.

“What’s going on?” Audry demanded behind him.

“He isn’t breathing.” Still holding Simmons’s face tilted slightly upward, Murph managed to pinch the nostrils shut. He covered the man’s mouth with his own and exhaled twice, deeply, slowly.

No response.

Murph slid the first two fingers of his right hand down into the hollow of the victim’s neck, feeling for the carotid pulse. Simmons’s pulse was weak.

“I’ve got to start CPR,” he told Audry. “Get Sable—”

“I’m here,” came her welcome voice behind him.

“Take his head, I’ll do compressions.” He scooted aside, unzipping Simmons’s jacket while Sable slid into position at the man’s head.

Murph was on his knees beside Simmons, in position to begin the first compression, when he saw Sable give another rescue breath.

With the fingers of both hands locked together over the lower third of Simmons’s breastbone, Murph gave five compressions.

Sable was just leaning forward to breathe Simmons again when the man choked, gasped, sat up suddenly and coughed violently, spewing creek water in the chill air.

Murph held him steady until he stopped coughing.

Simmons jerked around, eyes wild, shivering.

“It’s okay,” Murph said. “We’ve got to get you inside. Let us help you up—”

“No!” Simmons cried.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.